A change that’s been underway over the past several years is a concerted effort at simplifying robotic operation – and that’s certainly a good thing. Here’s some insight from Quest’s Director of Sales, Ryan Womble, as to why:
The workforce is changing; baby boomers are retiring and taking with them years of tribal knowledge that’s not easily replaced. The workforce has also become more diverse; operators don’t necessarily speak the same language, which can create training challenges. As such, Quest has gone to great lengths to engineer and design their systems to be intuitive and easy to operate. This point is very important to companies who may not have a seasoned staff to operate packaging machinery or that have staff from a range of backgrounds.
On the end-of-line, creating specific pallet patterns is a fundamental element of robotic palletizing. To make this task easier, we’ve designed machine operator interfaces that are visually and technologically intuitive. Users can modify box dimensions, drag-and-drop cases to form desired pack patterns, or let the program automatically calculate the most efficient pattern structure to optimize product density on the pallet. The ability to build your own pack patterns saves time and money by eliminating the need to have a service programmer onsite to perform the task. Robotic design has increased functionality while simplifying operation – both of which are opening up new opportunities in palletizing and other packaging functions. Our ultimate goal is to make it easier for your employees to be successful in their job. And the best way to do that is to understand what challenges you and your team are facing. Simplifying robotics in areas such as palletizing is a great way to maximize the skill sets of your staff, while adding efficiencies to your overall operation.
Ryan Womble is the Director of Sales at Quest. He can be reached at 608-667-1416; Ryan.Womble@promachbuilt.com; https://www.questindustrial.com/