Food: the future for industrial robotics

Citation

Wilson, M. (2010), "Food: the future for industrial robotics", Industrial Robot, Vol. 37 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2010.04937faa.002

Food: the future for industrial robotics

Article Type: Viewpoint From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 37, Issue 6

Food and drink manufacturing is the largest manufacturing sector in many parts, if not all, of the world. In many countries, the retail end of the food supply chain is controlled by very large supermarket groups. These are continually driving costs down and striving for increased efficiency in distribution. They have sophisticated systems to ensure the right products are in the right place to meet our demands as the consumer.

We are also requiring, and retail is demanding, more and more product variants. We now have many different choices of each individual product (low fat, low salt, fat free, etc.). There is therefore an increasing rate of change in product. As an example, the UK food industry launches 8,000 new products each year. These pressures, both in terms of reducing costs and providing more variants, are pushed down the chain to the food manufacturers. However, at the manufacturing end of the chain, many companies are struggling to use technology to improve their operations. Often, to maintain flexibility, they maintain manual operations which constrain the improvements they can make.

The main drivers for the food manufacturers are to increase capacity, increase quality, reduce costs (including improving the use of energy and water resources) and enhance flexibility. These are common issues shared with most manufacturing operations; however, food manufacturing also has food safety and shelf life as major priorities. Obviously food safety is important, not only for the consumers, but also for the reputation and business of a manufacturer. A food safety problem can cost many millions in loss of sales and costs to rebuild a reputation and in some cases can destroy a business. The ability to extend shelf life can provide significant profit. Both food safety and shelf life can be significant improved by the removal of people from the food production processes.

We all know of robots being used for palletising boxes at the end of the line in food factories, but robots are in use throughout the complete food chain. Automated milking is a viable application which is actually more productive than the traditional approach. Cows can be milked whenever they are ready, rather than at set times, and, I understand, the experience is less traumatic so as a result more milk is produced. Abattoirs are very unpleasant places to work and robotic systems have been developed for the meat cutting operations to replace people in this tough environment.

Robots are also being used within the food factories, not only for palletising, but increasingly for picking and packing applications. The bakery and confectionery sectors have seen significant robot use as have convenience foods but there are still many businesses and operations where robots could be utilised. The use of robots and automation drives improvements in product consistency, it is often required to allow the automation to work, but this provides benefits throughout the whole business and many businesses have seen an overall improvement in their operations as a result of implementing automation.

Although automation solutions are available for many applications, there is still significant potential for enhanced and new technologies. The development of robots, sensors, vision and gripping techniques, specifically for the food sector, provides the opportunity for significant research and development effort. There is a growing market and increased interest from the food companies which provides the stimulus for this paper.

To gain the full benefits of automation requires a long-term business strategy with the objective of achieving full automation, or as close to the goal as possible. The successful use of robots and automation requires the complete operation, including the training of the personnel, to be changed to suit the different requirements. However, if people are removed from the food processing operations, then the benefits of reduced costs (lower energy and increased yield), lower temperature operations (increasing shelf life) and hygiene will result in reduced manufacturing costs, increased competitiveness and improved prospects for the business.

E-mail: robots@hotmail.comPresident – British Automation and Robot Association, www.bara.org.ukManaging Director – Creative Automation Solutions Ltd, www.creativeautomation.co.uk

Mike WilsonCreative Automation Solutions Ltd, Banbury, UK