Big bakery improves their working environment by using robots
Kohberg Bakery has adopted several robots and automation system over the past few years to ensure a better working environment and make production more efficient. The company is now sharing their experience and good advice on how to succeed when using robots.
Reducing staff workloads, a more attractive workplace and general resource challenges.
The above-mentioned parameters are among the reasons why Kohberg Bakery has chosen to embrace robots and automation in their production.
Parts of the production process had already been automated at the company, and this has made a big difference – in particular when it comes to minimising the heavier work given to employees, so that their skills can be used to a greater extent to control products and quality.
– The benefits of introducing robots and automation in general are to relieve the bakers of the heavier work and improve the working environment. And it's also about achieving that uniform quality which automation can typically give us, says Peter Dam Krag, who is Senior Project Manager at Kohberg.
Kohberg, together with six other companies, has shared its experiences and insights into how they approached automation and which barriers you need to be aware of in the report "Robot technology and artificial intelligence in Danish industry: Spread, potential and challenges."
Automated production line
Robots have been used at Kohberg for over 20 years, but 3-4 years ago the bakery also started installing collaborative robots (also known as cobots).
Today, Kohberg has high-tech production lines where approximately 500 employees work each day to produce some of the foods you find in supermarkets. Automation has meant that many of the manual and heavier tasks for the bakers have been significantly reduced.
The main task of the bakers on the production line today is to monitor the processes and to make minor manual adjustments to the finished products when needed. The heavy and monotonous part of the work has been taken over by robots and automation systems – but there is still potential to further increase automation.
– I would consider the degree of automation here at Kohberg to be around 50-60 percent. We still have many places where we can deploy robots and further automate our plant, says Peter Dam Krag.
A new automation project
Kohberg is currently working on a new automation project, where the plan is for some robot arms to have direct contact with the products. Among other challenges, this places special demands on food safety.
But food safety is just one of many parameters that you have to deal with when you enter a new automation process, says Peter Dam Krag.
– When you have to automate, you have to be clear about exactly what you want to automate. You can't just go to a supplier and say: "I need something to replace something". You have to be precise about what you want, he says.
– One very important thing is employee involvement, including both the operator, who has to operate the robot, and also the maintenance people who will service it if a fault should occur, he adds.
And then it makes sense to collaborate with a supplier who can provide suggestions based in experience – and perhaps suggest something completely different than what you had thought yourself.
The task which is newly automated is a manpower-heavy and monotonous task, where the employees used to rotate places every 10-15 minutes to be able to stand the load.
Four new robots are now expected to take over this task, which will result in gains in terms of working environment and efficiency.
Download the report "Robot technology and artificial intelligence in Danish industry: Spread, potential and challenges"
How Kohberg Bakery bakes your bread: A dive into the automation process
1. The bakers start by taking their kneading bowl to a dosing station where the various ingredients are added automatically, after which the dough is kneaded in the bowl.
2. The kneaded dough is then emptied into a hopper and subsequently passed through a fully automated system including shaping, baking and cooling.
3. During cooling, a vision system with 3D cameras continuously monitors the colour and uniformity of the product. If deviations are detected, such as overbaked buns, these are automatically sorted out off the belt using a "flipper" system.
4. After cooling, the loaves are carried along a fully automatic packaging line. Here, among other things, the loaves are cut before they are packed in bags and boxes. In this part of the production, work is currently underway to implement a delta picker solution with six robot arms, which can turn and line up the loaves before they are packed.
About the report
The study as a whole was based on a combination of methods. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out and seven in-depth interviews conducted with representatives of selected companies.
In order to obtain a bigger picture of the spread of robots in Danish companies in the years 2023 and 2024, DTI (the Danish Technological Institute) carried out questionnaire surveys in 2023 and 2024 respectively with top managers and production managers from various industrial companies.
The analysis was carried out as part of DTI’s work with performance contracts PI1 and PI2, which are financed by the Danish Agency for Education and Research.
The report was published in connection with the event ROBOTBRAG 2024.
Does your company need help mapping out your robot options? The Danish Technological Institute helps companies in all phases from strategy to implementation.