You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Profile<br />
Why Automation in<br />
Mattress Production?<br />
The word “automation” is a<br />
broad term that conjures up<br />
a different image for different<br />
people. Thanks to futuristic tales<br />
of science fiction 50 years ago,<br />
many still think it means the total<br />
conquest of the manufacturing<br />
factory by full-scale robots. In<br />
truth, there are many degrees of<br />
automation and most are much<br />
more attainable than you imagine.<br />
In the purest form of the word,<br />
automation does imply using<br />
mechanical means to replace or<br />
reduce your reliance on human<br />
activity to perform a task. Your<br />
“automatic” garage door opener<br />
is a popular example of automation,<br />
and that’s not so intimidating,<br />
is it?<br />
Let’s look at the manual steps this<br />
simple automation has replaced:<br />
• Temporarily Park the car<br />
• Get out (possibly in the rain) and<br />
walk to the garage door<br />
• Raise the garage door<br />
• Return to the parked car<br />
• Drive the car into the garage<br />
• Get out the car and return to<br />
the garage door<br />
• Pull the door closed<br />
Like your garage door opening<br />
activity, we need to identify repetitive<br />
human activity in your factory<br />
and see what can be replaced<br />
with automation. Be sure to analyze<br />
the sub-tasks involved with<br />
the process to make sure nothing<br />
is taken for granted. Notice that<br />
in the garage door example, only<br />
steps three and five add any value<br />
to the process. The other five<br />
steps are non-value-add activities<br />
that offer no benefit to the outcome.<br />
As far as our mattress industry is<br />
concerned, the bed-in-a-box is an<br />
example of how automation has<br />
changed the mattress industry.<br />
Our ARP-20 Model is capable of<br />
Automatically wrap, compress<br />
and roll the mattress which is<br />
simply removing the human<br />
work of putting the mattress in<br />
a plastic bag and then bringing<br />
the mattress to a compressor<br />
and then rolling it by hand. We<br />
have secondary roll pack options<br />
available with Atlanta Attachment<br />
which does secondary rolling to<br />
make the length of rolled mattress<br />
to half. So in a truck where you<br />
can put only 110 mattresses can<br />
be filled with .510 mattresses,<br />
basically 5times more!<br />
WHAT MAKES AUTOMATION?<br />
• Optimize Labor<br />
• Inventory Reduction<br />
• Productivity Increase<br />
• Deskilling Operator<br />
• Multi-tasking Equipment<br />
• Material Handling<br />
Optimize Labor<br />
Workforce optimization is the<br />
biggest goal of automation.<br />
Efficiency still greatly depends<br />
on the employees operating<br />
32 <strong>SleepTech</strong> • <strong>November</strong> - <strong>December</strong>
Change language