Rock solid results with flexible production & robotics!
Published on 06 May, 2019 in Operational Excellence
Today's market requires an increasingly agile production environment. Traditional industrial automation and robots are often too inflexible to successfully accomplish mass customization. Omron is enabling smart Industry 4.0 scenarios with a rare combination of intelligent automation solutions and robotics. Perfecting seamless human-robot collaboration and making more and more use of AI-driven possibilities, we assist manufacturers in realizing rock solid results with flexible production and robotics.
Often the first question is: "Sounds good, but what is our return on investment?" A valid question that understandably depends on many factors. In general manufacturers are pleasantly surprised to see a quick ROI in our holistic analysis of their processes, due to significant OEE improvements. Higher speed, less waste, reduced H&S risks, quicker time-to-market, instant market demand capitalisation, minimized stock, and better quality are all part of the calculation that often justifies investing in the future. Keep in mind that it is not always about complete overhauls of production environments, but often pragmatically adapting parts of existing lines will come a long way too.
Dynamics of technological change
Technological innovations are progressing faster than ever. Today's robots are small, agile, and smart and help to bring out the best in people. The World Economic Forum foresees a drastic increase in the use of modern robotics. "Even as technological advancements pose challenges to existing business models and practices, over the coming years, these same dynamics of technological change are set to become the primary drivers of opportunities for new growth", states the World Economic Forum in its recent The Future of Jobs Report.Robotics provide maximum flexibility
Connectivity plays an important role. All aimed at collecting the right data, even real-time, to make quality analyses that result in continuous operational improvement. Reconfigurable line solutions, like our fully Collaborative Workcells, help manufacturers to quickly respond to change. Collaborative, fixed & mobile robotics allow maximum flexibility for material handling. For instance, Autonomous Intelligent Vehicles (AIV's) can transform rigid production lines into fully available flexible lines that can quickly reconfigure material flows. These collaborative robots operate safely and efficiently alongside humans.This article is part of the Omron's series of publications entitled 'OEE & me' and covers 'Flexible Production and Robotics' as a solution for Go with Adaptive and Dynamic production!.
- Rock solid results with flexible production & robotics!
- Smart sensing for multiple materials!
ŠKODA AUTO uses Omron's fully autonomous LD mobile robot at Vrchlabí plant
The autonomous robot contributes to the continuous improvement of work safety in Vrchlabí and helps to minimise work risks. It recognises people crossing its path as well as other vehicles and stationary obstacles.
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