In precision manufacturing, every minute on the production floor matters.
But not every task requires skilled manpower.
For a Singapore precision manufacturing SME, employees were regularly moving materials between production and quality control (QC).
These repetitive trips were necessary to keep production moving, but they also took employees away from higher-value manufacturing tasks.
With manpower constraints adding further pressure to operations, the company looked at a simple question:
Automating the Movement Between Production and QC
SESTO Robotics deployed one Magnus Lifter AMR to automate material transportation between production, QC, and warehouse stations.
Rather than changing the manufacturing process itself, the solution focused on the movement between processes.
The AMR was integrated into the existing production environment to support:
🔄 4–6 material transfers per hour
🎯 Docking within tight operational spaces
📦 Transportation of racks, boxes, and carriers
🔘 A custom process call button for initiating workflows
📶 Existing Wi-Fi access points for connectivity
🤖 Autonomous pick-up, transportation, and return workflows
By automating repetitive material transfers, employees could spend less time moving materials around the facility and more time supporting production and QC activities.
The customer reported a 15–20% increase in productivity while reducing the manpower required for routine material transportation.
For a manufacturing SME, this is an important distinction.
Automation does not always mean automating the production machine itself.
Sometimes, the opportunity lies in the movement happening around production.
Look Between Your Processes
Think about what happens between your production steps.
Machining → QC.
QC → Storage.
Storage → Production.
How often does someone have to stop what they are doing simply to move a rack, box, or carrier to the next station?
These repetitive movements may seem small individually, but repeated throughout every shift, they can become a hidden drain on manufacturing productivity.
Before adding more manpower or automating an entire production line, look at the repetitive material movements already happening on your factory floor.
One route could be the right place to start.
SESTO Robotics helps manufacturers identify material movement workflows that can be automated with AMRs, from individual production routes to integrated intralogistics operations.
Talk to SESTO Robotics about your manufacturing workflow.
