10 advantages & benefits of conveyor systems
Updated: Dec 23, 2022
Business Owners often hear that there are many advantages and the benefits of using conveyor systems. We are going to see what those are.
Most of the time the benefits of conveyor automation systems are neglected considering the investment. In this article, we have tried to note down 10 conveyor automation uses and benefits.
Conveyors reduce labor costs and increase productivity. Do they? Let's see all the advantages and benefits of using conveyor systems in detail about how the conveyor system will affect your work.
What is Conveyor System?
Conveyors move the material from place A to place B is the very much old concept of conveyor. There is a lot of advancement in conveyors, along with PLCs and Sensors. It is going beyond imagination using IOT - internet of things.
There are different conveyor systems, and one chooses it depending on the application and expertise in the particular area.
Below are some basic types of conveyor systems
Flat Belt Conveyors
Gravity Roller Conveyors
Powered or Motorised Roller Conveyors
Modular Belt Conveyors
Spiral Conveyors
Drag Chain Conveyors
Screw Conveyors
Overhead Conveyor System
...
...
the list continues
What is the difference between various conveyor systems?
A conveying system is a mechanical piece designed to move the product with or without external power with or less workforce efforts
A conveyor generally has an electric motor ( Except gravity roller conveyor ), which runs a media in the conveyor. The media then moves your parts, components, carton boxes. The media in the conveyor changes depending on the type of conveyor.
The Belt Conveyor has media of Conveyor Belt.
Roller Conveyors has media of Rollers.
Screw Conveyor has media of Screw.
Drag Chain Conveyor has media of chain.
Overhead conveyor has media of chain.
This way, some media moves the parts.
The rest is structure and support to the media, and the total is a conveyor.
There are absolutely no limitations as to which industries use conveyor belts. There are a number of applications of conveyor belt. Gravity Roller Conveyors advantages and disadvantages are different than belt conveyors. You need to understand various conveyor systems and then select the right conveyor system for your needs.
Let's see below the advantages and benefits of conveyor systems
Before that, let us understand what is the cost of labor.
Direct labor costs are -
- Wages
- Direct employee benefits - Provident Funds, Canteen & Bus Facility, Medical Facility
- Legal Compliance - ESI and record-keeping of various types.
Indirect labor costs are
- Supervision cost - The time spent in managing, record keeping of a large group of people is higher than a bunch of people.
- HR - The cost of recruitment and replacement is very high. In addition to that, the legal compliance cost associated is also very high.
We all know one of the major benefits of Conveyor installation is increased production at faster speeds but how?
E.g., If you want to install the conveyor in the packaging area of the fruit packing line, the original work in this area is adding the fruit in the carton box. So you can assign one person in preparing the carton box. The second person will move the filled boxes. Third-person will seal the boxes. This way, work-lines can be arranged.
By preparing packaging lines this way, will create a series of tasks.
1) Manpower Cost Saving
In this way, every massive work breaks into small activities. Due to this, you get to know whether you need a person or not. If any person is lagging in the task, you need to rethink whether the job is complicated and time-consuming or it is not done correctly.
Conveyor installation reduces and optimizes the real needed workforce for your work.
If an activity in the series is getting done faster, you can reduce the number of persons there. Or you can ask one person to feed to two lines.
If a task is becoming the bottleneck, either you can increase the workforce at the job or reduce the speed of the whole line.
You can define the optimum workforce for your need. If there is batch production, optimum quantity can be determined, and production planning can be implemented.
The reduced manpower saves the supervision cost and record-keeping costs tremendously. It will help in the utilization of these resources at some other needful place.
2) Faster speeds
A person in the series is required to do a task repetitively. This results in faster speeds as over the time the persons get the expertise in doing that task faster.
Everyone in the production series is comfortable to work with the already defined task. It results in better coordination, teamwork, and increased throughput at consistent quality.
3) Ergonomically Working, Mistakes & Accidents
Ergonomically working ensures that the person has a comfortable operation. Due to this, the person can work for a longer time without having short brakes.
As the person does the same task repeatedly, fewer mistakes are prone to happen. Less injuries and accidents at the workplace result in cost-saving as well as confidence in the workforce.
4) Save on Training Cost & use Semi-Skilled Manpower
Training Costs are huge and incur a considerable portion of the company budget. Every time a new person joins a lot of time invested in providing training.
In a conveyor production series, Since the activity breaks broken down into smaller tasks, it is effortless to train the new person faster for the specific job.
You can employ a less-skilled workforce. Skilled workforce has higher wages, whereas a less-skilled workforce is easy to train, easy to engage, and easy to payments.
5) Fixed Protocols
It is a challenge to fix up the production protocols. When there is a conveyor automation system, it is easy to implement fixed protocols for everything that is done.
6) Achieve Production Targets with the Right Quality
Consistent product quality is only possible with quality awareness in your production team. Conveyor Automation Systems helps you and your team to achieve your production targets as well as quality benchmarks. Quality is an outcome of relentless efforts and constant awareness.
Maintaining quality awareness in the team is essential. Ergonomic working, fewer mistakes, and fewer accidents increase workforce confidence resulting in quality awareness.
7) Utilize Shopfloor Space effectively
With conveyors at the production area, there is more utilization of the space. It is because with conveyors everything gets organized properly.
8)Maintain Hygiene Standards.
It is easy to maintain all the standards required by various industries such as food manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. Since conveyors are easy to design for a clean and hygienic environment.
9)Avoid production damage
Production damages are a huge cost to business. There are various reasons for production damages. But fixed protocols, expert skills of doing tasks comfortable working help avoid production damages.
10) Increased Brand Loyalty
Creating a brand is always a challenge for small business owners. Social media & advertisements are not going to result in creating "a brand" unless you have consistent product quality.
When your products reach to customer's hands, it should provide the same experience every time. It should offer the same feeling of brand purchase each time and every time. Product with inconsistent packing and quality will deteriorate this experience and destroy the customer expectations. A conveyor automation system helps you to increase customer brand loyalty.