When it comes to maximizing productivity, reducing operating costs, and improving efficiency throughout the precast concrete production process, few improvements can make as much of an immediate difference as automation.
Automated solutions for the precast industry are helping producers in many ways, by integrating curing, storage, and packaging in one seamless production system to errors, improve traceability, and vastly increase productivity while reducing long-term operating expenses.
That’s why so many of our customers are turning to automated solutions to improve their existing workflows, as well as to set their future production processes up for success from the moment they start delivering. Here’s a look at some of the most effective ways automation is helping to maximize production throughout the precast concrete production process.
Automating The Most Important Processes
The majority of automated precast production solutions center on minimizing manual labor while maximizing efficiency along key points in the production line. The production of wall panels, slabs, tunnel segments, and other precast concrete elements is automated for precise, timed operation – moving the molds, on pallets, through the factory without manual crane or physical labor interruption.
By strategically locating important stations created for mold preparation, layout, pouring, and finishing – called cells – producers are able to optimize plant space, labor, and overall equipment efficiency while maximizing output potential along all stages of the production process.
But minimizing labor is only one benefit to the automation process – the other being the ability to maximize efficiency, improve reliability, and remove the potential for human error at key points along the chain of production. This can help to minimize the rate of error in long-term projects, and improves traceability and responsiveness to errors that do occur.
Boosting Your Production ROI
One of the most potent benefits to integrating automation into the precast production process is the potential for perfecting those most important elements along the production line. Precasters often tailor the size and scope of their production capabilities to match the requirements of each particular project, and integrating automation into some or all of that process can translate into major cost savings for a wide range of projects.
Whether by automated only those key sections of the production line for consistent and reliable operation – typically a simple modular system, where some production steps are automated – to more complex, fully-automated systems stretching to all parts of production, these automated solutions can help improve existing production practices while minimizing overall costs. This can represent a significant improvement to a project’s return on investment in both the short-term and the long-term.
Making The Right Choice
As any experienced precast producer knows, the particular demands and expectations for precast production can vary significantly from one project to the next – meaning there is generally no one-size-fits-all automation method for maximizing productivity across all projects. That’s why it’s critical to make the right choice for your automation system before proceeding – that way, you can move forward with confidence.
Often, a precast producer may need to utilize an automated precast production or pallet circulation system that features custom-designed elements for particular production needs, including insulated floors, or designs for the production of reconstructed stones or sandwich walls.
In instances like these and others, it is best for a precast producer to work closely with an experienced automated system expert to provide exactly the right level of customized construction to ensure seamless efficiency along every step of the production line.
Automate Your Production and Improve Your Efficiency
Whether you’re a small precast producer looking to improve long-held production traditions or a large-scale producer seeking to maximize efficiency along part or the entirety of your production process, automated precast production systems can offer potent improvements that save labor, minimize inefficiencies, and improve ROI.
If you’re interested in learning more about how automation can drastically improve your precast production capabilities, Simem America and can help.
Together, we bring over 50 years of precast production and automation experience to precast producers of all sizes throughout North America and beyond. Get in touch with our team today to see how we can help improve your production through smart, integrated automation solutions.