Reel & Roll Handling
Cost and errors reduction through automation By Raúl El-Fakdi, business unit director at Comexi.
S
elling in a market that has fierce competition, forces you to reinvent yourself. Although the market is moving towards more customised products, simultaneously, in reference to shelf life and usability, customers want better products. As a result, customers require considerably complex structures, including those with added value finishing solutions that prevent food waste, such as lasered easy openings, windows or resealable applications. With regards to SKUs, companies are compelled to lead with complexity; they require slitters that are able to simultaneously, manage exceedingly complicated jobs and maintain the highest OEE possible. Changeover is critical. An uncomplicated cantilevered machine can be operable only 30% of the time. This ratio is up to 70% higher if added value solutions, which are presently available and include double turret rewinders, automatic knife positioning, automatic core positioning or automatic taping. Furthermore, the possibility of a higher percentage is possible if all the steps that take place after slitting, such as labelling, wrapping or palletising using robots connected to the slitters, are automated. Each of these operations increase the length of time the reel is on company premises, which is another form of lost time, and unfortunately results in a more expensive product.
If we are able to integrate and link all these processes together, we construct unstoppable machines, hence eliminating downtime between steps as well as optimising and increasing production. With automation, the reduction of cycles and downtime is extreme.
Invariably, there is a moment, during the business life-cycle, when the volume of work is excessively high and cannot be solely managed by manual labour. Currently, companies need to decide the best workload management methods. Labour costs are constantly increasing, and moreover, companies need to make use of their employees on tasks that require the utmost critical thought, as creativity has not been automated yet.
However, although the most striking fact of calculating ROI is salary cost savings, there is another
great benefit that is more difficult to measure. When a manual operation is repeatedly performed, a percentage of error always occurs, due to fatigue or distractions. It is not difficult to find a label or reel that is wrongly located in an incorrect lot. Although companies have laboured to design fail-safe systems, it is very likely, in regard to manual delivery, that defective reels will be delivered to each customer.
The demand of brand owners, in regard to the parameters of quality, increases daily. For this reason, it will be increasingly difficult to meet these demands without the assistance of robots or a more suitable better and innovative slitting area. Automation is the optimum approach to achieving zero defects regarding delivery.
Investment costs associated with new equipment may make various companies wary of adopting automated solutions. However, there can be huge benefits to automation, as new technologies are making it all the easier to increasingly automate steps of the process.
Benefits of automated flexible packaging lines:
O Speed – If the proper automation solution is established, companies can significantly improve production speed and product throughput. As a result, these technologies not only increase speeds, but also allow employees of packaging companies to perform tasks that require human workers or benefit from the human thinking.
O Quality control – With the development of new technology, especially those related to machine vision/inspection, quality control systems can detect 100% of errors. Additionally, automated quality assurance systems do not cease or collapse, hence error detection ability never does not fluctuate.
O Reduction of labour costs – Due to the continuous growth of flexible packaging, the lack of expert workforce in the market is already topping the charts of worst unsolved issues. Workers have more options for employment ultimately increasing labour costs. By automating as much of the packaging line as possible, companies can ensure
Additionally, standardised HMIs make these machines more user-friendly, thus reducing the amount of training required by employees to achieve successful operation. Installations that are larger and more centralised have become favoured; customers are beginning to realise that the cost of ownership is more important than that of acquisition. To conclude, automated packaging lines can be significantly beneficial to product manufacturers. By undertaking the burden of repetitive and tedious tasks, these systems reduce the risk of ergonomic injury and shift workers to higher-value tasks where they’re more desperately needed. Furthermore, these systems can also boost productivity and improve quality control measures, all of which eventually translate to improved profitability. A straightforward maxim covers envelopes the essence of this approach: an uncomplicated system that controls flexible packaging must be flexible.
Xwww.comexi.com
that workers are only being hired when they are needed.
O Ergonomics – In the manufacturing and packaging sectors, it is common for employees to perform highly repetitive tasks over long shifts, thus it is not out of the ordinary for employees to suffer from ergonomic injuries. Process automation systems are highly appropriate for repetitive or tedious tasks, as because these tasks often benefit from consistency. The practice of replacing machines with workers for the process steps that demand extremely repetitive motions, can increase productivity and reduce the risk of injury to workers.
OAccess to Information – If system designers place less emphasis on individual machines, and primarily concentrate on the broad perspective, such as turnkey, integrated solutions, as well as end-of-the- line automation, this would be the greatest measure to improving access to information. Consequently, integration allows for the most optimal decisions to be made.
36
June 2022
www.convertermag.com
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