31 March 2020
Behind the Scenes @ Weidmann - Automated Materials Handling
In the worlds factories, plants and warehouses, many new technologies have been introduced in recent years to automate the handling of material. We have all seen videos on LinkedIn or on other digital channels of a robot making a cup of coffee and machinery moving products at high speed from one place to another. However ‘cool’ these videos maybe, it only makes sense to introduce automated materials handling if it can increase efficiency and provide other customer focused benefits.
By automating materials handling at Weidmann Electrical Technology facilities, we see a number of benefits:
Improved Quality Control
Automating the handling of materials ensures that immediately after the conclusion of the production process, the material is safely and securely moved directly to an environmentally controlled storage area. Our storage areas are temperature and humidity controlled, as well as being sealed to guarantee high levels of cleanliness to prevent product contamination.
Not only does this limit any risk of contamination of the product from the environment, as many of our customers are aware, our 100% natural fiber based products require a level of ‘shelf life management’ (link). By moving the product immediately to a controlled environment, we can ensure the product is of the highest level of quality and in the best possible condition before being shipped to our customers.
Better Workplace Safety
Most employers are quick to say that employee safety is one of their top concerns. But not every company actually means it or takes the time to find out which technologies can contribute to a safer workplace.
By implementing automated material handling at Weidmann, we reduce the requirement to have forklift trucks, pallet handling equipment and other manually controlled vehicles moving around in the production area. This can significantly reduce the risk of accidents. In the US alone, generally 100 people per year are killed by forklift trucks and more than 20,000 are seriously injured. Today, Weidmann have totally eliminated the need for forklift trucks in production areas.
Addressing the Cost
The Boston Consulting Group state that introducing automation into the mix is one way of taking logistic operations to the next level. Of course, there are some challengers to embracing automation, including the initial investment. However, some of this should be offset when considering that the Hyster Company estimates that more than $1 billion USD per year is wasted in unnecessary operational costs associated to materials handling. If you carefully identify the areas to introduce automation into your process and keep in view the benefits to your organization and customers, a strong return on investment is possible.
If you would like more information about Weidmann Electrical Technology automated material handling, please contact us: https://www.weidmann-electrical.com/contact-us/