Asteelflash Executive Talks Automation and Partnering with Bright Machines

Last month, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a new report which outlines a set of guidelines workplaces can follow to keep employees safe as COVID-19 sweeps the globe at an alarming rate. With automated assembly and inspection, manufacturers become less reliant on human operators so that they are better prepared to handle any disruption. In reducing the need for manual labor, infection risk associated with these on-site factory roles is also reduced. In this context, the new OSHA guidelines, become easier to implement.

Now is the perfect time to automate. It’s bold advice, as so many in the sector grapple with uncertain futures – and to be sure, the future is indeed uncertain for all of us in manufacturing. But if your uncertainty is around when and not if your factory will reopen and production will kick off again, now is the time to make important changes that will take your manufacturing operations from vulnerable to immune as we brace for the next inevitable disruption.

As the corona virus has spread, worldwide supply chains were interrupted, followed by an unprecedented shift in product demand and most recently by mandated factory shutdowns imposed on non-essential product manufacturing lines. The author discusses the impact of these disruptions and explores how we can mitigate these forces that threaten to destabilize manufacturing.

Bright Machines team members in our Tel Aviv office engaged in an opportunity to put their engineering expertise and our technology to use by collaborating with Ichilov Hospital Laboratory,  Impact Lab and iCobots to establish a non-human testing line for Covid-19.

One networking equipment manufacturer found itself running into a (fire)wall as it fielded a team of human operators for heat sink assembly. Using a Bright Machines Microfactory it re-imagined and re-energized manufacturing processes.

As the world feels the full weight of the Covid-19 crisis, we should individually prioritize the safety of ourselves, our families, friends, neighbors and communities. But in times like these, I believe companies also have a special responsibility to support their employees, communities and customers. Coronavirus poses a serious and immediate concern for companies around the world and directly affects the health and safety of tens of thousands of people.

In the past, networking equipment manufacturers looking to automate their assembly lines may have balked at the implementation times of first-generation automation solutions, which typically took 12-18 months to implement. Today’s next-generation automation showcases radically better implementation times.

Reskilling an entire workforce is no small feat and not the responsibility of any one party. Success relies on support from a complex web of institutions from government, to industry, to academia. Still, technology companies can play a more proactive role by considering the following factors.

No matter how big or small, possible disruptions can impede your manufacturing operation at any time. In order to ensure a healthy supply chain, one that can seamlessly weather uncertain storms, it’s imperative for today’s manufacturers to incorporate local-first strategies.

By Greg Eden, CMO, Bright Machines Automation is good for manufacturers and, ultimately, the people buying and using the products being made. So, why isn’t it much more pervasive in today’s factories? […]