The Waypoint team is busy preparing for what will be another great MODEX conference in Atlanta, March 9-12. We are excited to reveal new automation options designed specifically for workers to get more done. Stop by Waypoint’s booth #9600 for demonstrations of Vector & MAV3K, the easiest to use and most capable autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) on the market today, and get a first look at new top modules that make loading and unloading payloads a breeze.
Beyond the exhibition hall, MODEX is featuring informative talks and activities to educate attendees on a wide range of logistics and material handling topics. Here are some of our top picks including a few from Waypoint CEO, Jason Walker.
Panel: State of the Industry
To kick things off, Day 1 features an informative panel discussion on the State of the Transportation & Logistics Industry.
Monday, March 9- 1:30 – 2:15pm Transportation & Logistics Theater
Panelists: Stace Knabel – Dir. of Business Development, Rockfarm; Todd TeBrink – Sr. Account Executive, Alliance Shippers; Wendy Topp – Transportation Manager, Glideaway; Steve Sutter – Mgr. of Tech Logistics, Anheuser Busch
How to Include the Workforce and Speed Up Robot Deployment
We often write about the importance of including the workforce early on in your automation projects by giving them easy to use tools. In this session, Waypoint CEO, Jason Walker will provide information on how to do just this.
Wednesday, March 11- 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM, Emerging Technologies Theater
Jason Walker, Founder and CEO, Waypoint Robotics, Inc
Talk Summary: This session will offer suggestions for including the workforce in your industry 4.0 plans, providing them with tools they can master and make their own, and in doing so gain their acceptance and support. We’ll demonstrate how putting the robots in workers hands early and often promotes pride of ownership and unleashes their creativity and experience to make continued process improvements. To empower the workforce early on, these new automation tools must be easy to work with. We’ll provide guidance on how to choose equipment that is both intuitive to set up and simple to operate, which expedites adoption. Additionally, we’ll help you discern between myth and reality of robotics features and functions so you can manage expectations among management and employees. In the end, you’ll see how easy to use robots wielded by enthusiastic employees will help your team dramatically speed up deployment, expand adoption, and increase productivity.
Innovation Doesn’t Have to be Disruptive to Make a Difference: 3 Small Steps Toward Improving Your Operation
We believe wholeheartedly in starting small, learning from the experience, and expanding with what works. This is particularly important when implementing new technologies like robotics and automation. Additionally, the easier the implementation and the sooner you involve workers in the process, the faster your team can optimize and scale. The following talk from Christopher Schikevitz of Siemens will address some strategies towards keeping things simple.
Monday, March 9- 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM, Theater A
Christopher Schikevitz – Senior Product Line Manager, Siemens Logistics LLC
Talk Summary: Large scale automation. If it sounds difficult, it probably is. What is the solution? Start simple. The most successful and beneficial way to automate your operation happens with small steps, not big leaps. When you focus on incremental progress, you can increase productivity, find and eliminate errors, reduce operational costs, and deploy and adapt to new technology more quickly. Sit it on this informative seminar and see how you can gain a broader perspective through a more narrow view.
NCSCA Annual Symposium
If you work in supply chain automation or teach on this subject, we recommend attending the National Center for Supply Chain Automation (NCSCA)’s Annual Symposium happening alongside MODEX.
The NCSCA Annual Symposium offers a valuable, collaborative, networking opportunity for Supply Chain Automation educators. Offered in conjunction with MODEX, the nation’s largest materials handling conference, the Symposium is a three-day gathering with targeted sessions especially for educators in supply chain automation. It features:
- Time to network with academic colleagues from across the country
- Opportunities to interact with industry representatives and forge industry connections that take your programs to the next level
- Off-site scheduled tours of leading supply chain automation and logistics facilities
- Tactical instruction from National Science Foundation representatives to help you elevate your program through NSF grants.
As part of the symposium Waypoint CEO will be educating the educators on the value of implementing AMRs and including workforce in his talk: Success of AMRs in the Supply Chain Depends on Workforce Inclusion (Tuesday March 10, 2020 9:30am – 10:15am) Atlanta Regional Commission 229 Peachtree ST NE, STE 100, Atlanta
Please contact us today if you have questions or would like to schedule a live demo of Vector & MAV3K and our growing family omnidirectional, autonomous industrial robots designed to empower your manufacturing workforce.
We look forward to seeing you in Atlanta at MODEX!
