Discrete automation with motion systems and complementary forms of warehousing technologies remain core to reshoring and making supply chains more robust in the years since COVID-19. We recently asked several industry experts about trends they’re seeing in this space. Here’s what they had to say.

Meet the Experts

Brian Burke | Product manager III • Bishop-Wisecarver Corp.
Chris Caldwell | Product manager – material handling • Yaskawa Motoman
Brian Dengel | General manager • KHK USA Inc.
Michael Giunta | VP of sales and marketing • Macron Dynamics Inc.
Richard Halstead | President • Empire Magnetics Inc.
Mike Korkowski | Operations manager • LinMot USA
Josh Leath | Senior product manager — thermal • Yaskawa Motoman
Todd Mooij | Applications engineering manager • BRECOflex CO. LLC
Sean O’Grady | Sales operations director • Festo
Dave Prezzano | Global head of go-to-market • HP Personalization and 3D Printing
Gian Sachdev | Marketing head – Americas demand generation • Cognex
Andrew Sizemore | Supply chain director • Festo
Julian Torres | Demand planning manager • Festo
Yoshi Umeno | Industry manager — global medical and robotics • Kollmorgen
Patrick Varley | Product marketing manager — robotics • Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc.
Ori Yudilevich | CTO • MaterialsZone

Is your company developing new relationships with local and regional suppliers?

Giunta: The North American Market continues to be valuable as a global manufacturing center. Reshoring is critical to meet the demands end customers need to ramp up quickly in a post-COVID market with a reduced workforce and a rapid need for automation.

O’Grady: Yes, we’ve accelerated the localization of our supply base and have established new relationships with new vendors. Really, we’ve just accelerated a trend that was already underway. As we grow within the North American Market, the economics behind decisions about where value is created within our production processes evolves. For instance, we used to sell several hundred pieces of a certain product per month. Now we sell tens of thousands of that same part monthly.

Now the math that drives our sourcing decisions favors more local procurement of raw materials. Similarly, when we look at instability in global supply routes and other risk factors, the math dictates more safety stock to buffer against these variables. In cases where it makes financial sense to remove those variables from the equation, local sourcing and production is often the answer.

Beyond these constantly evolving supply questions, Festo has also decided to invest even more heavily in the North American market by deploying new R&D capabilities in Ohio and Boston to let us more quickly and accurately assess and meet end user demands.

Sizemore: While we were already in process of localizing our supplier base when COVID hit, we placed a lot of focus on gaining quicker results. We were able to localize more vendors, setup alternate suppliers, reach agreements with customers and suppliers to alleviate risk.

Mooij: During the past two years, a combination of factory onshoring and labor shortages has accelerated innovation and catapulted what were once dream concepts, such as 3D house printing and vertical farming, into fledgling commercially viable industries. These exciting industries leverage the same timing belt technology that BRECOflex CO., L.L.C. already manufactures for the rapidly expanding automated warehousing, solar, and EV production industries.

Lights-out production is only possible when maintenance due to lubrication and timing adjustments are eliminated. Timing belts eliminate this periodic maintenance, and offer an ideal combination of high accuracy, speed, low mass, long life, and low cost. Next generation belt technology such as BRECOmove has helped make these new industries a reality with its energy-conserving tooth facing, and unprecedented stiffness for the highest possible timing belt accuracy.

Transitioning from concepts to viable production in these new fields requires applying a different set of rules and design efficiencies. This is best achieved when pairing equally innovative components with your winning machine design.

Caldwell: In most cases, where reshoring is discussed, the decision involves moving the manufacturing of an item back from a low-wage country into a higher standard-of-living area. Robotics allow for a greater portion of the manufacturing process to be completed by capital equipment, by either doing the process directly, or by supporting other capital machines to keep them running at full capacity. By driving a larger portion of the production to equipment, the human capital can be reassigned to the more fulfilling roles of overseeing multiple work cells, rather than functioning as a line-worker.

What industry effects of COVID-19 have proven to be permanent?

Sizemore: Our capabilities are back to pre-crisis levels. In fact, in many cases, the lessons learned, and tools developed to help us work through the supply crisis have made us stronger and are now a standard part of our daily operation, as opposed to tools that we’ve put in the proverbial closet to dust off for the next supply challenge.

B. Burke: The prices of our products needed to increase because of cost increases from nearly every supplier, particularly when metals or metal products are involved. Price increases in the range of 3% to 5% were commonplace within the last year. Our company engaged in supply chain diversification to expand our list of qualified suppliers to maintain competitive costs.

Varley: Like most manufacturers, we are seeing increased component costs. Mitsubishi Electric Automation is working with our suppliers to lessen any cost increases that need to be passed on to our customers. So far, we feel that we have been able to keep cost increases to a minimum and hope to continue to do so.

Prezzano: The pandemic is proving to have a lasting impact on the way the manufacturing and industrial sectors operate. A new normal has been established with volatile conditions from labor and inventory shortages to a turbulent economic climate forcing companies to implement new strategies to stay afloat. As such, a greater focus will be placed on onshore manufacturing, enhancing supply chain resilience, and adopting just-in-time production in sectors dependent on mass production in 2024 and beyond.

With traditional manufacturing methods that were heavily relied on pre-pandemic failing to rise to the occasion in this new industrial ecosystem, additive manufacturing will further cement itself as a critical tool to be leveraged throughout the production chain. As more businesses look to enhance their operations to withstand ongoing change, the market for 3D-printed goods and services will continue to grow, resulting in an expanding network of service bureaus, industry partners, and breakthrough tools and solutions that ensure production workflows remain optimized. With the rapid advancements seen in technology today, we can expect solutions like 3D printing to continue to gain traction across industries and meet the needs of manufacturers that traditional manufacturing methods cannot provide in this ever-evolving manufacturing landscape.

O’Grady: Overall demand from the market is still quite lumpy as we see the ripple effects of the crisis. But the only constant is change. Rather than trying to predict how the supply chain will evolve, we’re focusing on accelerating our ability to flex and adapt so that we can continue to stay ahead of the evolution of the markets that we serve and those that serve us.

Sizemore: We’ve improved forecasting with our customer and supplier base by using analytics and product focus. Fast tracking our vertical integration supply chain strategy also provides more reliable end-to-end lead times.

 

Special focus: Addressing the job-loss issue

The following is an excerpt from a recent roundtable in which Jürgen Berger and Matthias Eick of HELUKABEL, Steffen Quadt of SEW-EURODRIVE, Frank Sangel of Sangel Systemtechnik (now of HELUKABEL), and Martin Schleef of the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation discussed (among other things) how automation is traditionally associated with the loss of jobs. For the complete story, visit helukabel.us and click Newsroom.

Schleef: Some people like to claim the goal of automation is to reduce costs by cutting down on staff. But this argumentation is unconvincing: There are many professions where companies are finding it difficult to recruit anybody at all and this is almost forcing them to go down the automation path. Rather than being a threat, automation is a guarantee of jobs. For many activities would no longer be possible if automation didn’t make up for the lack of staff.

Quadt: Automated industries also need qualified professionals, sometimes more than before. The job specification is only different. The skilled trades industry is in a similar situation. In my opinion, politicians must do more here to address this shortage.

Berger: That’s exactly what I think. Here in Germany for example we depend on immigration so we should make more of an effort to integrate foreign skilled personnel. There’s a lot of catching up to do.

Eick: But the skills shortage is not unique to Germany. We’re also finding it more and more difficult to recruit suitable people for several jobs in other countries; for example, in Eastern Europe.

Quadt: Automation has another major plus point: it removes the need for people to do tiring, monotonous or dangerous work that nobody wants to or is allowed to do any more. We should use people’s other strengths, for example, their flexibility. As a society, it’s our responsibility to encourage qualifications and professional development rather than preserve outdated jobs and activities. We don’t depend on raw materials for our prosperity in Central Europe but on technologies and our ability to develop and exploit them.

 

What trends do you see in data digitalization for automated operations?

Torres: With the explosion of online commerce, coupled with the continual advancement of supply chain science overall, the innovation happening in this space is vast. The vast diversity in warehouses’ size and complexity for different products means digitalization solutions are rapidly proliferating.

Caldwell: Warehouse digitalization provides a huge potential benefit, especially as the warehouse becomes more automated. Optimizing storage locations and allocation based on real-time or predictive velocity of products, improving packing algorithms to reduce voids in packages, and bundling products in smarter ways to reduce or eliminate shipping damage are just some of the immediate benefits. Moving towards lights-out operations is a goal, but with data and smarter automation in many cases large percentages of the ugly side of warehousing (cycle counts, relocating products, reassigning bin locations, shelf-life management) can be completed fully automatic and during an off-shift. This keeps the traditional workforce effective, efficient, and fulfilled. Beyond the automation side, warehouse digitalization also allows machine learning to recommend discontinuation of slow-moving or obsolete (SLOB) inventory.

Yudilevich: By enhancing efficiency in data management, analysis, and experimentation, MaterialsZone enables R&D professionals to work more effectively, mitigating the impact of labor shortages. This approach accelerates innovation and maximizes the output of skilled personnel, contributing to overall workforce productivity in the face of ongoing labor challenges.

Torres: We’ve accelerated preplanned upgrades to our enterprise planning software and associated analysis tools. Together, this new suite of tools lets us include a wide variety of inputs in our planning algorithms. In addition to traditional inputs such as historical consumption and customer input, we’re now able to use economic modeling data in our forecasts. For instance, we know that historical performance of food and beverage OEMs in western states has historically aligned very closely with certain economic indexes. While staying mindful of the difference between correlation and causation, we can consider future trends in these indexes as an input into overall planning. Once we’ve aligned the demand picture, we rely on our planning software to connect the market expectation into actual production plans. The data is realtime and interconnected so our demand planners can directly collaborate with our supply planners. The power of data science and real-time data software in supply-chain planning is transformational, just as it is in so many other aspects of our society.

Prezzano: Increased digitization across factory lines and the introduction and implementation of emerging technologies will continue to establish itself as an industry standard. We have seen traditional manufacturing methods struggle to maintain sufficient levels of production as mass-personalization transitioned from a nice to have to a must have to retain customers in a highly competitive industrial ecosystem. 3D-printing technology is extremely flexible in that it can enable quick and cost-effective short runs. By centralizing machinery and data input into one additive manufacturing system, users can benefit from all that local manufacturing has to offer, including reduced lead times.

More recently we have seen our industry shift to cloud-based solutions requiring specific procedures to effectively encrypt and secure the transmission of sensitive design data. As more companies implement digital solutions into their production flow, we anticipate ongoing integration of additional end-to-end encryption and data protection tools within comprehensive 3D printing solutions to continue safeguarding against unauthorized replication and counterfeiting.

Torres: We believe the question of digitalization for warehousing is vital to the supply chain in terms of managing the flow of goods from production centers and ultimately to customers. However, warehouse systems need to be integrated with forecasting and planning.

What of the persistent labor shortages?

Dengel: Our company has been using cobots in production for the past 10 years, and most of our machines operate with one or more cobots.

Leath: Logistics and food production are two things that can’t just stop due to limited occupancy in these facilities. However, with continued labor shortages (that started before COVID) these areas continue to need workers and are adopting automation faster than others.

Sachdev: Our customers tell us that one advantage of automation is that it helps them address labor shortages by moving valuable workers into higher-priority jobs, and letting automation take over inspection or sorting tasks that previously required a dedicated person. As machine vision becomes more capable and expands to more applications, companies can reduce the impact of labor shortages by shifting employees into the most critical roles.

Prezzano: Automating processes throughout the production line is pivotal to be competitive in today’s manufacturing landscape defined by labor shortages as well as other supply chain and economic headwinds. Additive manufacturing is already opening the door to a newly reimagined factory floor thanks to 3D printing’s ability to enable complex part designs, improve efficiencies, and provide unique material offerings. However, HP saw that customers could derive even more value from our additive manufacturing technology if automation solutions were available to further simplify processes and reduce steps along the production line.

HP recently launched the HP Jet Fusion 3D Powder Handling Automation Solution and the HP Jet Fusion 3D Automation accessory, both of which are compatible with the HP Multi Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D Printers using PA12. When utilized together, these solutions bring automation and streamlined production steps to the forefront of any production line by leveraging improved modularity and increased flexibility. This means that factories can operate independent of human intervention, allowing for production to continue into costly night and weekend shifts, minimizing reliance on labor while increasing production volume.

 

What about robotics to address productivity issues?

Korkowski: LinMot is part of an automation project and therefore will address areas of operations where it is difficult to retain certain manual operational labor pools.

Leath: According to late-2023 data, unemployment is 3.7% or so. There are also currently two job openings for every person looking for a job. The only way to expand our current workforce is through robotics in applications that can be automated. We continue to focus on ease of use to make robotics more approachable for customers who have been waiting to adopt the technology. These are things like the Smart Pendant, that uses simple left, right, up, down commands and applications such as PalletBuilder that let engineers build entire palletizing programs without INFORM code knowledge.

Sachdev: One lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is the increased use of robotic automation in packaging and logistics. Many manufacturers moved to automated solutions during the pandemic, both to address labor challenges and to reduce contamination risks. For example, food and pharmaceutical industries use pick-and-place robots to reach high efficiency and quality production targets while minimizing contamination risks. Those pick-and-place robots need reliable machine vision to guide their activities, which is where we come in.

Umeno: Kollmorgen plays an essential role in powering the robots that are addressing the global labor shortage crisis. Through our innovative solutions, Kollmorgen empowers the next generation of robots to alleviate labor shortages, boost productivity, and pave the way for a safer and more efficient future. From the heavy-duty demands of industrial robots to the growing focus on collaborative robots, Kollmorgen’s industrial-grade motors and drives deliver the power, reliability, and safety needed for diverse applications. In manufacturing, Kollmorgen equips industrial robots with unmatched precision and repeatability for intricate tasks, while our lightweight and compact motors seamlessly integrate into collaborative robots, fostering safe human-robot collaboration. Kollmorgen focuses on subsegments that support the labor shortages including industrial robots, Cobots, exoskeletons, outdoor robots, and the cutting-edge world of humanoids.

Prezzano: To continue exploring the ways additive manufacturing can allow companies to maximize workflow productivity with improved automation capabilities, HP has worked alongside long-standing partner Siemens on a proof-of-concept demonstration. The demonstration leverages HP’s Jet Fusion 3D powder handling automation and automation accessory with Siemens Automation Hardware and Software, including Siemens SIMOVE for Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) within flexible Production Systems. This solution has been implemented at HP’s Center of Excellence in Barcelona, acting as a hub for HP’s collaborative efforts with partners and customers on research and development, application development, and production use cases.

Umeno: We provide cutting-edge offerings including the game-changing TBM2G frameless motors that offer lower joint weight, high load-carrying capacity, energy efficiency, faster movements, and greater smoothness of motion to the designs of cobots. From intricate assembly to delicate welding and precise painting, Kollmorgen empowers cobots to excel in diverse tasks, even in space-constrained environments.

Varley: For many years, and increasingly so recently, the robots manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Automation have been used to address persistent labor shortages. Two of our more recent successes come from very different industries: stainless steel machining and food production. For the machining application, by implementing our robots, the user was able to increase their CNC machine efficiency from 70% to over 95% and know that this output wasn’t subject to fluctuations in labor availability. It allowed them to take on more orders without having to add machines or staff. For the food production application, chronic staffing shortages and absentee rates impacted their ability to produce and ship their products. This led to missing deliveries and the need to cancel or reduce their orders for the ingredients needed to make their products. In both cases, automation was not replacing workers: it was allowing more predictable production and deployment of workers to higher value tasks.

Leath: Like many of the robotic welding suppliers, we have developed a solution with a cobot on a flexible worktable complete with arc flash, fume, and speed and separation safety. This lets operators with low-volume fabrications have a simple and cost-effective way to automate those weldments.

Varley: Cobots and robots both address the same issues facing today’s manufacturer’s regarding productivity, capacity, and labor issues but in slightly different ways. Both types of robots have applications that they are well suited for and tasks that they do not address as efficiently as the other type. Robot manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Electric Automation that make both types of robots are in the best position to help manufacturers make the robot style choice that will benefit them the most.

Reconsider stainless-steel machining. In one operation the company owner was looking for ways to bring production back to the US for some of their components. It had to be done in a cost-effective manner and the 70% machine utilization rate wasn’t high enough for long term justification. Once they deployed the robots and saw the increase in machine utilization, the decision to reshore manufacturing of those parts was easily justified from both cost and delivery-time perspectives. We have numerous other examples of this type of effort that Mitsubishi Electric Automation is supporting with our robots and other automation components.

Halstead: While robots appear to be a cost-effective solution, the backlash to come from labor groups has yet to be addressed. Even so, robots will for many good reasons eventually dominate manufacturing, but the rollout is going to take longer than projected.

 

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Filed Under: AUTOMATION, Trends, MANUFACTURING

 

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