A U.S. Semiconductor Company in China

Against a backdrop of rapid business growth yet increasingly stretched labour resources, A U.S. Semiconductor Company (hereafter referred to as “The Company”) in Shanghai has embarked on a process of automation transformation to optimise its workflow and production efficiency using cutting-edge technology. One priority is to automate the transportation of materials across the production lines, thereby replacing frequent, tedious and low-value manual work.

The company began automating its internal transportation in 2021 when it deployed six MiR AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) at its “Packaging Station” and “Material Station”, where the AMRs work together to load, transport and unload materials across different floors. Thanks to precise and safe autonomous navigation technology, the MiR AMRs can navigate independently across the floors and workshops in the company’s factory in Shanghai, being able to open and close doors, queue up for the elevators, and work alongside human workers safely.  

Like many other electronics manufacturers, The company faces the same challenges as other companies in the sector, namely the “cold” job market and the “hot” demands.  

On one hand, China's electronics manufacturing industry is growing rapidly. Demand is “hot”. As data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) shows, the local electronics industry is seeing strong growth in production. During the first half of 2022, the added value of electronics manufacturing enterprises above designated size grew by 10.2% cumulatively, making it the fastest-growing sector among the country’s 28 major manufacturing sectors. Rapid growth certainly brings opportunities, but it also creates pressure to deliver orders.

On the other hand, the industry is experiencing a “cold” job market, with it being difficult to attract and retain talent to work in the factory to perform repeat tasks. It is a talent shortage that risks affecting production speed and the efficiency of order delivery.

“We have long faced challenges in recruiting workers. In the past, the transportation of materials was mainly done manually. It was a simple task but often involved a heavy workload and the risk of work-related injuries, which resulted in high staff turnover in these roles,” said the Production Director at the U.S. Semiconductor Company . “With this in mind, we began to think about automating the transportation process for these materials. "

Given this double-layered dilemma, The company decided to automate the internal transportation by deploying six MiR AMRs to improve production line logistics and reduce the reliance on human workers in low-value tasks.

“Our factory in Shanghai has been in operation for over 20 years, with various workshops and departments located on different floors. Initially, we also looked at traditional AGV (Automatic Guided Vehicle) solutions. However, AGVs must run on rails. It meant that AGVs couldn’t meet our requirements for cross-floor transportation, so we decided to choose MiR's AMR technology," said the Deputy General Manager at the U.S. Semiconductor Company. “In the future, if we need to adjust the routes, we only need to use the computer rather than laying physical rails."

The six MiR AMRs are deployed at The company' s “Packaging Station” and “Material Station” respectively:

1. Packaging Station: two MiR100s and one MiR200

2. Material Station: three MiR100s

In the packaging station, the AMRs now work 24 hours a day in shifts. Every day they help the factory to warehouse tens of millions of finished products and distribute semi-finished products, following these steps:

• Step 1: The materials are packed and loaded
  

• Step 2: Wait for the transport vehicle to be parked (VL-make)
  

• Step 3: An order is then given and the MiR AMRs move and navigate autonomously, stop and pick up the trolleys automatically via the top module unit
  

• Step 4: The MiR AMRs automatically open and close the elevator doors via built-in programs and signals, travel between floors, and transport materials and finished goods to the designated points and warehouses respectively
  

• Step 5: Once the transportation of the materials is complete, the AMRs pick up the empty trolleys and return to the packaging station to repeat the tasks for the next batch.

Since their deployment, the MiR AMRs have created value for The company in a number of ways:

1. Provide a safe and effective way to address the lack of man power: MiR AMRs are simple to operate. They can be deployed quickly out of the box with limited impact on the environment in which they operate, making them a good solution for the shortage of manpower to transport materials. In addition, with high safety standards, MiR AMRs are able to work safely with human workers in complex environments.

2. Improve efficiency in the transportation of materials by navigating across floors independently: MiR AMRs fit nicely within the factory environment at The company as they independently plan and adjust their routes, avoid obstacles, call elevators, open and close doors as needed, and transport materials across different floors. The three robots work together to carry out their respective duties, ensuring materials are transported on a 24/7 basis.

3. Enable broader applications along the company’s automation roadmap: after its successful initial deployment of MiR AMRs at the “Packaging Station” and “Material Station”, The Company hopes to explore more scenarios where it could further automate its internal logistics and lay a solid foundation for wider deployment and fleet management.

“In the past, we relied on human power to push and transport heavy items, and collisions were inevitable. This is no longer the case since we deployed MiR AMRs. The MiR AMRs have been running smoothly and safely every day without any workplace accidents. Safety is our top priority in choosing the right technology, and MiR AMRs have met this requirement very well,” said the Operation Manager of the U.S. Semiconductor Company. "In addition, the six MiR AMRs have successfully solved our manpower shortage by completing a daily workload that once required 12 people working in shifts. "

Moving forward, The company hopes to learn more about the use cases of MiR AMR technology in a wider range of scenarios, and explore further applications, including adopting MiR’s fleet management software to facilitate scale deployment. In addition, the company plans to keep driving automation by optimising the adaptability of the factory.