Palletizing is a core course of for a lot of companies, however it’s not with out its difficulties. The affect of some widespread pallet issues can embrace greater product prices, delays in supply, and broken items.
Some issues price your corporation greater than others. Employee damage, for instance, could be very detrimental, as can buyer dissatisfaction.
There are numerous distinct issues that might happen in a palletizing course of. These vary from system design issues, like badly configured conveyor techniques, to human error throughout guide palletizing.
Step one to overcoming widespread pallet issues is to determine them. Via correct planning, coaching, and tools, you possibly can keep away from these widespread issues to maximise productiveness and profitability.
Here’s a information to five of the extra widespread palletizing issues and tips about how one can overcome them by including robots to your palletizing course of.
Sorts of palletizing issues you would possibly encounter
For such an apparently easy activity, palletizing has many areas during which issues can go incorrect.
There isn’t any definitive checklist of forms of palletizing issues. However listed here are a couple of forms of issues you would possibly encounter:
Conveyor and feeding issues — Conveyors are used to maneuver supplies and merchandise all through your facility. They’re additionally prone to be the step instantly earlier than your palletizing course of. If not designed or maintained correctly, they will trigger points that have an effect on palletizing.
Pallet loading points — Lots of the product damages which might be prompted throughout palletizing or subsequent cargo could be traced again to loading points. For instance, when items are positioned too shut collectively or too far aside on a pallet, they will transfer in transit.
Pallet wrapping issues — One other main explanation for product harm is inaccurate wrapping of the stuffed pallet. Wrapping is essential as a result of it helps shield items throughout transit. Frequent issues embrace not utilizing sufficient stretch wrap, utilizing an excessive amount of, or utilizing the incorrect sort.
Inconsistency issues — Whenever you carry out palletizing manually, many issues that happen are inconsistent. Folks grow to be drained after an extended shift stacking bins onto a pallet. This will result in them making errors that have an effect on the standard or integrity of the palletizing.
Effectivity issues — Maybe the least apparent sort of palletizing issues are these associated to activity effectivity. It isn’t at all times apparent when a palletizing activity is inefficient, however the impacts could be important. You could possibly lose some huge cash and time by not enhancing the effectivity of the duty.
These are only a few of the forms of palletizing drawback you would possibly come throughout. However all can have an effect on the operation of your corporation and palletizing course of.
5 widespread pallet issues and how one can overcome them with robots
Robotic palletizing is now some of the efficient methods to beat some widespread palletizing issues. Including a robotic may also scale back among the enormous wastage that may happen with guide palletizing.
Listed below are 5 particular widespread pallet issues and tips about how one can overcome every one with robots:
1. Pallet loading inefficiency
One drawback with guide pallet loading is that it’s time consuming and vulnerable to errors. It could possibly take a very long time for human employees to correctly stack gadgets onto a pallet, leading to longer wait occasions and decrease throughput.
There may be a whole analysis discipline dedicated to this drawback, the place it is called The Palletizing Drawback. On this discipline, researchers attempt to seek out probably the most environment friendly loading sample of a selected pallet so packages could be securely transported.
Robots have a bonus over guide palletizing as a result of they may at all times place packages within the programmed sample, which ensures they adhered this optimally environment friendly sample.
2. Misaligned packages on the pallet
Misaligned packages are widespread in guide palletizing. Such packages may cause an unstable pallet, growing the chance that merchandise will transfer round throughout transit or storage.
Robotic palletizing might help scale back misalignment by guaranteeing a exact placement of bins each time. The accuracy required for palletizing is kind of low in comparison with, say, high quality meeting actions. Which means that robots can place packages rapidly and nonetheless obtain higher accuracy than human employees.
3. Inconsistent palletizing high quality
Inconsistent palletizing is widespread with guide labor as folks work lengthy shifts. It is typically arduous to trace inconsistencies as a result of, by nature, the errors fluctuate each time. This will trigger a scarcity of visibility of widespread errors, growing the chance of pricey and time-consuming errors.
Consistency is among the main advantages of robots. Robotic palletizing is thus an efficient resolution to this widespread drawback.
4. Inaccurate stock counts
It is arduous for human employees to recollect to log or scan each merchandise that they place on a pallet. Over lengthy shifts, it is inevitable that folks will inaccurately rely not less than one thing. This results in inaccurate stock counts.
Robotic palletizing might help scale back the chance of inaccurate stock counts, as robots can precisely rely each field that it locations. You too can add sensors to robotically scan every field utilizing a scanner or imaginative and prescient sensor.
5. Damages brought on by dropping merchandise
Handbook palletizing can result in product damages in varied methods. Individuals are typically in a rush when palletizing, particularly if it is just one in every of their many duties throughout a day.
Examples of ways in which merchandise could be broken embrace bins falling in transit due to dangerous stacking and dropping bins through the palletizing activity.
Will robotic palletizing remedy your pallet issues?
In case your palletizing course of has extra issues than you prefer to it to have, it’s extremely seemingly that robotics may very well be an efficient resolution.
To seek out out, it is a good suggestion to get in contact with a provider of robotic palletizing options. The Robotiq Palletizing Resolution affords varied configurations to swimsuit an unlimited vary of palletizing duties.
With the precise robotic in place, you possibly can enhance the accuracy, effectivity, and security of your palletizing activity.
What issues have you ever encountered together with your palletizing? Inform us within the feedback beneath or be a part of the dialogue on LinkedIn, Twitter, Fb, or the DoF skilled robotics group.