Bridging the workforce

Alex Forrest, business development manager at AutoStore explores the advantages of using robotics and automated technology and the pitfalls of manual picking when managing the supply chain of aircraft parts.

The aerospace manufacturing supply chain is a very complex network, to say the least. Just think about the numerous components that make up an aircraft design and final product, from engines through to landing gear, electronics, wings, interiors – the list goes on. Usually, each of these different components will be supplied by different companies. On top of that, suppliers will work with their own business partners to cater to multiple customer specifications creating further variants.

Take Airbus, for instance. As a multinational corporation, the logistics and supply chain operations are extremely complex – with components designed and manufactured in multiple regions, like the UK or Germany, before final assembly in France or Spain, to name a few.

Moving different components across the continent can be a logistical challenge, if not a nightmare. I’m talking about fully formed wings transported on a plane or boat, before being transferred on to a lorry, that in turn travels through small, blockaded roads across villages, until final arrival at the factory.

Airbus also needs to take into consideration the various specifications that differ depending on its clients’ requirements, both civil airlines and military services, when building the final aircraft.

All being said, it’s no surprise the large number of pitfalls that all parties involved encounter throughout the supply chain, particularly when using manual labour to pick and transport materials and components in warehouses and factories.

Look similar, not the same

Currently, most operations in factories and warehouses use ‘person to goods’ concepts, where workers travel long distances each day, walking down aisles to find products that are, oftentimes, incorrectly located, which causes picking errors.

Additionally, variants may physically look similar and only differ ever so slightly in metal, colour or weight. These apparently small, and yet highly important details may dictate how strong that variant is, or what application it is designed for. Which, of course, is crucial when building an aircraft. Because these variations are so minuscule, they are also very difficult to identify by the human eye – especially when components are laid on multiple shelves, in different racking positions.

Labour availability

It is also important to note that humans get sick. They miss their alarm clock, go on parental leave and, in worse cases, move to different jobs. Replacing old employees takes a substantial amount of time and money. To give you an idea, on average, it costs between 6 and 9 months of salary to replace an old employee. Furthermore, new staff need training and time to bed in, which also disrupts operations.

Another issue is the shortage of available labour. I have been having conversations with various manufacturers who are facing a personnel shortfall in their workforce. It is already hard enough to attract employees to work in a warehouse, without having to ask them to carry around heavy aircraft components.

The good news is, automated technologies can help mitigate most of these challenges by plugging the skills gap, freeing up space in factories and warehouses, and ensuring new technology introduced is both sustainable and futureproof.

Automation can reduce the need for manual labour by storing, retrieving and delivering parts lineside, autonomously. This can lower the number of people working on menial repetitive tasks by around 30%. As a result, work environments become a lot more pleasant – permanent staff can not only be redeployed to other, more added-value tasks, but also earn more. It goes without saying that more fulfilling roles help increase retention and reduce the cost of recruiting and training new staff. All of this makes the operation a lot more efficient.

By investing in automation, the manufacturing process benefits from additional efficiencies that human activity cannot provide. For example, live stock holdings and throughputs are more efficiently measured, it is easier to identify potential anomalies in the chain, and assembly is accurate and repetitive.

Automation also removes any human error and the requirements for frequent inspections at every station. Manufacturers have full visibility of the location of every part, along with exact stock numbers and full traceability of what's picked and put into the system. Consequently, inventory management is highly improved.

Reduced footprint

Manufacturers can also look at automation to free up the usually limited space they have in warehouses and factories, rather than sourcing more land to store components or for production. Automated warehouse systems like AutoStore only require 25% of the footprint in comparison to the usual manual facilities, therefore offering four times the stock within the same space.

If the warehouse and line supply of components becomes completely autonomous, then there is no requirement for lighting or heating in those areas of the building. And with systems like AutoStore, ten robots use the same amount of energy as a household vacuum cleaner, so the energy requirement plummets. Moreover, for daily operations, the robots can charge overnight using cheaper energy options and run on battery during the day. There are multiple examples of sites running on solar energy alone which can be an enormous saving.

All in all, for those manufacturers in aerospace considering ways to save money or improve efficiencies, investing in automation could be the change they need. Automation creates a highly efficient system that moves inventory around at speed, uses space efficiently, and ensures companies can process their inventory in record time. It has a high level of precision when handling parts, and therefore the risk of damage and incorrect variants being sent out is nearly eliminated, which therefore creates strong business cases and a solid return on investment.

www.autostoresystem.com