A
large UK company called us in after it had spent a great deal of money
on an automated packing line centred around a delta
robot. The
management company who were brought in to handle the
project provided individual specifications to each of the many separate
machinery suppliers. However, equally as important as the individual
specifications is the overall integration and control, both
conceptually and its implementation. In this particular case each
individual element worked fine and machines were operating within their
particular specification. But
in practice things were far from fine with empty or partially filled
bags, poor quality seals and unpacked product spilling onto the floor.
They hadn't taken sufficient
account of the 'real world' where check-weighers occasionally reject
products or pause for calibration, or that baggers sometimes
miss-feed or jam, or the fact that
the ovens way upstream of the robot take time to settle into
regular continuous production. In
reality most food products, by their very nature, have an element of
randomness about their processing, their size, their shape, their
density, etc, and this has to be reconciled with the exact nature of
the machines. It's also critical to understand the
effects of unspecified or intermittent events which can easily be
over-looked if over-reliance is given to the 'standard'
specification. We are independent, qualified and hugely
experienced and we will
identify
specific key issues - never easy if there are several inter-related
problems. We will solve, not just propose a solution
- we will actually
make changes and improvements until your overall process meets your
original
expectations.
A
large UK company called us in after it had spent a great deal of money
on an automated packing line centred around a delta
robot. The
management company who were brought in to handle the
project provided individual specifications to each of the many separate
machinery suppliers. However, equally as important as the individual
specifications is the overall integration and control, both
conceptually and its implementation. In this particular case each
individual element worked fine and machines were operating within their
particular specification. But
in practice things were far from fine with empty or partially filled
bags, poor quality seals and unpacked product spilling onto the floor.
They hadn't taken sufficient
account of the 'real world' where check-weighers occasionally reject
products or pause for calibration, or that baggers sometimes
miss-feed or jam, or the fact that
the ovens way upstream of the robot take time to settle into
regular continuous production. In
reality most food products, by their very nature, have an element of
randomness about their processing, their size, their shape, their
density, etc, and this has to be reconciled with the exact nature of
the machines. It's also critical to understand the
effects of unspecified or intermittent events which can easily be
over-looked if over-reliance is given to the 'standard'
specification. We are independent, qualified and hugely
experienced and we will
identify
specific key issues - never easy if there are several inter-related
problems. We will solve, not just propose a solution
- we will actually
make changes and improvements until your overall process meets your
original
expectations.