Cost Justification for Packaging Line Automation

10 good reasons to automate......

1. Labour Reduction - this is the primary factor most companies consider but there are many other reasons to automate your packing lines. In order to calculate the potential savings, consider the following:  

• Total number of operators involved
• Total number of shifts involved
• Total cost of labour including wages, benefits, insurance, etc.
• Find out if there are additional factors such as process training or personnel equipment (gowns, etc.).
• What is the true cost of your labour – The  FULLY-BURDENED  cost ? N.I., Pension obligations, Training costs, Holiday cover, Unplanned absences, Facilities costs, Overtime costs, Supervision costs.

2. Material Savings

• Robotic and automatic packaging systems will typically reduce the amount of material/consumables being used and the savings generated should be factored into cost justification calculations:

• Opportunity for Design modifications to packaging (for example machine erect cartons from flat blanks as opposed to crash-erect cartons ) can offer cost savings in the range 20-50%.

3. Reduced Supervisory Management of unskilled and temporary staff

• Robotic and automatic packaging systems will reduce reliance on temporary staff and less motivated unskilled workers.
• Robotic automation allows employees to be reallocated to positions requiring more human involvement.
• Allows for higher worker satisfaction through the automation of repetitive, dull, dirty and dangerous applications.

4. Throughput/Yield Improvement

• Throughput will not vary as much as manual labour (operators get tired or step away from their machines).
• Constant rate production – set by the machine speed.
• Line speeds can often be increased as production machines may be capable of higher throughputs but have been historically set to suit the packaging bottleneck

5. Quality Improvement

• Elimination of operator errors like dropped product, miss-loaded product, miss-processed product
• Elimination of returned product or back changes due to operator placing incorrect product in shipper
• Ability to incorporate post-process QA tests (fill levels etc)
• Consistency in process - all products are produced the same regardless of operator, shift changes, etc.

6. Injury Avoidance/Safety

• Robotic systems allow operators to be removed from hazardous or unsafe environments.
• Operators can be removed from applications that require frequent rotation due to repetitive tasks or handling of heavy packs etc
• Some customer will have documented compensation claim costs or fines due to work injury.

7. Process Controls/Consistency

• Improves product quality and can also improve product yields.
• All products are produced the same regardless of operator, shift changes, etc.
• Consistency in automation makes it easier to forecast product capacity regardless of the labour market.

8. Flexibility

• Robotics allows manufacturers to quickly respond to market demands. For example new product formats are quickly realisable and low count retail packs can be accommodated that would not be possible with manual pack lines.
• The flexibility of robotics offers more options for post-process work when compared to hard/dedicated automation solutions or manual pack lines.

9. Customer Perception

• When using quality automated packing systems production methods are seen to be forward thinking and progressive leading to increased customer confidence.
• Reduction in touch labour leads to better hygiene standards
• Re-deployment of staff to more rewarding positions is seen as progressive
• Predictable Production - Security of supply is improved and capacity for supply increases is achievable in cases of seasonal demand or promotions etc
• The trend towards smaller pack sizes and single portion packs means higher end of line unit speeds that may not be feasible for a manual pack line.
• Automation offers you more opportunity to sell your product and to get new business: customers are assured that you have the most cost-effective packing methods and you may be able to produce pack formats that would not be achievable with a manual pack line – in particular lower count retail packs (low piece count or single serve packs) may be handled.

10. Management Information

• Fully automated packaging lines can give managers useful data that allows them to plan and manage the manufacturing process e.g products per minute, line efficiency, results against key performance indicators.
• Our systems are fully programmable and also have remote diagnostic capabilities.