The Food and Beverage Business: Sinking Its Teeth Into Robotics
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 04:03PM By Benedict Yossarian
Human labor in the food and beverage industry has been plagued with problems for quite some time now with issues such as productivity and efficiency, safety and cost-effectiveness being some of the major concerns. Because of these problems, more food and beverage manufacturing companies are looking to robotics to streamline their operations.
The use of robotics in manufacturing isn't a new concept. There are many industries that are now relying on robots for much of their day-to-day operations. Food and beverage companies are also beginning to see the advantages that robotics can do for their bottom line.
Advantages
Robotics systems help refine productivity. A lot of tasks involved in these industries require repetition and speed, and robotics can help companies get their products to consumers faster.
Another benefit of utilizing robots in production is that it enables manufacturers to establish a safer work environment. Traditionally, manufacturers depend on manual labor for product packaging, food assembly and even heavy lifting. But there is such a high potential for accidents in these tasks that it makes more sense to put in a system that can handle operations without the risk of physical harm.
There is also an improvement in terms of quality and safety. Sanitation is a vital issue in food handling and the reality is, the chances of contamination are higher when operations are handled by people. Human-initiated measures just don't compare to the cleanliness standards that can be achieved with robotics. Equally sophisticated sanitation technologies come along with these state of the art systems.
Pick, Pack and Stack
The majority of robotics systems in manufacturing lines are devoted to picking, packing and stacking functions as these are usually the areas that are most repetitive and speed-critical.
The picking function is one of the initial stages in the production process and efficiency is important during this phase. Food items take on a variety of shapes. It is vital that the robotics systems used are capable of handling such inconsistencies as these impacts highly on operational speed.
Packing is usually the area where robotics is most often utilized. Robotics has great potential in packing operations as there are numerous types of packaging used to wrap food in. Robots can be manipulated to efficiently handle the differences in package dimensions.
Product stacking is also an area where robotics can be used extensively. Stacking can be a complicated process especially when pallets are loaded with different types of products. Additionally, highly perishable products need to be loaded in a room with very low temperatures. Human laborers aren't able to stay long in these rooms and this is where robots take over. Also, there are certain equipment that won't work efficiently within cold temperatures. This problem is eliminated with the use of robotic systems.
Outlook for the Future
Experts are confident that the potential of robotics in the food and beverage industry will expand. The retail industry is seen as one of the areas where robotics can be incorporated. Fast food chains can benefit from using robotics. Currently there are developments on vending machine systems as well as the use of robots for bartending functions.
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