Site commissioning plan for a robotic cell, step by step

Before anyone powers the arm, check what the site actually delivered. Compare the anchor bolt layout with the base drawing. Then confirm the air supply, the incoming power, the earth bond and the fence line against the layout approved at design review.

Mismatches found now cost an afternoon. Found during teaching, they stall the whole crew while the customer watches the clock. Photograph each item and attach it to the cell record, and ask the customer’s representative to sign the site acceptance sheet before you unpack the controller. Also check the main isolator position, the teach pendant holder height and the pendant cable length, since operators reach for these first and complain about them last.

It is a short step. Do not skip it. Measure twice.

Safety validation comes ahead of production speed. Test every emergency stop, each guard door interlock, the light curtain muting and the reduced-speed mode. Record the result per device, with the tester’s name and date.

The risk assessment must describe the cell as built, not as drawn. If a gripper changed or a guard moved during installation, the assessment changes too, and many commissioning delays trace back to a safety file that describes a different cell.

Keep the safety controller checksum with the record. Later, anyone can tell whether the safety program was altered after validation, and a surprised auditor becomes a calm one. No checksum, no proof.

Teaching is where the cell takes shape. Set the tool centre point and the user frames first, because every taught position depends on them. Only then teach the pick, place, approach and retreat points.

A point called P37 means nothing to the night-shift technician six months later. A point called PalletA_Layer2_Approach does. Store the program, the frame data and the tool data together, and copy them to external media after each teaching session.

Note who changed what. When a point drifts, the history shows whether the change was deliberate, whether a collision nudged a flange, or whether a technician touched up a pick position.

Run the cell with production parts, not dummies. The customer cares about the cycle time they were promised. Measure it across a long run, not one lucky cycle, and note the average, the slowest cycle and every stop cause.

Vision lighting, gripper wear and conveyor speed all show up here. If the target is missed, decide whether to retune the path, shorten the dwell times or change the process itself, and record who agreed to the decision.

Watch the first hour closely, because a servo gripper that overheats or a vacuum cup that loses seal tends to show itself late in the shift. A proving run with no unplanned stops closes this stage.

Every open item goes on one punch list, each with a named owner, a status and a deadline. Separate safety items from cosmetic ones. Safety items block handover, while a paint chip on a guard post does not.

The handover pack holds the final program backup, the safety file, the electrical drawings, the spares list and the operator training record. Assemble it as you go, not in the last week.

Before leaving, agree the first service visit date with the customer. Put it in the calendar today. Chase the spares list too, since a customer who waits three weeks for a replacement cup remembers the wait longer than the install.