3 reasons why automation is key after the outbreak of COVID-19

29.10.2020

Companies’ managers are taking many steps to maintain operational stability and ensure employee safety in these times. What is clear is that automation is one of the most effective step and that collaborative robot applications can be a solution to the pandemic problem in factory environments. We must adjust our mindset to think about ways to utilize labor more wisely and safely. And automation is essential for doing so.

But why is automation key in this period? Here are 3 reasons*:

1.  Monitoring is not enough

As more factories move back into production (partial or full), new policies have been adopted, such as enhanced cleaning routines and daily employee temperature checks, separating employees into  groups. These practices are mostly helpful for increasing employees’ comfort and understanding but not enough for maintain the stable operations.

2.  Social distancing is the key to labour and operation stability

According to specialists the single most effective way to prevent the spread of the virus in factories and ensure operational stability is to create social distancing among workers. Automation allows for thoughtful deployment of labor in ways that reduce close contact. Collaborative robotic solutions mean factory works cooperate with machines rather than other humans, leading to higher productivity and preventing virus transmission in addition human recourses can be moved to more intelligent tasks and let the robots do the dull, dangerous, dirty and delicate work. Factories that have successfully created social distancing through smart collaborative automation are building better employee engagement and morale and will avoid costly government enforced shutdowns.  

3.  From labor intensive to labor smart processes

Through intelligent software and out-of-the-box tools, collaborative robot applications are accessible without automation experience. Automation is a path to social distancing and preventing the spread of COVID-19, while at the same time easy to deploy and operate.

Automation is the answer

Automation using collaborative robot applications seems to be the answer we are all looking for.

According the International Federation of Robotics the virus has a strong impact on 2020 globally- but also offers a chance for modernization and digitalization of production on the way to recovery. In the long run, the benefits of increasing robot installations remain the same: Rapid production and delivery of customized products at competitive prices are the main incentives.

Collaborative Automation at MedicoPack

End-of-Arm tooling technology provider and market leader OnRobot offers a number of solutions for automation that not only optimize production processes themselves, but also can increase for example product cleanness and the employees’ safety. With these considerations in mind, MedioPack has also chosen one of OnRobot’s solutions.

Danish “primary packaging” and medical equipment expert MedicoPack factory previously collected finished infusion containers in a large packing bin, from which they were manually checked, stacked, and packed, but deemed that this could be done more expediently, not just in terms of efficiency, but also in terms of contamination risk. Therefore the company opted for automating the stacking process, two collaborative robots (cobots) fitted with four grippers from OnRobot are assisting with two production lines at the MedicoPack.

“The risk of our customers experiencing particles – what we call contamination – on the products is reduced because of the solution from OnRobot. The cleanliness of the product is very important to our customers, because the products will be used for medication, and it matters what touches the medication. They must be 100% confident that the quality is good, so the medication they fill it with will not be ruined by our containers. We have developed this confidence over a number of years by always delivering products of the proper quality”, says Kenneth Sæderup Pedersen, project manager at MedicoPack.

MedicoPack is happy about the fact that their already low contamination risk has been reduced, while the efficiency of the production line has been improved significantly. It is no longer necessary for an employee to stand by the conveyor belt and count the items while ensuring they are oriented the right way. This frees up both time and resources and it could be a great solution in pandemic times to decrease the risk of production downtime and provides a safer environment for the employees.

The gripper application at MedicoPack can be viewed in this video.

Source: www.onrobot.com