A Cleaning Chemicals Producer Puts Cobot Palletizers on Its End of Line

Absences and turnover pulled skilled staff off the line

Floor space was tight, and the end of line carried nearly 900 SKUs. That combination left little margin for a palletizing station that depended on a few experienced hands.

Turnover was the constant problem. According to the company's internal assessment, stacking roles turned over roughly every 90 days, so newly trained people rarely stayed long enough to become dependable at the pallet station.

Absenteeism made it worse. When people did not come in, upskilled staff from other roles were pulled onto palletizing, which raised costs and reduced productivity, according to the account of the operation.

Four modular cobot palletizers on one end of line

The producer installed four modular cobot palletizing systems at the end of line. The cells were built to be added to, and the company intends to extend modular palletizing to eight lines in total.

The key operating change was staffing logic. One operator can now clear pallets from several lines, and case delivery to the palletizer continues without disruption, so pallet work no longer hinges on who turned up that shift.

Automated case packing is under evaluation as the next step.

• Install four modular cobot palletizing systems at the end of line
• Set up case delivery so one operator clears pallets from several lines
• Extend modular palletizing to eight lines and evaluate automated case packing

Labor figures moved first

The headline results are a 61 percent drop in temporary labor year to date and a headcount reduction of six FTEs at the end of line, as reported in trade press drawn from the operation's own account.

Cutting temporary cover goes straight at the absenteeism problem. Fewer pulls from upskilled staff leave experienced people on the work where they add the most value, and the pallet station runs with a smaller, steadier crew.

Taken together, the numbers describe a shift from patching gaps with whoever was available to a standing cell that one operator can oversee across several lines.

Where lease financing and vendor neutral integration fit

End of line automation rarely stalls on the robot alone. It stalls on selection, layout, operator training and the service calls that follow go live. Service Robot Co. is a full service, vendor neutral robot integrator for US businesses. We select the right cobot palletizing hardware across manufacturers, deploy and integrate it, train the operators, and service every unit through a nationwide US engineer network.

Capital is often the first obstacle. Service Robot Co. leases robots only, through financing on a three year lease, with one fixed robot lease payment quoted after a site assessment. A palletizing robot lease keeps selection, deployment, training and service under one team, so the plant has one contact when a cell needs attention.