Collaborative robots work precisely and repeatably and can take over monotonous, strenuous and even dangerous tasks in production. However, the introduction of cobots often does not run smoothly and there are still many reservations about the human-cobot system. Item shows how things can be done differently at its modern Piepersberg production and distribution center in Solingen. By involving employees at an early stage, the company created a high level of acceptance, which in turn contributed to the successful implementation of the project.

Involve employees at an early stage and across departments

In order to optimize processes with the cobot in line with lean production, Item focused on the manual activities within assembly. The plan was to partially automate these - with as little effort as possible. A specially formed team examined all processes in the areas of processing, assembly and packaging. They looked at the entire process chain, individual products and the systems used. In the end, the team decided to use the cobot for the assembly of a castor, assigning it a very strenuous and monotonous task for employees.

The robot removes the individual components, places them in the joining device and sorts the finished product into a workpiece carrier. The joining process is automated. The employees now only refill the magazines, ensure replenishment and monitor the process. Several work steps have been saved and the strain on employees has been reduced by 90%.

For Przemyslaw Krzysztyniak, project manager and innovation manager at Item, the early and cross-departmental involvement of employees is essential. Wishes and ideas were taken into account, results were openly documented and everyone involved was informed about the ongoing steps. In this way, the company created acceptance instead of rejection. The employees are still an important part of the assembly process. They use the cobot like a tool and determine their working speed individually. The robot is now even seen as part of the team. Therefore, it should not remain anonymous, but was given the name "Cobra20" - due to its snake-like movement and in reference to the year it was commissioned.

Even batch size 1 becomes economical

In addition to the human factors, safety aspects such as the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and various standards and technical specifications must also be taken into account when implementing robots. Collaboration between man and machine enables a high level of cost efficiency to be achieved and even batch sizes of 1 can be produced economically.

In order to be able to use "Cobra20" efficiently in the future, Item is already planning ahead. For example, the Cobot will soon be able to carry out screwdriving applications and thus manufacture components from three different product groups. Last but not least, cooperation with reliable partners is crucial for the successful implementation of such a project in order to ensure the availability of perfectly matching components for the robot peripherals.