TCA Technologies Celebrates 17 Years of Innovative Problem Solving
Company Specializes in Identifying Manufacturing Operations That Are Ripe for Automation
Guelph, Ontario, Canada — TCA Technologies Inc. is celebrating 17 years as a designer and manufacturer of custom industrial automated equipment. To date, there are well over 1,000 TCA systems successfully installed and running in manufacturing plants around the world.
One of the ways TCA has remained at the top of its game is by developing a paradigm to help clients identify manufacturing operations that are ripe for automation.
The following conditions signify a manufacturing operation that is a good candidate for automation:
• Operator inconsistency resulting in poor quality, high scrap rates, or loss of uptime. The removal of operator inconsistency and the resultant costs is a primary benefit of automation.
• Processes requiring high-speed operations to meet production demands. Automation allows production rates beyond the limits of human capability over extended periods at a sustainable level of investment.
• Labour shortages. Automation can provide a significant advantage when a shortage of qualified personnel is hampering production and driving up costs.
• Repetitive operations. Repetitive operations can be a factor in job dissatisfaction, injury, product quality problems, and personnel turnover.
• Dangerous/unpleasant/fatiguing operations. By removing these operations from the workload of production personnel, safety and quality are improved, along with job satisfaction and labour relations.
• Products that require critical handling to avoid damage or contamination. Special handling can be a particular challenge, especially when failure to do so could result in product spoilage or injury to personnel. Automating the process can provide an excellent solution.
• Labour-intensive operations. When the ratio of labour to materials cost is high, remaining competitive can be difficult or impossible. Automation can help restore competitiveness to these situations.
• Operator skills that are difficult to retain. By bringing many operations requiring varied skills under the control of one machine operator, automation renders the process less susceptible to the difficulties that can be caused by the loss of skilled personnel.
• High personnel turnover. Turnover may be due to inherent process issues but also may simply be typical of a specific industry or area.
• Process bottleneck operations. Operations that consistently bottleneck the overall process should be examined closely to see if automation would provide a solution.
• Floor space that is prohibitively expensive. Floor space may be conserved by automating a process rather than by providing numerous operator stations.
• Operations requiring significant quality assurance measures such as process verification, gauging, testing, etc. Multiple process and quality verifications can be performed consistently and dependably by an automated system.
• Operations that would benefit from the collection and analysis of production data. Data collection can provide a wealth of real-time production information to enable part and/or lot tracking, process verification, early identification of variances, equipment monitoring for predictive and/or corrective maintenance, and many other essential decision-making criteria.
Conversely, the following conditions indicate an operation that should be automated only with caution:
• Operations in an unstructured, loosely controlled environment. If constant subjective judgments must be made as to process and priorities, automation is unlikely to provide an acceptable return on investment.
• Poor consistency of input materials. Although automated systems can make many on-the-fly adjustments to compensate for inconsistent inputs, these add to the cost of the system.
• Operations requiring complex manipulations that cannot be broken down into a series of identifiable stages. If there is not an identifiable, logical sequence to the production process, automation is unlikely to provide a satisfactory outcome.
• Low-volume manufacture. Most processes, including frequent tooling changeovers, can be successfully automated, but a low volume of finished product may be insufficient to absorb the capital costs while remaining competitive.
"Our engineers work directly with customers to properly determine all requirements before developing concepts that meet their needs," commented Tony Davies, General Manager of TCA Technologies. "That's how we can consistently deliver maximum return on investment."
For more information, please visit www.tca-tech.com, call (519) 824-8711, or email sales@tca-tech.com.
About TCA Technologies Inc.
TCA Technologies Inc. offers a variety of unique machine solutions designed to fit any specific application requirement. Among TCA's strengths is its ability to develop, fabricate, assemble, program, and test each system with its in-house staff. TCA approaches every project with a commitment to quality, performance, and customer satisfaction. The company's experienced staff provides installation, start-up, training, and technical support to meet clients' needs on time and within budget. And TCA invests heavily in research and development to stay up to date on the latest technologies in order to provide the best solutions to industry.
Contacts:
Tony Davies
General Manager
tonyd@tca-tech.com
(519) 824-8711, extension 248
Nolan Loy Son
Sales Applications Manager
nolanl@tca-tech.com
(519) 824-8711, extension 227
TCA Technologies Inc.
38 Winer Road
Guelph, ON N1H6H9
Canada
