Robotics in Manufacturing: Wise Investment or a Waste?

We look at both sides of the issue

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by Zena Ryder

• Some companies say that robots reduce costs, increase quality, and help solve staffing needs
• Others say that the benefits of today&#;s robotic technologies have been overstated
• Companies that do adopt robotics have to adjust their processes 

Your future crew? Robots don&#;t make mistakes, don&#;t require health insurance and can work 24/7 without a break

Robots help build volumetric modules at Z Modular (steel) and Autovol (wood). Z Modular is focused primarily on multi-family residential projects, although they also build hotels and housing for students and seniors. Autovol builds multi-family apartment buildings. 

To discover the benefits these companies see in robotics, and how best to implement them, we talked with Chris Waters, Director of Business Development at Z Modular and Rick Murdock, Autovol&#;s CEO. We also spoke with Brent McPhail, CEO at Brave Control Solutions, a company that designs and implements robotic systems for off-site manufacturers. 

We also talked with Charlie Chupp, CEO at Fading West, a Colorado-based development and modular construction company that has chosen not to invest in robotics. Their 110,000 square foot factory is almost entirely manual. It has some semi-automatic jig tables, but no robotics. Fading West builds single-family homes, townhomes, and apartments.

Z Modular operates large manufacturing facilities in Alabama (100,000 square feet), Texas (230,000 square feet), Arizona (215,000 square feet) and Ontario, CAN (255,000 square feet). The steel frames for their modules are manufactured with the use of robots. &#;Robotic arms run on tracks and do the lifting, handling, and placement of the steel, and the precision welding,&#; Waters says.

Autovol&#;s 400,000 square foot factory is in Idaho. The lines that build the modules&#; walls are fully robotic. Robots pick and stage lumber, OSB, drywall, and so on. They do all the framing, and fasten everything with nails, screws, or glue. Robots also cut the wall openings. &#;Entire wall sections are completed and moved to the storage area using automation. No humans touch the walls until they&#;re being put together,&#; Murdock says. 

Both Z Modular and Autovol intend to increase their use of robotics.

Problems Robots Solve 

Waters and Murdoch named four ways that robots add value: they make the workplace safer, reduce the number of workers needed, enhance efficiency and improve product quality.

Injuries have lessened. The Center for Construction Research and Training reports that overexertion is a &#;major cause of musculoskeletal disorders, responsible for more than one-quarter of [days away from work] cases in construction.&#;

Murdock sees robotics as part of the solution. &#;Robotics have taken over the heavy lifting,&#; he says. &#;There&#;s much less strenuous labor, resulting in very few injuries and very little employee turnover.&#;

Waters agrees. &#;Having robotic arms handling heavy steel members or large sheets of concrete board is priceless when it comes to the safety of our team,&#; he says. Photo credit: Autovol

The second thing one notices about an automated factory (besides the robots themselves) is how few workers there are.

Staffing is easier. In a survey, nine out of 10 members of the Associated General Contractors Association reported having a hard time filling hourly craft positions.

(Although the pandemic may have exacerbated this difficulty, it wasn&#;t caused by it. In a pre-pandemic survey, almost 80% of firms were finding it difficult to hire craft workers.)

At Z Modular, Waters says that robots allow the company &#;to do more work with less human labor.&#; Of course, that&#;s the main benefit most people expect.

In what might be an unexpected benefit to some, Murdock says that robotics actually give Autovol an edge over other off-site manufacturers when it comes to hiring. Attracting young hires is important for the long-term health of the off-site industry and most young people prefer to work for a technologically forward-thinking company. &#;Autovol has attracted many younger people due to robotics. It&#;s also attracted more women to join us. Currently, 31% of our strength is female.&#;

Processes are more efficient. By adopting a &#;product-line approach,&#; including a large degree of repetition within and across their projects, Waters says that Z Modular &#;saves time and cost by not having to design, engineer, and program for different module frames for each new project.&#; 

The company&#;s factories produce a high volume of standardized products, with a standardized process. Robots do the necessary repetitive work, maintaining the same standards to a high degree of precision for long periods without slowing down.

Efficiency can make a difference. There&#;s a shortage of affordable homes in the US. In fact, there are only 37 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Murdock believes &#;there are conventional construction projects that may never get built because the labor isn&#;t available to get them done in the necessary timeframe.&#; 

In his view, modular construction is part of the solution because it&#;s faster and requires less labor than conventional construction. Robotics further reduces the labor needed and speeds things up even more.

Results are more precise. Waters says that welding performed by robots on the company&#;s steel frames is precise and consistent. 

This precision eliminates re-work, saving time and money. &#;A building goes together better when all the components are precisely aligned,&#; says Murdock. &#;The finishes end up better, with less drywall cracking and things like that.&#;

Some Caveats

Despite these advantages, not everyone is sold on robotics. Photo credit: Fading West

At least one modular manufacturer thinks robots are overkill for this industry, at least in the short term.

Chupp has a background in manufacturing and he&#;s skeptical about how much robots can help in off-site construction. &#;Robotics never solves a problem,&#; he says. &#;It&#;s tempting to invest money to solve a problem, but before you spend money, be creative. Almost always, you can fix a problem with your brain before you can do it with robotics.&#;

Even those who don&#;t share Chupp&#;s skepticism are often surprised at some of the changes robots demand of the organization.

Robots need maintenance. Brave Control Solutions&#; Brent McPhail says some manufacturers don&#;t fully appreciate how complex robots really are. Robots are sophisticated and powerful &#; and also finicky and high maintenance. &#;When you buy a robot, you&#;re buying a radical change in the way you manufacture,&#; McPhail says.

The upshot is that manufacturers must ensure their robots get continual updates and maintenance. For larger operations, this might mean hiring an in-house engineer. For smaller manufacturers, it likely makes sense to outsource maintenance. Some support can even be remote. Photo Credit: Z Modular

Z Modular Plant, Killeen, Texas

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Robots have to be properly maintained and the software kept up to date. Manufacturing processes also have to adapt. But manufacturers who have adopted them say it&#;s worth the effort.

Material specs must be more precise. &#;If a human worker cuts a board a little crooked, the next worker on the line can adapt to that and make it work,&#; McPhail points out. But robots generally aren&#;t good at on-the-fly adjustments. The result: &#;Manufacturers need to understand that switching to robotics means specifications for materials must go to a whole new level of strictness,&#; McPhail says.

Chupp sees these demands as another reason that robots are overkill for homebuilding. &#;We&#;re not building iPhones. Modular construction is simple manufacturing. There are many opportunities to improve processes without going high tech,&#; he says. 

In particular, he thinks it&#;s an illusion that robotics can eliminate waste. &#;Brilliant systems do that,&#; he says. Essentially, his view is that you can create waste with or without robots. Similarly, you can improve processes, making them more efficient and less wasteful &#; with or without robots.

Where Robots Work Best

For any factory owner who believes robots can help their operation, an obvious place to start is with processes involving repetition or heavy lifting. That is, tasks that are boring or hard on humans&#; bodies. 

But, more specifically, where do robots make the most sense for an off-site manufacturer?

To figure this out, McPhail says it&#;s necessary to dig into a facility&#;s production data. For example, once manufacturers know how many drywall sheets their team hangs per hour and how much it costs at that rate, they can compare that to the cost and speed of doing it with robots. 

Once the data&#;s gathered, McPhail says, &#;We can usually demonstrate that, for less cost, they can produce two, three, or four times as much in the same time.&#; 

The question then becomes: Can the company sell that much product?

&#;If you need this equipment just to meet your current demand, the cost won&#;t be justified.&#; But if a manufacturer can build and sell more units, &#;That&#;s when we get a real love connection,&#; McPhail laughs.

The Future

Robotics in off-site construction is at the early-adopter stage. Although Chupp is skeptical at the moment, even he sees an eventual role for them in the industry. &#;We&#;ll integrate more robotics as those technologies are proven,&#; he says.

In the meantime, early adopters must work on a case-by-case basis to determine whether robotics is worth the money, time and effort. As more off-site builders adopt robotics, there&#;ll be more data for later adopters to use.

&#;In the future, clients will say they need to build modules a year with this amount of labor. And we&#;ll have enough data to tell them what equipment they need, how long it&#;ll take to set up, when they&#;ll need to hire for specific positions, and how much it&#;ll cost,&#; McPhail says. &#;We&#;ll give them a rocket launch sequence of what to do to get a lean, world-class manufacturing facility.&#;

Robot Sorting System

Robot sorting solutions are scalable systems that utilize mechanical components to sort, scan, receive and store products and materials for processing. These systems provide many advantages to warehouses and order fulfillment centers by streamlining processes and reducing the need for manual labor. Automated sortation increases order accuracy and speed by eliminating errors and maximizing process efficiency.

At Siggins, we understand that every modern warehouse, distribution facility or fulfillment center needs robotics solutions to meet consumer demand. That&#;s why we partner with OPEX® Corporation &#; one of the world&#;s leaders in automation and sortation technology &#; to supply solutions that deliver fast, efficient and reliable performance. Besides offering OPEX&#;s Sure Sort&#; as one of our signature solutions, we also provide custom robot sorting systems specific to your operation&#;s unique requirements.

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Table of Contents

Sure Sort&#; &#; The Future Of Sortation Technology

Introducing Sure Sort&#;, a highly scalable, configurable, and cost-effective small item sorting system. Designed and manufactured by OPEX® Corporation, Sure Sort&#; is a robotic item sorter that easily handles complex variables and delivers a wide variety of parcels and single items to their final location in a single pass. Sure Sort&#;s&#; compact array of sort locations can be scaled, sized, and customized as well.

Touted as Next Generation Technology, Sure Sort&#; delivers true operational excellence. By reducing the number of touches, transfers, and conveyors required to run existing sorters, Sure Sort&#; provides a better way to sort items more accurately and efficiently. Regardless of the size, packaging, or orientation of an item, Sure Sort&#; will read every barcode and deliver each item in a single pass.

Sure Sort&#; is smart automation based on proven iBOT® delivery technology; the same technology that drives OPEX Perfect Pick® HD. Designed with ergonomics in mind, Sure Sort&#; is ideal for small businesses looking for a cost-effective entry into warehouse automation as well as large fulfillment operations looking to streamline their process.

Installing quickly and easily, Sure Sort&#; is highly scalable in both size and throughput. Simply add expansion modules and iBOTs to adjust to growth and peaks in demand.

How the Sure Sort Automated Sorting System Works

Replenishment and wave or batch picked orders are delivered to a Sure Sort&#; induction operator located at an ergonomically designed workstation. Items are placed on a drop conveyor and scanned. A waiting iBOT delivers the item to a designated order bin located on either side of a dense storage aisle.

iBOTs are directed by Sure Sort&#;s&#; host software in conjunction with virtually any warehouse automation management system. Sure Sort&#; delivers all items to their assigned order locations accurately and easily in a single pass at up to 3,600 items per hour. Sure Sort&#; provides the greatest number of sort locations in the smallest footprint.

Once the order is completed, the bin is cleared and the order tote or shipping container is transported to a packing station in preparation for shipment.

From order sorting or replenishing to pack out and delivery, Sure Sort&#; is sure to fulfill your expectations.

Benefits of Auto Item Sorters and Sorting Robots

Sure Sort is versatile enough to work in a diverse range of facilities across many warehousing applications. A single Sure Sort system can replace up to six conventional put walls or shelves. Besides the ability to significantly reduce the labor involved with distribution and order fulfillment, robotic sorting offers benefits like:

• Versatility: Robotic sorters can handle a wide range of product and material sizes for scanning, positioning and barcode reading. Many of these robotic sorters can accommodate objects weighing up to 5 pounds. 
• Fast implementation: Installation of Sure Sort is quick and seamless, with the system often becoming fully operable within a few days of delivery. Warehouses can also program robots faster than traditional automation systems, as they offer easy modification if demands or processes change.
• System control: Facilities can control iBOT speed to accommodate the unique needs of their products. Additionally, many systems like Sure Sort can integrate quickly and easily with an existing warehouse control system (WCS), warehouse execution system (WES) or warehouse management system (WMS).
• Increased accuracy: Implementing a robot sorting system in your facility results in fewer shipping errors, less product damage and reduced material loss. 
• Scalability: Robotic systems are fully scalable based on your production demands by removing or adding expansion modules or iBOTs. Sure Sort and many other robotics systems are compatible with other pick-and-pack solutions and customizable to meet your unique needs. 
• Fast return: Many operations implementing robot sorting systems begin seeing a significant return on investment in as little as two years.

Advantages of Choosing Siggins for Robot Sorting Systems

Siggins has been a leader in material handling solutions since . We have grown to offer some of the industry&#;s most innovative robotics and automation equipment to warehouses and distribution centers across North America. We&#;re committed to listening closely to your needs and expectations to help create the perfect solution for your operation.

Our team will stand by your side through all phases of your purchase, from the initial consultation to installation to post-implementation testing and support. We strive to establish long-term partnerships by helping you achieve your goals.

If you&#;re ready to take the next step in equipping your facility with a state-of-the-art robot sorting system, the experts at Siggins can help you get started. Contact us today to learn more about Sure Sort and our other robotic small-item sorting solutions.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Modular sorting robot designs.