Industrial Automation Magazine India

Streamlining Intralogistics with Mobile Robots

Published on : Tuesday 07-05-2024

K Srinath explores how streamlining intralogistics and delivering value with autonomous and collaborative mobile robots. 

What is driving automation of intralogistics operations today?

Material transport and internal logistics are gaining visibility for competitive advantage for businesses around the world. Deciding on the best approach can be a complex choice, however, with multiple drivers:

A. Global competition exerts cost pressures on every business decision, while rapid changes in consumer demands make flexibility critical.

B. Labour shortages and labour costs are ongoing challenges that force companies to focus on the best use of valued human resources. There is an increasing need to automate low-value, manual tasks such as material transport. These repetitive jobs can be hard to staff cost-effectively, with issues ranging from high labour costs to a shortage of reliable workers. Lack of logistics workers often means high-value employees have to leave their assigned tasks to move material, which can drag down productivity and competitiveness. And if material isn’t delivered on time to keep processes flowing, it can have a significant impact on output and profits.

C. Evolving safety requirements for employees – to protect them from repetitive injury due to material handling, physical injury from operating machinery, proximity injuries from working near moving equipment, and even safe distancing restrictions – all come into play.  

What are your Intralogistics Automation Options?

When you’re ready to automate material transport in your manufacturing facility, warehouse, or distribution centre, you have multiple options. It’s important to understand your options that range from traditional forklifts and conveyors, to automated guided vehicles (AGVs), to today’s advanced autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

While manual material handling, forklifts, conveyors, and AGVs have long histories, AMRs may be less familiar. So we will focus here more on AMRs. Mobile robots for logistics have been well-established for nearly a decade, with millions of AMRs successfully deployed around the world. And they continue to be a strong logistics contender, with growth projected to be as much as 40% per year, according to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

Mobile collaborative robots are characterised by easy programming, flexible implementation, and extensive built-in safety mechanisms that allow them to navigate autonomously even through dynamic environments. Integrated cameras, scanners, and intelligent software guide the robot around obstacles and workers, as well as through doorways, tunnels, and elevators, automatically slowing or stopping the robot to avoid dangers to people or goods. Fleet software ensures the safest and most efficient logistics for one or dozens of robots. Robots come in a wide range of sizes and payload ratings and their modular design supports flexible top modules from racks or carts to pallet lifters or conveyors.

Automating internal logistics with AMRs is a strategic, cost-effective solution that can also improve employee safety and workflows. Asking the right questions will help guide your decision and give you confidence that you’re moving in the right direction. Here are 10 questions to ask:

1. What are your goals for automation?

There are many reasons to automate, and each raises different implications for the type of technology to consider. Your objectives also help determine overall system deployment, including integration, budget, labour expectations, and future business plans. Look around your facility and analyse your current and future automation initiatives. The reasoning behind those plans is typically as relevant to material transport as to other processes.

2. What do you need to transport?

Consider which processes and materials tie most closely to your primary objectives. The size, weight, and type of material you need to move will impact many other factors, from size and type of robot and top module to speed, acceleration, and power usage.

3. What are your environmental characteristics?

The conditions in your facility impact your choice of robot platform and application, path and mission options, and battery life and charging- as well as decisions about where and how employees interact with the robot. Your environment also directly influences the height, width, and weight of payload you can move, e.g., floor conditions, lighting, furnishing & equipment around the path, halls and corners, doors and elevators, low overhands or passages, other vehicles, employees and visitors.

4. Do you have industry-specific requirements for your AMR?

Depending on your industry, your specific application, and even the location where robots will be used, your AMR may need to meet a range of requirements and standards. Sterile manufacturing environments may have very different needs than warehouses. Safety standards compliance is often a broad requirement across industries, e.g., clean room requirement, electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements, IP classification for dust or liquid ingress, safety standards compliance, IT security requirements

5. What are your desired results?

Your automation initiative should provide measurable results within the amount of time defined by your company policies and objectives. Considerations for improved output and return on investment (RoI) should include

• Do you need a highly specialised mobile robot or one that can be deployed for multiple types of missions and applications?

• How will the robot’s output compare to other transport options?

• How many shifts should the AMR cover? Will this allow you to increase the number of shifts you operate?

• Is a typical year of RoI for automation equipment appropriate for your business?

• Beyond upfront costs, what are the fees for ongoing service, software updates, and training?

• While total cost of ownership (TCO) is a critical decision factor, effective evaluations also weigh three key parameters that impact business success: efficiency, agility, and safety.

6. How will your employees accept and interact with robots?

From implementation to daily interaction, your employees are key to your success. It’s important to have internal stakeholders who are responsible for your automation initiative, but their level of knowledge can vary considerably. Some companies have experienced automation teams in-house, while others give an existing employee part time robotics responsibility, e.g., experience of employees with robots as their co-workers, resistance from employee or unions about job security, are key stakeholders and employees involved in the decision process, is there an internal champion for the project, etc.

7. How integrated should your solution be?

Automated transport can be as simple or complex as your situation requires, from straightforward “bus routes” and manual calls of a few robots, to a fully integrated and automated fleet of robots. What approach best fits your situation? For example, AMRs running as separate systems, Robot fleet management, AMRs integrated into ERP/WMS/MES

8. How adaptable is the robot to your workflows?

One of the biggest advantages of AMRs is their configurability to work seamlessly within your current workflows and processes. Whether you have an innovative new application or want to be able to redeploy your robots as your needs change, consider how customisable your choice should be, e.g., do you need to add mobility to existing processes such as conveyors or cobot arms? Will the AMR become an integrated link between production cells? Or do you need a plug-and-play solution to ease straight forward logistics processes?

9. What is your need for global and local support?

As AMRs are integrated into core operations and become a critical part of productive workflows, the ongoing requirements for them also increase. Companies need maximum uptime, which demands robust, high-quality robots. When the robots do need service – from maintenance to repairs to upgrades – it must be easy to access, cost effective, and standardised across sites and global locations.

10. Is my Partner the right solution partner?

The expertise level of a robotics integrator is paramount; you need a partner with a deep understanding of both the technology and its application in industrial settings. Look for integrators with a proven track record in your industry or with similar manufacturing processes. Their experience can translate into better system design, faster implementation, and fewer hiccups during the integration phase. Furthermore, they should be able to provide training to your staff, ensuring that your team can operate and maintain the new systems effectively.

K Srinath, VP at Multivista Global is a well experienced and passionate industry professional involved with emerging technology adoption in manufacturing. He has been guiding companies with their preparation, deployment and scaling of collaborative robots and AMR and leveraging these technologies.

www.linkedin.com/in/ksrinath 

______________________________________________________________________________________________

For a deeper dive into the dynamic world of Industrial Automation and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), explore our comprehensive collection of articles and news covering cutting-edge technologies, robotics, PLC programming, SCADA systems, and the latest advancements in the Industrial Automation realm. Uncover valuable insights and stay abreast of industry trends by delving into the rest of our articles on Industrial Automation and RPA at www.industrialautomationindia.in