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- Cobots On Construction Sites? 300% Labor Multiplier! | Cobot Spotlight
Cobots On Construction Sites? 300% Labor Multiplier! | Cobot Spotlight
Improved safety, work quality, and productivity while making a very challenging and dangerous job a piece of cake. Cobots redefining things, as always!
Catherine Bernier
March 05, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
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Yes. Cobots on construction sites. That means collaborative robots working under dust, sand, rain, you name it.
And early adopters are crushing it.
Harmon, the leading glazing US company, had an ROI within the first project they used it for, and they 3X their productivity.
For construction, however, it isn’t just about productivity. Safety is a critical factor for construction sites.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 1 in 5 workplace deaths occurred in the construction industry in 2021. More than 1000 people died in construction in 2021.
These are the critical things cobot technology should be used for. And adopters are doing just that!
Collaborative robots are simple to use. They are designed for fast, easy, hands-on programming with some software use. In this story, Harmon uses UR20 cobots from Universal Robots from Raise Robotics with specialty software and hardware to make fastener installation a breeze.
As a result, Harmon significantly improved fastener placement accuracy while getting a 3X multiplier on manual labor. And safety concerns? Nearly eliminated!
“We can actually work behind edge guarding on construction sites, so we don’t need the operators to be tied off using fall restraint systems.”
Cobot Brand: Universal Robots | Supplier: Raise Robotics | Application: Construction |
|---|---|---|
The Key Problems | How the Cobot Was Implemented | The Results |
The safety aspects of installing fasteners on the concrete edges, low installation accuracy, and labor shortage. | The v2.5 Wright cobot system from Raise Robotics is a mobile, rover-like platform that workers position and set to safely install fasteners. | Workers no longer need to go over the edge, near-perfect installation accuracy, and a 300% labor boost. |
The Safety Issues Of Installing Fasteners For Glass Façade Panels
To mount glass panels, you first need to install brackets on the edges of the building’s concrete structure.
Workers must hang off the side of the building, measure, drill, align, and torque brackets in their place.
Not only is that a fall hazard, but it’s also a drop hazard. A construction worker can drop their tools, the bracket, or fasteners, injuring or killing someone 1000 ft below.
Safety hazards can become significant liability and insurance issues. It’s costly and challenging to ensure occupational safety compliances required for such high-risk jobs. Likewise, any incidents and injuries can increase the contractor’s insurance premiums and incur fines and damages from lawsuits.
Giving construction professionals the tools to handle these jobs with nearly absolute safety is the way to go. It’s a win-win for everyone. They are far less likely to get harmed or worse, while the contractor sails smoothly from the job site to the job site.
“If you can efficiently do a job and take all the safety risks out of it, I think any contractor would sign up for that. As far as the workers, I think they’d much rather be inside the handrail operating a robot than hanging off the edge of the building.”
Why Raise Robotics Cobot Solution
Usually, there aren’t that many highly sophisticated automation equipment that can handle dust, rain, and extreme temperatures.
However, the leading cobot manufacturer, Universal Robots, offers their heavy-payload UR20 cobots with an IP65 rating, allowing cobot use in the construction environment.
So, UR’s IP rating actually enables the technology to endure harsh conditions.
However, a cobot on its own in construction wouldn’t be of much use.
It’s the whole package that makes the magic happen, including Raise Robotics software.
The battery-powered v2.5 Wright from Raise Robotics uses a rover base for movement and carrying the two UR20 arm structures, electronics, tooling, and enclosure.
The Raise Robotics software uses advanced algorithmic methods to process the visual feedback and achieve highly accurate installation.
“With our solution, we take our customer’s CAD models, and we develop a method to train deep learning networks, to be to see what the robot’s manipulating and make sure that it’s installing the components correctly every single time,” said Gary Chen, Raise Robotics co-founder.
Image of the visual neural network processing during real-time fastener installation by the cobot.
The Single-Project ROI And Results
Harmon achieved the ROI on this cobot system within one 13-floor project. Going forward is mostly profits.
Besides massive improvements in safety and 3X-ing labor productivity, the v2.5 Wright system has significantly improved the fastener placement accuracy.
“What we’ve seen from manual [bracket] installs is that typically around 30% of all fasteners that are installed on a construction site, aren’t in the right spot, so it’s quality critical using a robot like our URs in conjunction with total stations, it allows us to accurately place fasteners. We can install within +/- 3/16 of an inch, which is far superior to what we’ve seen,” said Conley
The Harmon success story shows that cobots are likely to improve every industry that uses manual labor, including jobs in tough environments.
It’s about finding the right way to use a cobot in your environment.
And for some construction tasks… Raise Robotics has found the way.
Learn more about Raise Robotics and how Harmon is benefiting from construction site cobots here:
Do you have a success story to share? Send us an email! We want to hear about it!
Enjoy your week!
The Cobot Spotlight Team