• Start the conversation with how you’re going to justify the investment internally.
• Instead of starting with the most difficult application, start simple and learn from it.
• Investing in robotics and automation does not necessarily mean a reduction in headcount. In fact, it may even increase employment.
• Consider how a robot will affect everyone working around it.
• When you have everyone on board, the whole process goes smoother. 

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Tell us about Wauseon Machine. What does the company do, and how do you help manufacturers?

Wauseon Machine is a systems integrator and robotics integrator for applications like high-speed assembly, tube bending, machine tending, and general automation applications. We help customers who are dealing with productivity struggles. They can’t produce enough parts and are dealing with labor struggles because, as everyone knows, it’s hard to find people to work in assembly applications right now. We also help customers that are dealing with quality problems. We work with our customers to develop custom automation and robotic systems to help them hit their goals.

What are the ROI and OEE of a robotic system?

Regarding ROI, or return on investment, many customers we work with ask for a two-year return on investment. So it’s a very tight window right now that’s driven partly by shareholders, partly by product life expectancy. Manufacturers know that if they invest in product development, assembly or manufacturing, they might not make that product in two or three years.

On the OEE side, customers want to know that the system will stay up and running. So they look for a percentage of 85 percent, which is considered world-class. That machine runs 85 percent of the time, manufacturing or producing parts.

Courtesy of Wauseon Machine

What are some ways to justify investment in automation? 

When I walk into a customer’s facility, I want to talk about how they will justify automation first. But usually, they want to talk about what they want to happen first. 

Those are great conversations, but it should be the other way around. How much money do you anticipate you will save by doing this? If we establish that first, and we know how much you’ll save, then we can talk about what the automation or robotic system looks like. 

What are some of the benefits of automation that people don’t usually consider outside of operator replacement?

In most applications I’ve worked on, the operator is not replaced; the operator is reallocated or moved to a different part of the plant or moved from a very strenuous or difficult situation to a much more manageable application. Operator relocation is one way to justify automation. 

However, there are some other creative ways, such as productivity. For example, in a lot of manufacturing applications, when parts are inspected and tested during final assembly, they may find something wrong. If it had been noticed way up line, it could have saved a lot of money and time. So, we see quality improvement and scrap reduction as great ways to justify automation. 

It’s also worth noting that when companies invest in robotics and automation, they may actually increase employment. People want to work for a company that is investing in robotics and automation because they see that as a long-term company.

Where do companies commonly go wrong when automating for the first time?

A lot of times, customers have multiple applications. They want to show what they want to automate and start with the most difficult one. However, if you did the simple one first, so much can be learned.

You learn so much about the organization, your partners, and the automation or robotic system, and that knowledge allows you to move to more difficult applications. The other thing that happens is from an upper management standpoint, you can show a return on investment.

If you do the most difficult one first, you see all the problems and challenges, and sometimes management and engineers don’t want to do it again. 

Here’s another lesson learned: Companies often don’t know what’s happening on their lines. For example, an employee will be performing a manual assembly task and doing a very subtle inspection and sorting of the parts that no one knows is going on. 

What are some things people don’t think about when they get a robot to automate a process?

One thing is how it impacts the rest of the organization immediately around that robot. If the company is not talking about the long-term plan, sometimes employees, especially on the shop floor, get nervous because when they hear robotics and automation, they hear job elimination. 

Do you have any closing tips for manufacturers considering investing in or developing custom automated systems? 

Share everything with the entire company. Get everyone on board, from the C-suite executives, to the engineers, and the people on the shop floor. When you have everyone on board, the whole process goes smoother. 

Talk about sharing your budget with your integration partners. Talk about what you’re trying to accomplish, not what you want them to sell.