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Cobots Improve Manufacturing Productivity
Universal Robots (UR), Denmark-based collaborative robots (cobots) technology market leader, has advised leaders from the Philippine manufacturing industry to implement robots as an effective solution to address skills and labor shortage and help achieve higher productivity
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, manufacturing production in the Philippines reported an annual rate of -46.5 percent in February, a drop from its previous months’ annual rate of -16.7 percent. This downturn was continuous from February last year amid the disruptions caused by the pandemic. To address strict distancing measures, collaborative robots are the solution to help perform tasks that people in groups could not safely do. An additional advantage is that cobots are immensely capable of handling increased workload due to backlogs. With this, there is an optimism that the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) will continue to improve in 2021.
According to the Collaborative Robot Market by Payload, Component, Application, Industry, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2026 report by Markets and Markets, cobots are increasingly being adopted by various industries due to advantages such as increased productivity and effective employee utilization. The market is expected to reach USD7,972 million by 2026 at a CAGR of 41.8%. In 2021, the cobot market in APAC is also expected to surpass that in Europe due to large-scale manufacturing industries especially automotive, electronics, and metals sectors which are increasingly deploying cobots.
The Philippine manufacturing industry may leverage the use of robotics in processes that involve repetitive work in confined, structured spaces, and environments. Additionally, cobots can work around the clock and can produce consistent output at any given condition.
Today, UR’s cobots allow employees to move from repetitive, low-value tasks to higher-value activities that increase work productivity and quality. “Ever since the term ‘Collaborative Robotics’ was coined, we have been the frontrunners in the robotics industry. We have also marked an entire decade since the very first cobot from Universal Robots was deployed in South Asia. Safety is imperative and has become the cost of entry into the cobot market now. UR believes in developing affordable, lightweight, and flexible cobots that could deliver a rapid ROI for the manufacturing industry,” says James McKew, regional director of Asia-Pacific in Universal Robots.
