Benefits of Industrial Robots
Factories and warehouses today are grappling with multiple problems such as high labor costs, workplace injuries, the absence of skilled workers, and inefficient inventory movement in their facilities. With manufacturing becoming increasingly globalized and competitive and customer expectations going up, they can ill-afford not to maximize the efficiency of all processes, from production to logistics.
Industrial robots and, more specifically, industrial mobile robots (IMRs) and autonomous material movement solutions have emerged as the best way to do this, by taking over the efficient and safe movement of goods and materials in factories, warehouses, and distribution centers.
A global-class Indian company, Hachidori Robotics, with three indoor positioning and navigation patents to its credit, delivering out-of-the-box automated material movement via Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs). These robots are designed to take over the repetitive and non-value-adding tugging, pallet movement, and lifting and moving tasks in automobile, FMCG, electronics, manufacturing, warehousing, and pharmaceutical industries, allowing businesses to move material and goods smarter, safer, faster, and at scale. The company has been successfully deploying such solutions for large and small businesses across the country and is a one-stop solution for all AMR and material movement needs in India.
In this blog, we provide details of the top 10 benefits of industrial robots for material handling, backed by Hachidori’s own experience in the sector.
1.Reduced Labor Costs
Manual material movement is not just labor-intensive but also a huge expense for manufacturers. Industrial robots deployed for autonomous material movement help factory owners and managers automate these back-breaking, mundane, and non-value adding tasks. This helps them shrink their manual workforces while reallocating human effort to other value-generating activities. AMRs such as Hachidori’s can work 24×7 without getting tired, to offer consistent performance over long periods and better cost-effectiveness over time.
2. Improved Workplace Safety and Fewer Accidents
Material movement-related incidents cause a significant share of all workplace accidents. These include slips and trips while walking or carrying loads, falling objects, as well as chronic back and muscle injuries caused by manual movement tasks. Industrial mobile robots for material handling remove the need for humans to lift, carry, or move these materials in warehouses, factories, and on the production floor. Hachidori’s robots, for example, have multiple redundant sensors, along with a patented navigation system to enable totally safe operation in dynamic and sometimes crowded environments, and in real time. This has a direct impact on the injury- and compensation-related costs that can disrupt and impact every process in the factory.
3. Mitigate Shortage of Skilled Workers
The demand for skilled labor is not being met in the manufacturing sector, especially in warehouses and factories for manual, repetitive, and physically taxing tasks. Automation for material movement in factories can fill this void by taking over the transport of goods and materials between various points. Hachidori’s AMRs can be easily integrated with existing systems and require minimal training to operate, making it possible to scale up operations rapidly with autonomous robots without the need to hire skilled human operators.
4. Faster and More Reliable Movement of Materials
Manual material movement is also fraught with delays, errors, and inconsistencies that slow down the entire factory and warehouse. Autonomous material movement, by contrast, can transport materials, parts, and finished goods quickly and reliably, with minimum errors or bottlenecks, and help ensure on-time delivery, thereby reducing production delays. Hachidori’s robots offer patented indoor GPS and a dynamic “On Call” robot dispatch system for moving any load to any point in the shortest possible time, thus ensuring reliable and timely delivery every time.
5. Better Inventory Movement and Space Utilization
Slow and haphazard inventory movement leads to congestion, misplaced inventory, and under-utilized floor space. Industrial robots can be programmed to take the shortest and most optimized route possible, avoid collisions, and deliver materials just in time, just as needed. Hachidori offers solutions for both tugging and automated pallet movement as well as lift & move, dock & convey functions, each with multiple configurations for custom needs to offer a seamless extension to existing material movement workflows and free up floor space.
6. Scalability and Flexibility for Future Growth
As businesses grow and change, so do their needs for material movement. Conventional systems can involve costly reworking of existing physical infrastructure. Industrial mobile robots and autonomous material movement systems like Hachidori can be scaled and even reconfigured to adapt to new requirements at short notice. Modular in hardware and software-driven in configuration, they can quickly be trained for new products, layouts, and material movement volumes.
7.Reduced Downtime
Unplanned downtime is the single largest cost driver in most manufacturing environments. Automation in material movement in warehouses and factories reduces the risk of human errors or other issues, thus enabling the robot to complete the load movement and return in a minimum amount of time, and with far less risk of equipment damage or process interruptions. Hachidori’s AMRs, for example, are designed to be rock-solid in terms of both hardware and software, with a navigation quality that is maintained even when the physical layout changes by 100%, without retraining or downtime.
8.Data-Driven Optimization
Industrial robots today are equipped with onboard sensors and connectivity that can generate valuable data about all operations. Hachidori’s fleet management software is a dedicated platform to provide real-time analytics and insights into material movement, robot performance, and potential process bottlenecks. Managers can use this data to make decisions and optimize workflows for the greatest efficiency.
9.Integration with Existing Systems
It is a common fear when it comes to automation that new and existing systems will not integrate easily with each other. Hachidori’s AMRs are specifically designed for plug-and-play integration with most other manufacturing and warehousing systems. Their patented wireless navigation technology also means that the entire robot fleet can be up and running with no major physical infrastructure changes or downtime.
10.Environmentally Friendly and Future-Proof
Sustainability is a key concern for most companies and industries today. Industrial robots and autonomous material movement also contribute by helping save energy, reduce waste, and optimize inventory movement to prevent over-stocking or under-utilization. Hachidori’s offerings are both energy-efficient and built to last, for example, for at least 5 years in most applications, thus enabling clients to better serve their business as well as environmental goals.
Key Metrics and Company Overview
- Founded: 2019, Bangalore, India
- Patents: 3 (Indoor positioning and navigation)
- Employees: 120+ (expanding sales and marketing team to double it in next 18 months)
- Industries served: Automobile, FMCG, electronics, manufacturing, warehousing, pharmaceuticals
- Certifications: ISO 9001:2015
- Unique technology: Patented indoor GPS, “On Call” dynamic AMR dispatch, Plug and play integration, multiple safety features
Industries and Applications
Hachidori Robotics’ industry-specific solutions include:
Learn more about these and other applications and check out Hachidori Robotics for more on the company.
Conclusion
Industrial robots and autonomous material movement via IMRs are no longer a thing of the future for modern factories, they are essential for staying competitive and growing in the present. Autonomous material movement and industrial mobile robots can help tackle some of the biggest and most critical pain points facing factory and warehouse owners and managers today, such as high labor costs, workplace injuries, and poor inventory movement and utilization.
Hachidori Robotics is at the forefront of the emerging industrial robotics revolution, delivering out-of-the-box automated material movement via autonomous robots that are fast, reliable, and safe and can integrate easily with existing manufacturing and warehousing systems. Hachidori is a one-stop-shop for all AMR and material movement solutions in India, and all are invited to discover how they can help future-proof and automate material movement.