Manufacturing operations are below fixed stress to ship extra with much less, making cobot options a quick observe to measurable features, particularly for multi-site operations. Whether or not you’re overseeing 5 vegetation or fifty, there is a rising physique of proof: cobots can improve output and speed up ROI with out compromising security or requiring months of disruptive modifications.
Drawing from real-world expertise in multi-site deployments, here is how producers are making cobots work—and how one can too.
1. Begin with simplicity: Establish low-hanging fruit
In massive operations, not each web site has the identical readiness or constraints. Main producers start with the best, highest-impact initiatives. They stroll the ground, on the lookout for:
- Bottlenecks in repetitive duties (like pick-and-place)
- Duties the place including a cobot doesn’t require main line redesigns
A former world automation lead from a 20+ web site producer summed it up properly: “We prioritized what may very well be performed rapidly with minimal modification—even when ROI wasn’t absolutely the highest—as a result of pace to deployment mattered.”
Use line walks along with your engineering staff and construct a shortlist of cobot-ready duties. Rank them by:
- Complexity
- Estimated integration time
- Anticipated manufacturing achieve
2. Simulate the achieve earlier than you automate
One factor decision-makers constantly want is quantifiable, site-specific knowledge. You don’t want superior modeling software program to simulate features—get scrappy:
- Run handbook simulations with operators mimicking cobot pace and rhythm for a couple of hours.
- Use cardboard or 3D-printed mockups to recreate workstation layouts.
- In case you have check cells or labs, simulate full traces with mock cobots and sensors to clock real-world cycle occasions.
This offers you credible estimates of potential manufacturing will increase—typically starting from 5% to 30%, relying on the appliance.
3. Measure once more, and see ROI enhance
Right here’s one thing many producers uncover after the very fact: ROI typically appears to be like even higher a couple of months after set up. Why?
As a result of cobots ship extra constant efficiency than preliminary human-simulated estimates can seize. As soon as deployed, you’ll be able to observe manufacturing knowledge out of your ERP or QA programs—and lots of websites report that the precise features outpace the conservative estimates used within the authentic enterprise case.
One multi-site producer famous, “We all the time estimated features conservatively, however after three months, precise output was 10–15% greater than anticipated. The true ROI blew away our mannequin.”
The takeaway? Don’t cease at estimating ROI—plan to re-measure it after deployment. It strengthens your case for scaling throughout different websites.
4. Construct the enterprise case with Lean Robotics ideas
Lean Robotics teaches us to attenuate integration time by clearly separating the phases of design, integration, and operation. In multi-site deployments, this technique turns into much more highly effective:
- Design as soon as, deploy many: Develop modular options you’ll be able to clone throughout websites with minimal changes.
- Shorten integration cycles: Favor initiatives the place your integration can occur in weeks, not months.
- Monitor efficiency post-deployment: Monitor ROI in real-time utilizing manufacturing metrics pulled from the ERP or QA programs.
One producer achieved sub-1-year ROI on greater than half their deployments by tightly aligning with Lean Robotics strategies—and reinvested these features into scaling sooner.
5. Get quick approvals with clear ROI projections
Determination-makers aren’t simply on the lookout for price financial savings—they need manufacturing will increase they’ll financial institution on. The tipping level? When ROI falls below 12 months, initiatives typically get greenlit with minimal resistance.
Right here’s what to incorporate in your proposal:
- Estimated manufacturing improve (conservative vary, e.g., 5–10%)
- Cycle time enhancements
- Labor impression (reassignment or discount—not simply headcount financial savings)
- Anticipated payback time in months
Need a shortcut? Strive Robotiq’s free Cobot ROI Calculator to plug in your individual numbers. You’ll get an prompt estimate to validate your case with stakeholders.
6. Suppose huge, begin good
Once you’re answerable for a number of factories, a cobot technique cannot be one-size-fits-all. However it may be systematic. Establish repeatable purposes, develop customary kits, and align native web site managers behind easy metrics: productiveness, security, and pace.
And keep in mind: with the fitting planning, your first profitable deployment is just the start. Many of the corporations we see begin with one web site and scale quick—as a result of the outcomes converse for themselves.
Able to discover your individual ROI?
Use our Cobot ROI Calculator to see how briskly your operation may gain advantage—whether or not you handle one web site or twenty.
