Representatives of companies whose activities are related to the use and implementation of robotic equipment in production shared what to consider before starting to use "smart" equipment in the company.

First of all, it is necessary to answer the question of what tasks the new equipment will solve and conduct an audit, the experts unanimously stated during the panel discussion at the international economic summit Russia-Islamic World: KazanSummit 2021. This will help avoid a situation where robots are further used "as a showpiece" to present the company rather than to optimize production.

WHAT IS A ROBOT FOR IN A COMPANY?

The very first step that businesses should take is to determine the core mission of introducing a robot and how necessary it is in general. After that, bottlenecks should be identified and production audits should be conducted, according to Vadim Ippolitov, Head of Key Accounts and Automotive Component Manufacturers at Kuka Robotics.

Dmitry Miroshnik, Commercial Director of MetraRobotics, agrees with this. Business has to understand why it implements robots - to reduce costs or to minimize rejects and errors due to human error. However, he pointed out another point that business sometimes does not pay enough attention to.

"The key mistake in implementation is that businesses sometimes consider robots on a point-by-point basis and do not consider the technology of their products as a whole, which is important because in this case it is possible to significantly improve performance," explained Dmytro Miroshnyk.

First of all, when specialists conduct an audit, they are interested in how busy the lines are and what automation is needed for, shares the experience of Vadim Galtsov, General Director of GICOM.

"This is important so we don't end up with a situation where we rolled out a robot, showed it to domestic and foreign partners as a show, and then put it away and work the old-fashioned way. The robot is needed to increase the throughput capacity of a warehouse several times over, within a limited space and limited timeframe. Only such a task fully justifies the introduction", - explained the head of the company.

THOROUGH TRAINING

As part of the preparation, Dmitry Miroshnik, Commercial Director of MetraRobotics, recommends, among other things, improving production and putting in order the existing equipment. The terms of reference itself should be prepared taking into account the current operations and the reserve on productivity. Otherwise, the company runs the risk of finding itself in a situation where the robot is used solely as a marketing tool, or its application does not bring maximum results.

"I know from practice, people put a robot, but save on everything else: they take cheaper welding sources, automatics, sensors. Complexes cost a lot of money, but then savings are made on important little things, and it doesn't matter that everything will stand down if some sensor fails," he added.

In the case of reasonable approach to the introduction of robotic technology, as the general director of HYCOM noted, the business makes a "quantum leap" in development and is already able to plan a strategy for several years ahead, the expert added.

ABOUT KAZANSUMMIT 2021

Russia - Islamic World: KazanSummit 2021, an international economic summit of Russia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, is taking place in Kazan on July 28-30. The summit aims to strengthen trade, economic, scientific, technical, social and cultural ties between Russia and the OIC member states.

The leitmotif of the Forum in 2021 is conscious consumption; the key topics of the business programme include partner finance, the halal industry, youth diplomacy, medicine, sport, creative industries, export development, entrepreneurship and investment. The event also hosts the Russia Halal Expo and the Mechanical Engineering Cluster Forum.

In pre-crisis 2019, the summit was attended by 3.5 thousand delegates from 72 countries and 38 regions of Russia. This year, more than 2,500 people from 60 countries are participating in the summit.

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Author: Ksenia Gustova