Manufacturing operations are beneath fixed strain to ship extra with much less, making cobot options a quick observe to measurable positive aspects, particularly for multi-site operations. Whether or not you’re overseeing 5 crops or fifty, there is a rising physique of proof: cobots can enhance output and speed up ROI with out compromising security or requiring months of disruptive modifications.
Drawing from real-world expertise in multi-site deployments, here is how producers are making cobots work—and how one can too.
1. Begin with simplicity: Establish low-hanging fruit
In massive operations, not each web site has the identical readiness or constraints. Main producers start with the best, highest-impact initiatives. They stroll the ground, on the lookout for:
- Bottlenecks in repetitive duties (like pick-and-place)
- Duties the place including a cobot doesn’t require main line redesigns
A former world automation lead from a 20+ web site producer summed it up effectively: “We prioritized what may very well be executed shortly with minimal modification—even when ROI wasn’t absolutely the highest—as a result of velocity to deployment mattered.”
Use line walks together with your engineering group and construct a shortlist of cobot-ready duties. Rank them by:
- Complexity
- Estimated integration time
- Anticipated manufacturing acquire
2. Simulate the acquire earlier than you automate
One factor decision-makers persistently want is quantifiable, site-specific knowledge. You don’t want superior modeling software program to simulate positive aspects—get scrappy:
- Run handbook simulations with operators mimicking cobot velocity and rhythm for a number of hours.
- Use cardboard or 3D-printed mockups to recreate workstation layouts.
- If in case you have check cells or labs, simulate full strains with mock cobots and sensors to clock real-world cycle instances.
This offers you credible estimates of potential manufacturing will increase—usually starting from 5% to 30%, relying on the appliance.
3. Measure once more, and see ROI enhance
Right here’s one thing many producers uncover after the very fact: ROI usually appears even higher a number of months after set up. Why?
As a result of cobots ship extra constant efficiency than preliminary human-simulated estimates can seize. As soon as deployed, you may observe manufacturing knowledge out of your ERP or QA methods—and lots of websites report that the precise positive aspects outpace the conservative estimates used within the unique enterprise case.
One multi-site producer famous, “We all the time estimated positive aspects conservatively, however after three months, precise output was 10–15% increased than anticipated. The actual ROI blew away our mannequin.”
The takeaway? Don’t cease at estimating ROI—plan to re-measure it after deployment. It strengthens your case for scaling throughout different websites.
4. Construct the enterprise case with Lean Robotics ideas
Lean Robotics teaches us to reduce integration time by clearly separating the phases of design, integration, and operation. In multi-site deployments, this methodology turns into much more highly effective:
- Design as soon as, deploy many: Develop modular options you may clone throughout websites with minimal changes.
- Shorten integration cycles: Favor initiatives the place your integration can occur in weeks, not months.
- Observe efficiency post-deployment: Monitor ROI in real-time utilizing manufacturing metrics pulled from the ERP or QA methods.
One producer achieved sub-1-year ROI on greater than half their deployments by tightly aligning with Lean Robotics strategies—and reinvested these positive aspects into scaling sooner.
5. Get quick approvals with clear ROI projections
Choice-makers aren’t simply on the lookout for value financial savings—they need manufacturing will increase they will financial institution on. The tipping level? When ROI falls beneath 12 months, initiatives usually get greenlit with minimal resistance.
Right here’s what to incorporate in your proposal:
- Estimated manufacturing enhance (conservative vary, e.g., 5–10%)
- Cycle time enhancements
- Labor influence (reassignment or discount—not simply headcount financial savings)
- Anticipated payback time in months
Need a shortcut? Strive Robotiq’s free Cobot ROI Calculator to plug in your personal numbers. You’ll get an on the spot estimate to validate your case with stakeholders.
6. Assume huge, begin good
Whenever you’re answerable for a number of factories, a cobot technique cannot be one-size-fits-all. However it may be systematic. Establish repeatable functions, develop commonplace kits, and align native web site managers behind easy metrics: productiveness, security, and velocity.
And keep in mind: with the correct planning, your first profitable deployment is just the start. Many of the corporations we see begin with one web site and scale quick—as a result of the outcomes communicate for themselves.
Able to discover your personal ROI?
Use our Cobot ROI Calculator to see how briskly your operation may benefit—whether or not you handle one web site or twenty.
