LapWall streamlined a challenging process step with a software robot - "Automation yielded significant results"

LapWall, a manufacturer of wood elements, has risen to become a market leader in its field. A company always open to finding new solutions decided to automate a complex process step using Rajobit’s software robot. The benefits were greater than expected.

LapWall was founded in 2011 and it has become the trailblazer and uncontested market leader in its field. LapWall manufactures large LEKO® elements customised according to construction companies’ needs. Each client, construction project and building is unique. This means that element solutions need to be that, too. The special LapWall touch is recognisable in new school buildings, day-care centres, assisted living facilities, wooden apartment buildings, business facilities and residential buildings.

Designing element solutions according to clients' needs is demanding work: elements are manufactured on five production lines in several different work stations. Each requires its own set of image series printed in an exact order.

– There are several different variations. It’s quite an effort to do manually and get the images to the right work stations in a specific order. It was getting on people’s nerves, says Kari Viljamaa, COO at LapWall.

– We needed to somehow make this phase easier while also improving the quality of work so that there weren’t any mistakes, Viljamaa tells.

In order to streamline this step of the process, LapWall partnered with Rajobit in the end of 2018. Rajobit automated the printing of the element images in LapWall’s planning process.

– It was a really complicated project but the result was exactly what we hoped for, Viljamaa says.

The automation turned out to be much more beneficial than the company had expected.

– It proved very useful for us: people were no longer required to perform a task that was laborious. We are saving working time and, most importantly, we managed to put an end to a task that was getting on people’s nerves. The quality of work is even more accurate now, says COO Kari Viljamaa.

Automating a crucial phase actually streamlined the entire planning process.

– This is a routine task that is challenging to perform. It was a part of the process that was not ready yet. The automation actually helped us develop and improve our entire planning process, says COO Kari Viljamaa.

For the clients this is reflected in matters such as the reliability and certainty of deliveries.

– There are no mistakes here either. The robot enables us to provide an even better customer service experience.

The agile growing company is already looking into the next work phases that could be automated. Making automation a part of the process will be growing significantly in the future. It will be implemented in the administrative work as well. LapWall’s objective is to have multi-stage routine tasks automated in order to create more meaningful work content for people as well as to improve the quality and efficiency of work.

– We have a positive outlook and an open mind towards software robotics. Our aim is to keep reducing the routines. We are not doing this to reduce the number of staff. Instead we are doing this to be able to utilise staff resources smarter, states Kari Viljamaa, COO at LapWall.

– We want to be open-minded trailblazers in our work. The way Rajobit operates suits us very well, Viljamaa says.

Organisation

LapWall Oy

Sector

Elements

Interviewee

Kari Viljamaa

COO