Norvigroup Automates to Improve Working Environment
Company with 20 years of experience automates for better working environment
Norvigroup produces high-quality duvets and pillows filled with feathers for retail. This entails many manual and heavy lifts throughout the workday, prompting the company to constantly seek new solutions to provide their employees with the best possible working environment.
Improved environment for employees
Increased efficiency and better flow
Reduced number of heavy lifts
Flexible, innovative solution
Challenge
Many heavy and repetitive lifts paved the way for a solution to improve the working environment for Norvigroup in Vamdrup. Norvigroup saw the need for automation to support their employees in production.
Solution
The solution wasn't just one, but actually two UR robots from BILA Robotics. A UR16 with the main purpose of palletising boxes and a UR20 robot arm that handles lifting, packing, and palletising.
Profit
The solution has reduced manual and heavy lifts in daily operations. It has significantly improved the working environment practically from day one. Additionally, the UR solutions have also provided a boost in efficiency and flow.
At Norvigroup in Vamdrup, a good working environment is paramount, which has also shone through in the project of implementing UR robots in production. In a team consisting of Jan Bonnichsen (COO), Henrik Paulsen Hansen (Team Leader), and Steffan Eskelund-Hansen (Technician), solutions were found in collaboration with BILA Robotics, involving both a UR16 and UR20 robot arm.
The UR16 robot, dedicated to palletising, has been operational for a little over a year and has had a positive impact on the employees from day one.
"The most important thing for us is to consider our employees and help create a better working environment. For example, we were looking for a solution to eliminate heavy lifting in our palletising areas. Our production requires boxes weighing up to 15 kg to be lifted to a height of 2.4 meters when palletising. The solution was UR. At the same time, we find that our employees find it quite exciting to work with the robots and show a genuine interest in learning and improving,"
Jan Bonnichsen, COO of Norvigroup
UR Robot Solves Many Tasks
In addition to the UR16 solution, Norvigroup also has a UR20 robot arm that assists employees with various tasks. Besides an improved working environment, it has also resulted in increased efficiency and better flow in production.
"Our UR20 solution has several tasks: it lifts the shipping boxes, places our retail units in the box, seals the box at both the top and bottom, and palletises it in different pallet sizes (both Euro pallets, UK pallets, and special pallets) – It's running all the time and helps a lot to maintain flow and keep the process going," explains Henrik Paulsen Hansen, team leader at Norvigroup, and adds, "In general, our employees have become quite enthusiastic about working at the two stations where the robots have been implemented as they help with the heavy lifting."
Surprised by the Result
At Norvigroup, they are surprised that the solutions ended up meeting all the desires and expectations they had before starting the project.
"We have run this as a team of 3 where we have been cutting all elements in cardboard over a floor plan to see how the solutions could be. Before we started, we had a wish that it (the UR20 robot) should be able to do everything it actually can now, but we didn't know if it was possible, so getting so far with that has been quite surprising," says Henrik Paulsen Hansen, highlighting that BILA Robotics has been a huge help with ideas and advice to reach the goal.
Although there have of course been some minor bumps along the way and things have been rearranged a couple of times, the process has been fun and exciting, and Norvigroup technician Steffan Eskelund-Hansen has continuously optimised both wiring and sensors.
"It's been really great that we have been able to do that, and it has provided a really good solution in the end - So in that way, it has also been a good collaboration with BILA Robotics that we have had the opportunity to develop internally in the company," concludes Steffan Eskelund Hansen.
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