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Denmark lagging behind on robotic manufacturing

TheCopenhagenPost
August 18th, 2015


This article is more than 9 years old.

Three quarters of production companies don’t use automated machines

In contrast to some other countries, where robots perform a large proportion of the manual labour, 76 percent of Danish manufacturing companies don’t use industrial robots. This is the result of a new survey by the Danish technological institute Teknologisk Institut (TI).

Oblivious to possibilities
The survey also showed that more than half of the companies believed that robotic solutions for their particular production processes didn’t exist. But Kurt Nielsen, the head of the centre for robot technology at TI, said the companies were often just oblivious to the possibilities.

“The companies are often mistaken because they don’t know the technological possibilities,” he said.

“Robot technology is developing very quickly and the companies might have overlooked technological possibilities that can improve their productivity and competitiveness.”

Increasing efficiency
TI highlights the case of the furniture manufacturer Aksel Kjersgaard, which recently automated the polishing of its products. Jesper Dahl, the head of production at the company, said he had been concerned that robots couldn’t deliver the standard of work required. However, he claims the Active Contact Flange robotic solution provides an even higher standard of finish.

“We are an old company characterised by craftsmanship and therefore hand polishing, and the final touches have been part of our image,” he said

“But we have grown and our production runs have become bigger, so we are forced to look at increasing efficiency.”


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Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

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At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

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Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”