Automating a production line is an engineering and integration problem — not a software purchase. Before anything else, a clarification that genuinely matters: this guide is about physical industrial and factory automation — PLC/SCADA control, robotic cells, controls and instrumentation, process automation. It is not consumer or humanoid robotics, robotics education, AI, or RPA (robotic process automation) software bots. RoboFactory Africa has integrated automation on real factory floors across Ghana and Togo since 2018.

What “Automating a Line” Actually Means

It means taking a production requirement — throughput, quality, repeatability, labour relief — and delivering a working, integrated automation system around your existing line. That spans control architecture, panel build, robotic-cell installation, instrumentation, PLC/SCADA programming, and commissioning, all tied into the line you already run.

It Is Not a Single Product

There is no box you buy that “automates the line.” It is engineered around your plant, your process, and your production target.

The Steps, In Order

1. Consult & Assess

Start with the line and the target. Map the process, the constraints, the bottleneck, and the outcome you need. This is where scope is honestly defined — and where retrofit-vs-new-build is decided.

2. Design & Engineer

Architect the control system — PLC/SCADA, robotic cells, controls and instrumentation — and produce the detailed engineering drawings. Engineering follows recognised practice such as IEC 61131-3 for PLC programming and IEC 61439 for control-panel assemblies, where those apply.

3. Build & Integrate

Build the panels, integrate the robotic cells, and tie the system into your existing line and — where needed — your MES/ERP per ISA-95. Machinery and robot-cell safety is risk-assessed to ISO 12100 and ISO 10218-2.

4. Commission & Verify

Commission on the floor, verify against the production target and the safety case, and prove it runs — within Ghana’s factory-safety regime: the Factories, Offices and Shops Act 1970 (Act 328), administered through the Department of Factories Inspectorate (DFI), not the GSA.

5. Hand Over & Support

Train operators and maintenance staff, hand over documented drawings, and keep support available for the system’s lifecycle.

Standards: A Framework, Not a Badge

We engineer to a recognised framework — IEC 61131-3 (PLC programming), ISO 10218-2 / ISO 12100 (robot-cell & machinery safety), IEC 61508 / IEC 61511 (functional safety / SIL where the process demands it), IEC 61439 (control panels), ISA-95 (MES integration) and IEC 62443 (OT cybersecurity). We describe these as the framework we work to, and claim a specific certification only where it is actually held.

What It Costs

There is no flat published rate. An automation project is scoped and quoted per project — the line, the scope, the robotics and controls, and new-build vs retrofit all drive it. We quote against your actual requirement, never an invented figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this about RPA software or consumer robots?

No. This is physical industrial automation on the factory floor — PLC/SCADA, robotic cells, controls, instrumentation. Not RPA software bots, not consumer/humanoid robots, not robotics education.

Can you automate an existing line, or only a new one?

Both. A legacy line can be retrofitted and its controls migrated, or a new automated line built from the architecture up. Which path fits is decided at the assessment stage.

Who governs factory safety in Ghana?

Factory and machinery safety falls under the Factories, Offices and Shops Act 1970 (Act 328), administered by the Department of Factories Inspectorate (DFI).

Request a consultation — or scope an automation project: +233 20 531 3333.