Staying Competitive with Automation

Dorner
Increasing the speed of their packaging
line is one of the leading requests we
receive from customers. And for good
reason. Faster speeds often equal higher
rates of production, which can lead to
greater profits. Of course, simply cranking
up the speed of your conveyors won’t get
you there…but automation will.

How Conveyors Can Help

The technology driving automation is
constantly evolving; enabling conveyor
systems to be more high-tech than ever
before. In fact, automation is making
conveyors a more integral component because of the contributions they’re making to the overall efficiency and
productivity of today’s processing and packaging lines.
So, how can automation in your conveyor system help a processing or packaging line increase productivity? The
first step is to complete an efficiency audit of the entire line. Is your current line meeting production goals set
forth by the company? Is it set up to accommodate an increase of output if required? How well are the conveyors
integrating with other components on the line? These are just a few opening questions to consider in evaluating
the effectiveness of your line.
To obtain the best results from your audit, consider partnering with a reputable conveyor OEM or packaging
systems integrator. These are experts in identifying shortcomings in your conveyor
system, as well as evaluate, the efficiency of how product is arriving into
the conveyors and where it travels after that.

Increasing Efficiency
Your efficiency audit will help you understand
the relationship between each component,
and how they interact with each other to best
maximize the overall throughput and improve
Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).
OEE is becoming an industry standard
for measuring productivity. Essentially, it
identifies the percentage of manufacturing
time that is actually productive. When used
properly, OEE is a powerful tool that helps
companies define, visualize and ultimately eliminate equipment losses and waste. Since each process on the line
affects the next component, and so on, it’s advisable to audit all equipment along the line to determine if there
is a weak spot affecting output and lowering a company’s OEE. Learn more about how conveyors affect OEE.

Conveyors and Robotics

In the past few years we’ve seen a greater
push in adding robotics into processing
and packaging lines. Robots are becoming
smaller and faster, which make them easier to
integrate into applications found in automation,
food handling and processing, medical,
pharmaceutical, life sciences and other
industries. Robotic solutions have found great
acceptance within medical, pharmaceutical
and life sciences in particular, because
of their required clean room processing.
New advancements in robots see them
operate cleaner and more efficiently, which
complements clean room standards.

The advent of robotics in processing and packaging is

also leading to a new trend regarding labor. While some
may believe that robotics is eliminating jobs, we’re seeing
companies repurpose labor as a result of their robotic systems.
Employees who were handling more tedious or repetitive jobs
now accomplished by robots are being relocated elsewhere
within the plant, and given new opportunity to shine.
Numerous resources are available to help you automate your
facility. If designed and implemented correctly, your processes
will become more efficient with automation, and position you
to effectively engage your customers and remain competitive.

About Dorner:
At Dorner our mission is to Transform Conveyor Automation by providing cutting edge solutions with best-in-class
support. It’s that commitment and history of proven excellence that has made the Dorner Brand a recognized
leader in product handling for over 50 years. With our complete line of customizable stainless steel and aluminum
conveyor automation systems, we have the right solution for you!

800.397.8664 | www.dornerconveyors.com | info@dorner.com

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