Inside Cascade Coffee’s playbook for sustainable, scalable automation

When you stroll right into Waterfall Coffee’s center north of Seattle, you right away pick up 2 points: the apparent scent of fresh baked beans, and a group that’s really pleased with the job they do.

That 2nd component really did not take place by crash.

It’s the outcome of a strong choice Waterfall made regarding 4 years ago: change among one of the most agonizing, turnover-heavy, irregular hand-operated tasks in the manufacturing facility with joint robotics. What began as a solitary low-risk experiment grew out of control right into an organized, company-wide makeover touching efficiency, individuals, and society.

I lately took a seat with Waterfall’s COO, Ron Kane, to backtrack that trip. Ron’s invested greater than thirty years in food and drink– Nestlé Seas, Beast Power, craft beer– so he’s seen every taste of automation job, from the effective to the agonizing. His point of view is incredibly based in what makers live on a daily basis.

Below’s Waterfall’s tale, and the lessons any type of food and bev manufacturing facility can use.

When development satisfies fact

In 2020, Waterfall moved from offering one significant client (80% of their quantity) to sustaining a wide profile of brand names, particularly cutting-edge ecommerce gamers. It opened development, however enhanced intricacy over night.

The issue? Virtually whatever downstream was still hand-operated.

• Operators were hand-stacking lots of pallet setups
• Turn over at the palletizing function was over 60%
  
• Brand-new hires were educated practically regular on elaborate customer-specific patterns
• Quality mistakes– like misaligned tags on deliveries– were wearing down client fulfillment

And culturally, no one desired the palletizing task. It was literally requiring, reduced range, and difficult.

” It really did not supply worth for us as a manufacturing facility. It required to be done, however it actually ought to have been automated if there was a method to do it.”
– Ron Kane, COO

The difficulty coincided one numerous mid-sized makers encounter: typical palletizers were also large, also costly, and also intricate for their impact.

The initial jump: A functional, low-risk examination

When Waterfall bought a brand-new high-volume K-Cup line, Ron saw a chance: if they were updating handling and product packaging, why quit there?

He examined the complete photo: labor, functional designs, turn over, uptime, and client needs and recommended trialing a cobot palletizer. The first ROI quote was simply under 2 years, currently strong.

What occurred following stunned everybody.

Their neighborhood companion, Olympus Controls, rolled the system right into area. Within hours, it was devoured. By the following mid-day, it was palletizing real-time manufacturing.

No cages. No complicated programs. No weeks of appointing.

Operators discovered the user interface in mins. The safety and security habits right away gained their depend on. And the social change occurred faster than anticipated: the group called the robotic, enhanced it for vacations, and treated it as an added colleague.

” We mounted the robotic, really did not shed any type of head count, and it entered into the individuality of the manufacturing facility.”

9 months to repayment, not 2 years

When the initial audit was full, the numbers was available in …

Real ROI: 9 months.

Why the significant distinction?

• Greater uptime than anticipated
• Constant throughput, also throughout variable quantity
• No unexpected labor insurance coverage for downtime
• Less high quality concerns
  
• Increasing quantity on the line

In 3 years, Ron can rely on one hand the variety of days any type of palletizer has actually been down. And those unusual concerns? Typically from product packaging abnormalities, not the robotic.

That integrity ended up being the factor Waterfall can scale with confidence.

Scaling methodically: From one to 6 (and counting!)

Once the initial cell showed itself, Waterfall reproduced the technique throughout every retail bag line in the manufacturing facility.

Due to the fact that their technicians and designers currently comprehended the user interface, succeeding installments ended up being virtually plug-and-play:

• Still provided in pet crates
• Still devoured in hours
• Still functional the following day
• Still very easy to fix individually

One line went from pet crate arrival to running manufacturing by the end of the initial change.

And their group began teaming up with our designers on efficiency upgrades– like very early fostering of dual-case choosing to improve throughput without enhancing rate.

The outcome was: a standard, repeatable palletizing approach throughout the whole website.

Genuine service influence: Millions conserved, individuals raised

Waterfall Coffee spent simply under 7 numbers throughout all systems.

They have actually currently recovered numerous millions in labor effectiveness.

Yet the component Ron discusses with one of the most satisfaction isn’t the economic return; it’s individuals.

The staff members that when turned with the hardest task in the plant are still there. Numerous have actually gone up to higher-skill functions.

“ They’re developing occupations, not simply doing tasks. They’re gaining a lot more for their family members. They’re a lot more certain operating larger devices due to the fact that they discovered on the cobot initially.“

Automation really did not decrease head count. It in fact developed brand-new possibility.

And it was a wonderful in shape culturally too. The robotics have names, vacation attires, and reoccuring looks on Waterfall’s LinkedIn web page. They have actually entered into the group!

Lessons for makers taking into consideration automation

Below are the takeaways Ron would certainly provide anybody simply beginning their automation trip:

1. Your genuine ROI will likely be far better than your spread sheet.

Suppliers typically take too lightly the result of regular throughput and overstate downtime threat.

2. Begin where the discomfort is greatest and the labor is hardest to maintain.

Palletizing tasks shed individuals out rapidly. Addressing that discomfort advantages the entire procedure.

3. Society issues as high as modern technology.

Interact plainly that automation eliminates unfavorable jobs– not individuals.

4. Systematize early.

When one cell is running well, you can duplicate it effectively throughout comparable lines.

5. A solid neighborhood companion makes all the distinction.

Olympus Controls assisted Waterfall release quick and adjust rapidly, also as demands transformed.

What this tale actually reveals

Automation does not need to be costly, high-risk, or turbulent. When done methodically (and with individuals in mind) it ends up being a driver for far better job, far better throughput, and far better service.

Waterfall Coffee went from hand-operated palletizing with high turn over to a totally automated, extremely involved group that’s certain, expanding, and all set to tackle a lot more.

Their trip is specifically why our team believe in Lean Robotics: begin little, range quick, and construct capacity with every stage: style, incorporate, run.

Ron claimed it ideal:

“ You provided us the very first steps. We would not be going after automation this strongly without that very early success.“

Which’s the sort of influence we desire every producer to experience.

If you intend to see whether palletizing automation makes good sense for your center, begin with the Palletizing Fit Tool— a fast, interactive method to see if Lean Palletizing is the best suit for your line.

Desired even more tales from genuine manufacturing facilities like your own?

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