Automating scrap conveying and processing frees operators from the heaviest manual work, improves safety, and boosts productivity by up to 60%. Find out how PRAB solutions help maintain production pace without increasing headcount.
This article explains how automating scrap processing translates into operator productivity, and presents documented results achieved by PRAB customers at their facilities.
How Much Productivity Does Manual Scrap Handling Cost?
Manual scrap handling generates hidden productivity losses that don’t show up in obvious budget line items. The most common of these are:
- Machine downtime while operators clear accumulated scrap from beneath presses or out of machining centers.
- Forklift traffic competing with production activity, slowing throughput and increasing accident risk.
- Housekeeping work: sweeping, washing, and removing greasy floor buildup caused by overflowing wet chips.
- Container-swap time and stopped production while full containers are exchanged, especially with high-output presses.
- Operator injuries and fatigue from lifting, carrying, and manually handling sharp, heavy, or hot scrap.
None of these losses show up in a single budget line, but they add up and significantly reduce productivity. For high-volume, multi-shift operations, the combined loss can reach tens of thousands of dollars a year.
What Efficiency Gains Do PRAB Customers See?
PRAB documents results across its entire installed base. Below are verified outcomes from real customer implementations.
Downtime: From Hours to Minutes
“Thanks to this system’s efficient, advanced design, manufacturers report a drastic reduction in downtime — cleanup that once took hours now takes minutes.” — PRAB ScrapVeyor™ II product page
In stamping processes, where excess scrap or belt-conveyor jams previously caused downtime lasting hours, the sealed steel belt of the ScrapVeyor™ II eliminates the leakage and material carry-back that cause these stoppages. Presses can run continuously, without stopping to swap containers or clean up.
Availability Increase: Immediately 10–15%
“We saw an immediate 10–15% increase in availability. We also eliminated a safety hazard, got a better price for the recycled metal thanks to higher density, and reduced container changeovers by 60% per shift.”
Tom Dyment, Project Manager, Ingersoll Tillage Group
Ingersoll Tillage Group, a Canadian manufacturer of tillage discs for agricultural machinery, was operating a PLC-controlled lathe cell. After installing a PRAB crusher, availability increased immediately by 10–15%, container changeovers dropped by 60% per shift, and the associated safety hazard was eliminated.
Labor Efficiency and Container Filling — Verified Under Performantee®
PRAB’s automated loading systems are designed to increase container-filling efficiency and reduce the labor required to manage waste volume.
What Does an Efficiency Gain Look Like in a Stamping Process?
A manufacturer of heavy, stamped fasteners for the automotive industry needed to add three new presses in a facility with limited floor space. PRAB designed a centralized scrap-management system. Results:
- Streamlined workflow: scrap automatically moved from beneath the presses to the loading area, with no operator involvement.
- Higher productivity: machine operators no longer had to leave their stations to deal with scrap.
- Minimized labor requirements: the new system was designed to fit within the existing trench footprint.
- Optimized use of resources: the three new presses fit within the original building.
What About the Operator Experience?
Beyond productivity metrics, PRAB systems change the day-to-day experience of the people working around them — which matters for employee retention and workplace culture.
Specific operator-experience improvements documented at PRAB installations:
- Elimination of manual chip removal: the number of waste containers emptied dropped from 70 to 30.
- Cleaner floors, without excess greasy buildup.
- No hand contact with hot, sharp, or greasy scrap.
- Forklifts removed from the scrap-handling process, reducing pedestrian-vehicle conflict.
- Near-total elimination of maintenance work — the PRAB crusher/wringer described as “practically maintenance-free.”
How to Assess Whether Your Plant Needs Scrap Handling Automation
PRAB engineers consider five indicators:
- Operations generating more than 450,000 tons of scrap per year are good candidates.
- If scrap-related downtime occurs more than once per shift, ROI is typically fast.
- If operators regularly leave their machines to deal with scrap, that’s a productivity loss.
- If floor cleaning is a significant line item of work, it’s worth reviewing conveyor design.
- Manual scrap handling is a leading cause of lacerations and musculoskeletal injuries.
Q&A
How quickly do PRAB customers notice efficiency improvements after installation?
Most customers report measurable benefits within the first week of operation. Ingersoll Tillage Group saw an immediate 10–15% increase in availability.
Can PRAB systems be integrated with existing machining cells?
Yes. PRAB engineers design systems to fit existing trench dimensions, floor layouts, and guarding configurations.
Does PRAB guarantee productivity?
Yes. PRAB’s Performantee® guarantee confirms specific performance outcomes. If the equipment doesn’t reach the projected results, PRAB will inspect, repair, or make the necessary adjustments. Support is available 24/7.
What is a typical ROI period?
PRAB customers frequently report payback within one to two years, thanks to labor savings, reduced downtime, and higher scrap value.
Summary
Automating metal scrap handling isn’t a cost center — it’s a productivity investment that delivers documented, measurable returns. PRAB’s 75 years of experience are backed by verifiable customer results.
If production time at your facility is being lost to waste management, the question isn’t whether automation pays off, but how soon.
