Derived from the alliterative Japanese term ‘kitanai, kiken, kitsu’, it’s interesting to note how the ‘3 Ds’ of automation describing the jobs robots are better suited to than humans – dirty, dangerous, demeaning/demanding/difficult – have evolved into four with the addition of ‘dear’.

It’s an illustration of how industry has primarily thought of robots as a means of solving problems and not engaged them enough in overall optimisation.

If implemented in a smart fashion, robots can bring enormous benefits to the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector: most notably in regards to speed, efficiency and eliminating human error.

It can enable MROs, manufacturers and suppliers to find ways to streamline their operations and cut costs as robotic technology expands and matures.

Nevertheless, getting an aviation supply chain warehouse ready to support robots is not as straightforward as people might think.

Robots won't solve everything

Among those concerned about the misconception is Bob Doyle, VP at A3 Association for Advancing Automation – a trade organisation representing more than 1,200 members in the field of robotics and automation:

“In general, I think people are thinking: ‘I’ll just bring in a robot and that is going to solve all my problems,’ but that’s not necessarily the case. Bringing in robots can surely help, but it is not suddenly going to make you 5,000 percent more efficient. There is definitely a return on investment from implementing robots – that is why they exist – but I think there is a misconception as to what problems robots can help resolve.”

One of the main challenges is that robots are usually created with a specific task in mind. For example, in the MRO sector it could be single parts repairs, carbon fibre machining or intricate inspection tasks.

But while they might excel at that one task – which they can perform all day, every day for years – the robots often struggle when it comes to being able to perform several different tasks.

Getting a grip

This lack of multi-task capability is simply because nothing yet compares to the adaptability of the human hand. We can grip, hold and lift just about every shape as long as it doesn't weigh too much. Robots, on the other hand, need specially designed grippers for each task, explains Doyle:

“When you think of the potentially hundreds of thousands of products in a warehouse, to make a one-size-fits-all gripper that can grip anything and get it in the right box to be delivered to the consumer – that is still a very difficult thing to do for a robot.”

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More than the 3 Ds: The benefit of using robots in the aviation supply chain