MARCH OF THE ROBOTS

It’s no secret that medical manufacturers are braving a slew of challenges – supply chain disruptions, rising demand, global competition and regulatory compliance assurance. On top of that, they’re particularly vulnerable to the current workforce shortage due to the hands-on, labor-intensive nature of the work required to produce specialized equipment.

A recent study by Rapid Robotics found that 51% of manufacturers surveyed won’t be able to perform at their current capacity without a solution to the shortages.

Fortunately, a new model of robotics is helping medical manufacturers quickly fill empty roles and scale operations.

WHAT IS ROBOTICS-AS-ASERVICE?

Automating even the simplest manufacturing operations can free up human workers for more important tasks, increase production and improve product quality. This makes automation seem like a nobrainer, but hefty capital investment, prolonged time to deployment, hidden integration costs and lack of flexibility have kept many manufacturers from getting started. Today, Robotics as a Service (RaaS) provides a solution that circumvents these barriers.

By partnering with RaaS companies, manufacturers can lease fully integrated collaborative robots, called cobots, on an hourly, weekly or monthly basis, shifting automation to an operational expense, just like a regular employee.

True RaaS removes the need for traditional systems integration or in-house robotics engineers to program, maintain and service machines – your RaaS partner manages that. These cobots – whether there are 1 or 50 – can be pre-trained for their tasks and ready to work when they arrive. This slashes time to deployment, taking just days or weeks compared to the months, sometimes years, it takes to get traditional automation up and running.

HOW CAN I CAPITALIZE ON THE BENEFITS OF RAAS?

In addition to labor shortages and continued supply chain disruptions, medical plastics companies face unique challenges, like a strict regulatory environment driven by contamination risks and product quality. Medical manufacturers can capitalize on the benefits of RaaS to turn each of these challenges into opportunities.

Simplify Regulatory Compliance

The global regulatory environment is only becoming more stringent. Take the European Union Medical Device Regulations (EU MDR) for example – many medical manufacturers must adjust their processes, including increasing technical documentation, to become certified under the EU MDR. While regulations like those under the EU MDR and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require well-established, documented and controlled processes that minimize contamination risk, they don’t always equate to operational efficiency.

By incorporating robots into production lines, you can enhance precision and consistency – computer vision enables robots to consistently conduct tasks like visual inspection of labels and parts.

Minimize Contamination Risks

A crucial part of manufacturing medical plastics is maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness. As such, human workers require personal protective equipment and are perpetually at risk of spreading viruses and bacteria. By nature, robots aren’t. Implementing robotic automation in cleanrooms can result in the same amount of throughput, and maybe more, with a smaller team and therefore less risk of contamination.

Addressing Labor Challenges And Improve Working Conditions

The manufacturing labor market is tight – the workforce is rapidly retiring, and the talent pipeline is shrinking with younger generations wanting to flock to other industries. Rapid Robotics’ studies show the current workforce is leaving roles often because of burnout and a desire for more interesting work.

So where do robots come in? When implemented to automate mundane, repetitive, injury-inducing and, in some cases even inhumane tasks, robots can help to do two things: improve the working conditions of human employees and enable them to take on more engaging, high-value work.

Take On New Business

With a more robust and reliable workforce and improved throughput, robotic automation also reinforces the ability to take on more business. For example, one of Rapid Robotics’ customers in plastics manufacturing was able to automate tasks like pad printing and heat stamping, redeploying human operators to more complex work. This afforded them the bandwidth to take on $600,000 more of additional business.

FORMER CO-PRINCIPAL, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND SYNTHESIS AT BLACKHÄGEN, SEAN HÄGEN, EXPLAINS HOW MEDICAL ROBOTS ARE NOT REALLY ROBOTS. IT IS WITH DEEP SADNESS THAT SEAN PASSED AWAY SHORTLY AFTER WRITING THIS ARTICLE AND EVERYONE AT MEDICAL PLASTICS NEWS SENDS THEIR THOUGHTS TO THOSE CLOSE TO HIM.