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PROCESS AUTOMATION


ROBOTS ARE YOUR FLEXIBLE FRIEND


Robert Brooks, Omron Europe’s industry manager food and beverage, looks at how smart, robot-assisted production and packaging will maximise profitability


A


challenge accelerated by the Coronavirus pandemic has seen producers having to juggle between


longer term range proliferation centred on consumer demands, and range [SKU’s] reduction caused by retailers’ and consumers’ rapidly changing buying habits. This has resulted in producers having to be even more agile with existing assets. These assets, in the form of single or connected machines, must therefore be more flexible than ever, and must be supplied with the right material and packaging at the right time. To reduce storage costs and waste,


companies in the industry want to produce only what is needed for shipping. Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and collaborative robots (cobots), as well as traditional industrial robots are being increasingly used in factories, replacing conveyor belts or accumulation/buffer stations. The challenge is to create a flexible, continuous production process for customer- specific manufacturing and to minimise costly, rigid and maintenance-intensive conveyor sequences, which usually take considerable space. Companies using innovative technologies not only gain agility, but also reduce scrap, contamination risk, waste and losses. The latest Mintel report identified three key food and beverage trends that are likely to


take hold by 2030: ● Developments such as sustainable


34 FEBRUARY 2021 | PROCESS & CONTROL nutrition and increasingly informed


consumers ● The growing importance of food science


and modern technology in manufacturing. In the future, companies will use tools to bring more product innovations to market, shorten


production times and increase trust in brands ● Optimisation of factory performance by


controlling the flow of goods in the production and storage areas. This is the only way in which companies will be able to meet new retail and consumer demands. They must produce retail-ready items faster, using a high-mix, low-volume approach with no recalls An important question in this context is: how


can a project be realised cost-effectively and with a realistic return on investment (ROI)? A key focus is on smart production and packaging lines that can be easily reconfigured to meet changing market and consumer needs.


Five advantages of automation The development, construction and the use of such a line requires sound knowledge and experience to ensure that the investment can reach its full potential. Therefore, detailed planning, advice from experienced partners and innovative solutions are key elements for developing an improvement in line performance. They provide the basis for the future-oriented flow of goods and consumables in the factory hall and adjacent


storage areas. Anyone who carefully automates machine loading and unloading processes can benefit from five advantages: 1. Employees can be increasingly deployed


on value-adding tasks: they are no longer needed for routine tasks, as the machine can do these 2. All work steps can be reliably tracked,


stored and analysed 3. Overall equipment efficiency (OEE) is


improved by reducing machine stops and optimising availability and performance 4. Companies benefit from faster product


changes 5. Production lines can be quickly and easily


modified to meet new needs and require less space than conventional static systems


The benefits of AMRs and cobots Many companies in the food industry are planning more flexible and seamless production and packaging lines for customer- specific products. This will minimise the need for expensive and inflexible conveyor processes. Easily configurable production lines will ideally consist of collaborative and flexible transport and transfer solutions, tailored to specific production environments. Examples include robots, AMRs, cobots and


more recently solutions that combine two. Their tasks include the transport of work in progress (WIP) stock between sites or adjacent areas, with the process being managed and controlled by a special fleet management solution. Reconfigurable systems link assets and reduce costs by storing only what’s needed on the route. Traceability of all stock levels also reduces downtime. At the same time, trip hazards can be decreased and employees supported. To avoid production downtimes, line side


replenishment (LSR) must take place in good time, with a focus on the loading of raw


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