Manufacturing operations are below fixed stress to ship extra with much less, making cobot options a quick observe to measurable beneficial properties, particularly for multi-site operations. Whether or not you’re overseeing 5 vegetation or fifty, there is a rising physique of proof: cobots can enhance output and speed up ROI with out compromising security or requiring months of disruptive adjustments.
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 giant operations, not each website 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 international automation lead from a 20+ website producer summed it up effectively: “We prioritized what might be carried out rapidly with minimal modification—even when ROI wasn’t absolutely the highest—as a result of velocity to deployment mattered.”
Use line walks together with your engineering group and construct a shortlist of cobot-ready duties. Rank them by:
- Complexity
- Estimated integration time
- Anticipated manufacturing acquire
2. Simulate the acquire earlier than you automate
One factor decision-makers persistently want is quantifiable, site-specific information. You don’t want superior modeling software program to simulate beneficial properties—get scrappy:
- Run handbook simulations with operators mimicking cobot velocity and rhythm for just a few 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 applying.
3. Measure once more, and see ROI enhance
Right here’s one thing many producers uncover after the very fact: ROI typically appears even higher just a few 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 possibly can observe manufacturing information out of your ERP or QA methods—and plenty of websites report that the precise beneficial properties outpace the conservative estimates used within the authentic enterprise case.
One multi-site producer famous, “We at all times estimated beneficial properties conservatively, however after three months, precise output was 10–15% increased than anticipated. The actual 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 rules
Lean Robotics teaches us to reduce 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 possibly can 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 methods.
One producer achieved sub-1-year ROI on greater than half their deployments by tightly aligning with Lean Robotics strategies—and reinvested these beneficial properties 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 enhance (conservative vary, e.g., 5–10%)
- Cycle time enhancements
- Labor affect (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 personal numbers. You’ll get an prompt estimate to validate your case with stakeholders.
6. Assume massive, begin sensible
Whenever 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 normal kits, and align native website managers behind easy metrics: productiveness, security, and velocity.
And bear in mind: with the proper planning, your first profitable deployment is only the start. Many of the corporations we see begin with one website and scale quick—as a result of the outcomes converse for themselves.
Able to discover your personal ROI?
Use our Cobot ROI Calculator to see how briskly your operation may benefit—whether or not you handle one website or twenty.
