If you want to get the most out your investment in end-of-line packaging equipment, Bill Mitchell has a simple piece of advice: “It’s not a machine; it’s a system,” he says.
Mitchell is Southeast Regional Sales Manager at Combi Packaging Systems LLC, and before that he was the company’s Director of Engineering and New Product Development. When he considers a packaging system, he’s talking about a case erector, case packer, case sealer and conveyors. It can also include equipment for stacking a pallet and stabilizing it with stretch-wrap.
These components often get added one at a time as a company automates its end-of-line packaging operation in stages. The common result is a mix of equipment from various manufacturers.
While skilled integrators can bring together that mixed equipment, it still almost always falls short of the simplicity offered by an automated packaging system of machines that were designed to work together.
Mitchell acknowledges that many companies aren’t financially prepared to implement an entire system all at once – particularly if they’re only beginning on a journey toward automation. But he emphasizes that it can be built in phases when working with a manufacturer like Combi, which can supply all of the components that will eventually be needed.
Here are the advantages of an end-of-line packaging system compared to a collection of functional machines.
“If you need a machine and don’t buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it and don’t have it,” says Mitchell, quoting Henry Ford.
At its essence, the decision to buy a machine is a decision to automate – and automating one part of a packaging line usually makes enough difference that it highlights the reasons to automate other parts of that line.
“The more connected the system, the more automated it will be and the easier it will be to extend or continue the automation,” he says. “I tell customers that by automating they can expect to save about 25 percent – and they’ll often come back to me later and tell me I was underestimating the impact.”
Designing the packaging system as a whole allows for optimization across all components. Machine speeds, buffer zones, work-in-process (WIP) levels, power consumption and other variables can be coordinated to minimize downtime and migrate bottlenecks out of the system.
A side benefit is that such an optimized system also consumes less energy.
An integrated system elevates the operator’s job while making it less taxing physically. “You can typically have one operator run a whole line instead of a machine. It’s more of a supervisory role than being a cog in an assembly line,” Mitchell says.
A well-designed system also has ergonomic benefits, minimizing the lifting, bending and stretching that makes manual assembly and filling of cases so taxing.
“When I visit a prospect or customer, I try to start by looking at all the different steps a machine operator is making. Every step that doesn’t add value is lost time,” Mitchell says.
Sometimes he’ll use a stopwatch to measure how much time is spent packing a case vs. movements that don’t add value.
“Typically after a minute, you’ll see that 20 seconds of that minute was wasted motion – which is any movements that aren’t putting a product into the case,” he says. Examples are folding back the flaps on the carton, and bending or twisting to reach the product.
“Each of these motions is lost profit – and an inch closer to a possible injury,” Mitchell says. “If you keep your operator doing nothing but touching product, you’re going to get more throughput, and you won’t have to replace the operator as often.”
A full-system approach also enables implementation of safety features across the entire process – reducing the likelihood of accidents at machine interfaces or handoff points.
Integrated systems can share data between machines. That improves error detection and synchronization across the entire line, and it allows performance data to be centralized to facilitate predictive maintenance and reduce unscheduled downtime.
“Everything is ethernet up and down the line, so we can string all the machinery together back to one mothership – usually the case packer,” he says.
A skilled integrator may be able to do this with equipment that comes from different manufacturers, but it’s a bigger programming job because each machine may have its own communication platform and protocols.
In a Combi system, every piece of machinery communicates on the same platform. This also means exporting the data to the company’s MRP system is a single integration rather than a customized connection for each machine.
“If you’re buying equipment from different companies, you’ll have a packaging system integrator who is a jack of all trades unpacking crates full of parts and assembling them on-site while you’re trying to get product out the door,” Mitchell says.
A Combi system is assembled and tested on the Combi plant floor by specialists. “Then we break it down for shipping, but we don’t take everything apart,” he says. “Final assembly goes much faster, with less disruption to operations and less fine-tuning required.”
A single source can provide troubleshooting and repairs.
“If you’re struggling to resolve an issue, you can touch the Combi logo on the HMI of any machine in the line and you’ll get our phone number. Use it,” Mitchell says. “We have sales, engineering, manufacturing and service all working together in the same building, so we’re going to identify and address the issue without any finger-pointing or confusion.”
Future proofing: A well-planned system can be designed with scalability in mind, allowing for upgrades and expansions without significant rework. Designing the system with automation in mind eases integration of add-on technologies such as robotics and vision systems.
Flexible operation: Integrated systems can be designed for flexibility, accommodating different packaging formats or quick changeovers based on the needs of your business. [See related article: Six Ways Combi Case Erectors Can Future-Proof Your End-of-Line Packaging.]
Simplified control systems: Centralized control systems allow the entire line to be started with a single button – rather than having to start each machine independently. Further, operators can monitor and control the line from a single interface, simplifying operations and reducing human error. It reduces training requirements, and saves time at the beginning of each shift, during changeovers and especially after emergency stops.
Packing businesses are increasingly concerned with details: less wasted sealing tape; labels placed squarely; pallets stacked neatly.
“When you have consistency, you’re going to have fewer issues to solve; it’s really that simple,” Mitchell says.
Are you beginning an automation journey, or trying to assess your next step? Contact Combi Packaging Systems to see how we can help create your packaging system.