Manufacturing Today Issue - 230 Nov 2024 | Page 75

_________________________________________________________________________ Robinson
Helicopter Company focused on areas that have high injury and repetitive motion injury risks . We have seen success in implementing robot-assisted tasks , where technicians still load materials , observe , and manage the quality of the robots ’ actions , but they are not fully replaced by the robots . Currently , we run on a custom-built ERP system that we have developed throughout our history . Furthermore , we are implementing a new ERP system that will provide us with additional insights through modern methods of data and variation analysis , and we are excited about the opportunities that data will bring . In the past 51 years , we have shown that we do not need to have the most cutting-edge manufacturing operation to successfully drive our business . Instead , we tried to keep the company simple , which then allowed us to improve our quality , scale and efficiencies . Now , opportunities to
incorporate robotics and automation will add to what we have already built over the years ,” he states .
Nonetheless , David emphasizes that automation will not completely replace human labor , as the company addresses industry-wide labor shortages by bringing in people at the grassroots level . “ Being based near Los Angeles , we have access to a large talent pool of recent graduates . We do our best to attract those who are interested in aviation and offer them positions in a few of our key areas , where they can receive on-the-job training and become familiar with our systems , parts , and the basics of working in a manufacturing environment ,” he concludes . “ In this way , they can evaluate whether they want to stay with us , moving forward .” ■
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