At first look, palletizing ice cream cone containers doesn’t sound like a high-risk job. But when these containers weigh 35 to 40 kilos and must be stacked shoulder-high, shift after shift, 5 days every week—you begin to perceive the pressure it places on individuals.
That’s precisely what one main U.S. meals producer realized. They produce a variety of cones—waffles, sugar, and cake. Despite their scale and attain, what actually stood out to us was one thing else: their tradition.
This firm operates as an ESOP—an Employee Stock Ownership Plan—which implies each individual on the ground has actual pores and skin within the sport. From the entrance workplace to the manufacturing line, all of them personal a chunk of the enterprise. And when that’s the case, security turns into greater than a coverage. It turns into private.
Why automate?
It wasn’t a labor scarcity that drove their choice to automate palletizing. It wasn’t even about effectivity within the conventional sense. The spark got here from a really human place: too many shoulder accidents. Lifting heavy containers again and again, particularly to the highest of a pallet, was inflicting issues. The variety that takes individuals out of labor and places long-term pressure on the staff. They didn’t need to watch for the following damage. They needed to stop it.
So, they made a transfer. They selected to herald a robotic palletizing system—to not substitute somebody, however to take away the danger from a process that simply didn’t make sense for individuals to be doing anymore.
What made this match?
The technical facet was easy. The containers are hefty, they’re nicely inside the payload vary of a cobot palletizer. The firm already had Universal Robots on-site, so integrating one other one with our PE20 was acquainted territory.
But the true match wasn’t about pace or specs. It was about care. They weren’t making an attempt to get rid of a job. The palletizing process was simply considered one of many dealt with by their staff. What they needed was to get rid of the damage danger. Plain and easy. Plus, the benefit of use of the programming interface allowed to upskill some operators who can now use the robotic.
A takeaway for meals producers
Automation sometimes will get evaluated by the lens of labor financial savings. But this story is a reminder: ergonomics matter. Worker security isn’t a smooth metric—it’s a strong motive to rethink guide duties. Heavy lifting, repetitive motions, and awkward positions take a toll. And even in case you’ve bought succesful individuals in your staff, that doesn’t imply they need to be doing these jobs.
This isn’t about chasing buzzwords like “lights-out manufacturing.” It’s about fixing actual issues in actual crops, with sensible instruments that work.
And in case you’re operating a facility the place your staff is your best asset—like this one—you would possibly discover that the enterprise case for automation is stronger than you suppose. For in-depth insights on the toll guide palletizing can tackle an organization and the way automation can alleviate these strains, obtain our Manual Palletizing Ergonomic Risks book by trade skilled, Carla Silver.
