Workplace safety is a concern for most manufacturers across industries and regions. In fact, 72% of manufacturers says collisions and other shop floor accidents were either a very challenging or challenging business issue in a new report. Unlike older technology, AMRs can autonomously navigate around people and other obstacles on their path while calculating the best route to their target. This means these collaborative robots are, in many cases, the best solution to optimize workplace safety and productivity at the same time.
The multinational heating, ventilating and air conditioning manufacturer, Hitachi, deployed a MiR200 mobile robot in its Barcelona plant in Spain. Its remit included delivering parts and materials to production lines and picking up packaging materials for disposal. The mobile robot optimized the internal transportation of goods significantly and drove up to 12km per shift. The robot shared a workspace with its human colleagues and met many obstacles when travelling. Yet, the collaborative mobile robot safely navigates around people and obstacles each time. Since using the MiR200 in narrow aisles instead of forklifts, Hitachi has improved workplace safety.
"It avoids the need for the movement of forklifts up and down the aisles of the production area, thereby not only optimizing the line’s productivity, but also making the factory floor a safer place for all." Raúl Galan, Section Manager in the Production Engineering department of the plant.
