Automation can create value before the solution is perfect

Can you start by telling us a little about yourself and Induflex?

My name is Martin Staun and I am the production manager at Induflex. I have been here for 19 years and held various positions, but for the last four years I have been responsible for production. I have worked in production myself, so I have a good knowledge of our processes and what we do.

Induflex is a 100% order-based manufacturing company. We do not have our own product – we manufacture based on our customers' drawings. Some customers have products that are repeated over many years, but we also have many customers who constantly order new items.

What characterises your production?

It is very varied. Around 60% of what we do is series of less than 10 items, and a large part of our production consists of items we have not made before. This means new drawings, new programmes and new setups all the time.

Our core competence is turning and milling in plastic. Among other things, we make gear wheels, arms and ejectors for conveyor belts and many other special items. We often use plastic because the material can do things that metal cannot – for example, be self-lubricating, withstand chemicals or have a specific friction. We also make plastic that can be detected by metal detectors, for example for the food industry.

How much do you work with automation today?

We put a lot of energy into automation. The goal is to get the machines to run as much as possible on their own.

Our lathes have automatic bar feeders, so the machine can fetch new material itself. Our large plate milling machines have robotic solutions where a crane fetches the plates from the warehouse and places them directly into the machine. These solutions both free up capacity and save time in our daily work.

Which project did you include in Fast Track to Automation?

The project was about robot operation on our smaller milling machines. Today, it makes sense to use the robot when we run larger series – for example, 200 pieces. But we would also like to be able to use the robot for smaller series of 20 or 50 pieces.

The challenge is the changeover time. If we spend two hours changing over and only run for two hours afterwards, it makes more sense to just let a man run the machine. That is why the project is about reducing the changeover time so that automation also makes sense for small series.

How do employees react to automation?

Automation has not eliminated jobs at our company – on the contrary, we have gained more. The work that is disappearing are the heavy and tedious tasks. Employees are involved in both the selection of solutions and suppliers, and they can see the value.

Why did you choose to participate in Fast Track to Automation?

When it comes to project management, we are used to coming up with an idea, solving it and moving on. This works well for us, even though we don't have formal project management training, but we were curious to find out if there were any good ways of working with projects that could benefit us – especially in relation to larger projects in the future.

That's why it made sense to participate in a course where automation was linked to project management based on Half Double.

What about the technical part?

As part of the course, we visited the Danish Technological Institute in Odense, where we saw their vision solutions in practice, among other things. It's great to go down and see solutions live and be inspired. We actually have a meeting with the Danish Technological Institute tomorrow, where they will present us with some options.

How will you work with this input?

We are currently exploring various options. It could be a mechanical solution, a vision solution or a software solution – or a combination. The software part is particularly interesting because that is where we currently spend a lot of time every time we need to make a change.

If we can get something that is more intuitive and easier to use, it could make a big difference in our everyday work.

How have you worked on the project during the process?

We received a very large order just before the process started, and it has kept the entire factory busy. Therefore, we have not had as much time for the project as we would have liked.

The project has not been shelved, but it has been temporarily deprioritised while we have focused on delivery. We are still working on it in parallel and investigating solutions, but at a pace that suits our operations.

What have you gained from the process so far?

One of the things that has made the most sense to us is the idea of getting value early in a project. Instead of going for a 100% solution from the start, it can make good sense to aim for a solution that works – and then build on that.

We have taken that approach with us and are also using it in other projects in our everyday work.