I am considering stopping our FR5 refill-bag trial, although I still enjoy seeing it place a properly presented bag.
We began with one bag size and a simple guide. Each packaging change has added another small task: spread the contents, straighten the seal, choose a different insert. I did those tasks during development and treated them as preparation rather than part of the job. Our packer quite reasonably counts them as work. I need to compare the complete process before asking for another guide, not persuade her that my favourite portion of it is quick.
Use the same incoming order for both methods and include your preparation time, because the arm only looks independent after you've done its awkward work for it
We have a manual baseline from the packer, but the robot timings start with the guide full, so I will arrange a complete-order comparison with her rather than subtract an estimated preparation allowance afterwards.
Agree what would make you stop before the comparison, too; otherwise a near miss can become another permission slip to spend your evenings improving an insert
We compared an ordinary mixed order and the attended robot process took longer, mainly because presentation and changing inserts interrupted the packing flow; the packer found the manual bench less tiring to manage as well.
Consider a stable subset only if it has a case of its own. You don't have to make this all-or-nothing, but please include the remaining manual workload and space before declaring the easier subset a saving.
Did you include clearing the bench when the order ends? Or rather, returning it to the state the next job needs. Our pilot quietly occupied the shared bench between its impressive moments.
Sofia, the comparison included restoring the shared bench, and the stable subset did not justify its own space when we costed it; we have stopped this packing trial and retained the revised manual layout, with the packer's agreement, so thank you all for helping me make the complete decision.
That is a useful result to keep with the trial notes. The robot moved the presented bags successfully; the whole arrangement did not improve this packing job. Neither fact needs disappearing to make the decision easier to explain.