Started with ten soft refill packs. The FR5 transfers them, but every new shape adds another presentation guide and more preparation. I have put a lot into it and keep thinking the next change will make it worthwhile. How do I decide whether to stop?
I kept a trial alive by doing the awkward preparation myself, then discovered I was its biggest running cost. Time the whole job against hand packing before making another guide. Include your own interruptions and help.
Would a narrower trial for one repeat pack still be worth comparing, if those orders occur often enough? I would keep that separate from the idea that every new shape has to join the project.
Only use real orders for that comparison. I once made a wonderful production schedule by adding together work that arrived months apart. The spreadsheet loved it; dispatch didn't.
Also count changing back to manual packing. If your guides occupy the shared bench, clearing them away belongs to this process even though it happens after the last successful robot transfer.
What do the operators prefer about the current manual arrangement? Their answer could help distinguish a useful improvement from a working motion with an inconvenient surrounding job.
They can switch pack shapes immediately. They also like seeing the whole order on the bench. No search for the right guide or a separate stack waiting to be straightened.
That flexibility has value even if it is awkward to turn into one number. I'd compare the real order sequence and record the waiting and changeovers, rather than forcing every benefit into seconds per transfer.
Who would maintain the guides if you stopped being available? That question is worth putting beside the timing result; a trial relying on one enthusiast is hard to hand over.
No named cover. We have compared a real mixed-order sequence now, including preparation and clearing. Manual packing used less staff time and kept the bench available. I am proposing we stop this trial.
The comparison and the retained drawings are useful results of that effort. You can explain why the transfer worked and why this particular packing process still did not justify continued support.
Decision made: ending this refill-packing trial. Guides and notes will be stored, bench returned to mixed orders. Thanks Felix for making me count the preparation I was doing without noticing it.
Keep the actual order mix with the report. It will help anyone considering another application understand what made this decision sensible, rather than reading it as a verdict on every pouch-handling job.