ROBOTIC UPGRADE FOR THE INDIAN SHOPFLOORS

The Indian shop floor of the future will be a blend of human skill and intelligent automation. Robots and cobots won't replace workers; they'll work alongside them, reducing fatigue, improving precision and productivity. The shift has already begun, and we explore the effects of this shift with industry leaders in robotics in this article.

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When my mom started experiencing back pain, perhaps aggravated by her constant need to clean the house, we decided to get a RoboVacuum cleaner. It cleans the house at a set time, doesn’t stumble upon any furniture or hurt its toes, and even goes back to charge itself. Pretty frugal buy for the value it offers. This made me realise that the owners of larger establishments like warehouses or a plant where oils and lubricants are packed must have exhaled a peaceful sigh when such auto cleaners were brought to the market.

Considering this, and while digging deeper along with a few industrialists who know the ins and outs of robots from making them, working with them, to promoting them to the likes of us, I tried to understand why robotics has gained so much prevalence and how it is suiting the Indian shop floor. Although it’s already suiting the Indian household pretty well, and I can vouch for that.

When to introduce robots and cobots?

So, at what stage should a user managing the shopfloor consider introducing cobots or robots? To this, Alka Sachdeva, Dy. The Director of Corporate Relations at IILM University says that analysing when to start your automation journey is crucial. Understanding when to adopt automation solutions, including the use of robots or collaborative robots (cobots), is essential, and it is always advised to do so in conjunction with your workforce. Alka shared a few key factors to consider:

Bottlenecks in manual processes: It may be time to consider automation when manual tasks become hurdles, such as in difficult-to-reach locations or repetitive, monotonous tasks.

Labour challenges: Hiring and retaining staff is increasingly becoming difficult. It can be due to hazardous working conditions or due to a lack of interest in repetitive tasks, and here robotics can be explored.