Manufacturing operations are beneath fixed strain to ship extra with much less, making cobot options a quick observe to measurable positive factors, 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, this 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 tasks. 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 effectively: “We prioritized what may very well be achieved shortly with minimal modification—even when ROI wasn’t absolutely the highest—as a result of pace to deployment mattered.”
Use line walks together with your engineering staff 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 constantly want is quantifiable, site-specific knowledge. You don’t want superior modeling software program to simulate positive factors—get scrappy:
- Run handbook simulations with operators mimicking cobot pace and rhythm for just a few hours.
- Use cardboard or 3D-printed mockups to recreate workstation layouts.
- When you’ve got take a look at cells or labs, simulate full traces with mock cobots and sensors to clock real-world cycle instances.
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 actual fact: ROI typically seems 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’ll be able to observe manufacturing knowledge out of your ERP or QA techniques—and plenty of websites report that the precise positive factors outpace the conservative estimates used within the authentic enterprise case.
One multi-site producer famous, “We all the time estimated positive factors conservatively, however after three months, precise output was 10–15% increased 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 rules
Lean Robotics teaches us to attenuate integration time by clearly separating the phases of design, integration, and operation. In multi-site deployments, this methodology 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 tasks 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 techniques.
One producer achieved sub-1-year ROI on greater than half their deployments by tightly aligning with Lean Robotics strategies—and reinvested these positive factors into scaling quicker.
5. Get quick approvals with clear ROI projections
Choice-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 beneath 12 months, tasks 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 influence (reassignment or discount—not simply headcount financial savings)
- Anticipated payback time in months
Need a shortcut? Attempt Robotiq’s free Cobot ROI Calculator to plug in your individual numbers. You’ll get an instantaneous estimate to validate your case with stakeholders.
6. Assume large, begin good
If you’re liable for a number of factories, a cobot technique cannot be one-size-fits-all. However it may be systematic. Establish repeatable functions, develop normal kits, and align native web site managers behind easy metrics: productiveness, security, and pace.
And bear in mind: with the proper planning, your first profitable deployment is just the start. A lot of the corporations we see begin with one web site and scale quick—as a result of the outcomes communicate 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.
