Yaskawa Southern Africa Archives

31Oct

By Lee MoulderNo Comments

Tech

How Robotic Logistics Are the Key to Automated Warehouses

Robotic logistics are the future of supply chain management, according to Yaskawa Nordic Sales Director Lee Moulder. In 2018 American companies spent approximately $1.5 trillion on logistical expenses. It's a jaw-dropping number that underpins the importance of supply chain management to businesses. At the heart of any logistics system is the warehouse. "The food and beverage industry, for example, often consists of mixed case warehouses," says Moulder. "These are the centres to distribute pallets to the different stores, and they house various products and items under the same roof." Moulder explains that each store has its own unique set of requirements and not all of them will order the exact same items from the warehouse. As a result, the centres will need to pack different orders e...

30May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, Tech, Uganda News

Palletising Robots: Changing How Breweries Stack and Pack

Robotic automation enables remote support possibilities that significantly reduce downtime and address geographical constraints, says Yaskawa Southern Africa Managing Director, Andrew Crackett. Conventional palletisers have been around for over 50 years. While they continue to be operational in many factories around the world, their modern counterparts – robotic palletisers – are solving issues that seemed impossible before. Whether it’s the need to conserve floorspace or to make workplaces safer and better regulated, robotic automation has numerous benefits that other technologies struggle to match in the long run. One of the most appealing factors is that it actually pushes factories towards a more innovative and forward-thinking future. At times, this doesn’t even require everyone to ...

11May

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

Robots in the Workforce: No, the Machines Aren’t Taking Over

Robots aren’t here to replace humans, but to create a human-machine collaborative model for a more efficient and productive way of operating, says Yaskawa Southern Africa’s Managing Director, Andrew Crackett. Ever since robots were introduced in the science fiction genre, there’s been a fear that machines will take over and that soon, the days of humans being at the top of the food chain will be gone. The fear mongering has persisted with notions of robots overthrowing the workforce and humans being enslaved to the almighty lords of automation and binary code. Even though it's true that many industries have embraced robotics, the reality is far removed from the plot of a Philip K. Dick novel. Much like every industrial revolution before it, the fourth revolution ensures changes in how we w...

15Sep

By Yaskawa Southern AfricaNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

The Role Of Pick And Place Robots

In years gone by, manufacturing processes consisted of a line of workers being solely responsible for all the material-handling functions. Whether it was assembly, picking or packaging, it was largely a manual, laborious process. The detrimental effects to the workers’ health have been well documented in the history books, as many employees were subjected to conditions that sometimes resulted in serious illness, injury, and even death. As automation became widely accepted and implemented throughout various industries, robotics took it one step further with robots designed for specific applications, such as handling, packaging and palletising. Suddenly, these new pick and place robots allowed for more speed and consistency in throughput, while being customisable to meet production requir...