Robot wars David Jahn at Brillopak believes thereluctance to automate fresh....
Robot wars: Lessons learned from
automation leaders and robot laggards
When adding an extension to a house, an architect will often use computer assisted
design (CAD) software to visualise what the extension will look like.
T
ime and again we are reminded that we are
in the age of automation. Annual statistics
prepared by the International Federation
of Robotics paints a positive picture for 2017,
with a 31% increase in annual global shipments.
However, the UK doesn’t make the top ten
countries for investment. And despite an annual
19% increase, food and drink companies are still
the smallest sector of all those listed globally for
robotic investments .
David Jahn, director at automation company
Brillopak believes that using terminology
interchangeably, particularly robotics, AI and
automation, is part of the reason why UK food
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factories have dodged making big investments,
particularly at the end of line packaging and
case loading lines. But with the EU labour crisis
continuing to plague UK fresh produce houses,
David emphasises that now is the time to get
back to basics and review the entire productivity
picture and how automation, not just robots, will
align to and support long-term strategies.
“In the last decade robots, rightly or wrongly,
have been positioned as a universal panacea to
enhancing productivity,” claims David, believing
that this is the root of the divergence. “While there
are certain tasks, especially highly repetitive jobs,
that robots can and do perform efficiently and