The UK is the world’s ninth largest manufacturing nation, but with only 85 robots per 10,000 employees, it ranks 22nd for robot deployment. The UK has the technical capability to address this discrepancy and, conceivably, Covid-19 is the stimulus.
Manufacturing businesses are currently facing operational and financial challenges due to disruptions caused by the current Covid-19 pandemic. These challenges are expected to persist, and could be compounded by the emergence of new challenges such as the UK-EU trading relationship and post-Brexit regulations.
To tackle these challenges, stay competitive and increase productivity, manufacturers will need to implement automation faster and there is opportunity to start planning future automation projects now.
Collaborative Robots (cobots) are widely accepted as an effective platform for fast and efficient automation.
Today, cobot systems need a sizeable capital expenditure. Even leasing options need a sustainable financial commitment. With either of those options, the traditional approach to these systems requires manufacturing organisations to commit to 100% of the cost from the outset.
Having previously worked for one of UK’s largest automotive OEMs, Vaibhav Boricha, Director of VIKASO has extensive first hand experience of adopting new technology in production. Based on this experience, VIKASO wanted to come up with a model that de-risks and accelerates automation.
VIKASO’s Virtual Strategy is a unique low-cost offer to manufacturers. Instead of committing to a heavy capital investment, businesses would initially commit to approximately 10% of the total project value.
This allows manufacturers to accelerate the engineering and development process (virtually) to be better prepared for when they are ready to commit the remaining 90% for implementation.
This approach reduces the overall financial risks and shortens the lead time for implementation. The result of this process is an engineered and developed ‘Digital Twin’ of the cobot project.
Vaibhav explains: “The key motive behind this is to enable organisations to begin or continue their automation journey by minimising risks and maximising benefits, along with increasing transparency and confidence. We must achieve this keeping in mind financial and operational challenges”.
Case studies
VIKASO has already used this method with manufacturers, enabling them to make informed plans for their automation strategy.
Development for a small manufacturer based in Buckinghamshire:
Development for a large manufacturer based in the South East:
At a time of uncertainty, a strategy like this encourages manufacturers of all sizes to adopt cobots and increase their productivity.
Click here to learn how VIKASO can aid your automation strategy with a solution that best suits your needs and situation.
