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Give the robot the dirty, dull or dangerous job

The pros and cons of robots on the processing and packaging lines created a lot of discussion at the Top to Top Summit, where CPGs and OEMs come together to solve pressing manufacturing problems.

The value of robots as part of an automation strategy was a key area of conversation at the 2019 Top to Top Summit.
The value of robots as part of an automation strategy was a key area of conversation at the 2019 Top to Top Summit.

There are many “dirty jobs” in manufacturing, and there are some jobs that are just plain dull, like the monotonous pick and pack operations. In fact, there’s a certain packaging line at a food manufacturer where variety packs of products and split cases have to be handled by hand after the labeling. The coordination of machine operators with packers is a challenge.

“It’s one of those things where people say ‘please don’t put me on that line’,” says a c-level executive at the company. “So we are finding a way to robotize those sections.”

The value of robots as part of an automation strategy was a key area of conversation at the 2019 Top to Top Summit this week in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida The exclusive event, now in its 14th year and produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing, brings together CPG and OEM executives to engage with a level of confidentiality that fosters transparency among the manufacturing community, which can lead to innovation and competitive advantage.

During a panel discussion followed by smaller roundtable dialogue, attendees weighed the pros and cons of robot deployments. While there are many application areas identified where collaborative robots and autonomous mobile robots make sense, there are also obstacles to adoption, the group said. Specifically, the maturity of the supply chain to handle automation, return on investment (ROI), breaking down internal organizational silos and sanitation related issues. There are also less obvious problems, such as space—production lines are built for humans, not robots. And, integration.

“There are a lot of providers out there for end of arm tooling, there are a lot of providers for the arm and for vision, but the challenge is getting all of those to work well together,” says an engineer for a health and home care products company. “We had to build all of that expertise internally. We built a team and a lab and we gave them the space and the resources to start somewhere to figure out how to make all of this work.”
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