In the glazing industry, it is common to see installation of large window frames carried out by hand. This manual installation method has many hazards. Workers can be injured when lifting heavy frames and there’s always the potential for more significant injuries due to falling objects.
This is where glazing robots have the potential to offer glazing firms a whole host of safety related benefits. They can even offer benefits when it comes to installation efficiency. Below, you will find the top benefits a glazing robot might offer your business.
Injury & Accident Prevention
The primary benefit of glazing robots is their ability to prevent unnecessary injury and/or death. Glazing robots help to manoeuvre large panes of glass into position in a controlled manner. This avoids the need to manually handle the glass during fitting and therefore helps to improve safety.
Improving worker and site safety isn’t the only benefit on offer here. Making use of automated machinery for this purpose might also help to keep your business insurance costs in check. Avoiding accidents (either minor or major) over the long-term should help to increase your standing with your insurer and reduce hikes in premiums as a direct result of accidents.
Reduction in Installation Times
Glazing robots don’t just improve worker safety – they also help to reduce installation time. This helps a window installer to achieve more in any given workday and can help the machine to pay for itself over its lifetime. This increase in efficiency allows for increased throughput, allowing your company to take on more jobs or larger jobs that it might not have had the capacity for in the past.
Commercial glaziers often experience the biggest benefit when it comes to a reduction in installation times. Jobs that such companies work on will often span several floors of a building. Manually carrying panes of glass up scaffolding or through the interior of a building takes time. Depending on your chosen spec of glazing robot, this could be performed in a matter of seconds.
Some self-propelled glazing robots can reach as high as 5m, but different types of robot have the potential to reach even greater heights. One company called SmartLift offer a product called the “SL 400 Sky Lifter” which is a header that’s compatible with a range of front loaders and has a maximum lift height based on the boom of the parent vehicle. This makes it a suitable option for the installation of window panes in taller buildings. You can check out the range of SmartLift glazing robots available from one of their trusted UK suppliers – CPS Lift.
How To Choose The Right Glazing Robot
Choosing the right tool for the job is key for any glazing company. With glazing robots becoming so popular, there are now many brands to choose from. Arguably one of the most popular is the Winlet range of glass lifting robots. Other notable brands include SmartLift (an award-winning Danish manufacturer), Oscar and Geko. There are likely to be many different models to choose from, so be sure you weight up the specifications of each to determine which option best suits your needs. You should always consult the expertise of a trusted supplier of your chosen brand.