10 Things to Consider Before Automating a Facility
From the scope to deliverables, take these steps to
make sure you’re working with the right company to integrate automation into a
facility.
Patrick O’Rahilly, Founder/CEO of
FactoryFix.com | Jan 12, 2017
Investing in custom automation equipment is an intimidating process. As
part of the engineering team, there are several things you need to consider
before automating. Custom automation projects are a team effort between your
company and the integrator. Choosing a good integrator as a partner is an obvious step.
This list includes some of the other important things to address before you
kick off the project.
1. Start with a simple scope of work. Simplicity is everything when integrating automation for the first time.
It can be easy to get excited and envision a complex machine running flawlessly
in your facility. It’s your duty as part of the technical team to start simple
and demonstrate a quick win. Purchasing assembly automation is not like buying a
product off the shelf. You dictate where the project starts and how far it
goes. Start with just one part number, or one assembly process. At this point,
don’t worry about gaining maximum value, just focus on getting your team
comfortable with automation. Management wants to see a return on investment.
The easiest way to show that is to scale back the concept and automate one core
piece. The scope of work should be written internally, before any integrators
are brought into the picture. Integrators will always try to sell you on a
larger vision. Stick to a plan with less risk and build upon it later.
2. Design for expansion. This point is related
to No. 1 above. While it is important to stay simple with the initial system,
you must have an end goal in mind. Look down the road and consider what other
part numbers you would like to add to the system. If not part numbers, what
other secondary operations could you add? All these factors must be considered
before the initial chassis is designed. Assembly automation is a multi-step
process, it’s important to plan out the stages and not shut yourself off to
future expansion.
It is important to have any machinery
maintenance and service considered in the scope. While IoT can reduce unplanned
maintenance and even reduce planned maintenance, machines will need maintenance
at some point in time during its lifecycle.
At this point you have written your scope of work. Now it is time to go
through a formal procurement process. You should strive to get three quotes
from interested companies. Make sure the three quotes come from companies that
are actually interested in your project. Integrators that are too busy or not a
great fit may just send you a high price out of courtesy. Choosing the quote
with the lowest price is not necessarily the right way to go. Either way, it is
important to examine each quote to ensure that you are comfortable with the
concept. Some websites allow you to post projects for interested companies to
approach you.
4. Check references and experience. This
step is critical to the purchasing process. Have potential integrators provide
you with a couple of customer references that have similar systems. Then make
sure you also call former customers of theirs that they don’t give you. It is
no different than when you are hiring an employee. The references on a resume
are set up by that candidate beforehand to ensure a positive review.
Integrators do the same thing with potential customers. Find a few of that
integrator’s customers that they didn’t provide to you. Call them and learn
about how their experience was.
5. Be specific with components. You
need to be specific about the parts and components you want quoted in your
machine. This includes: PLCs, vision cameras, robots, sensors, servo motors and drives, HMIs, and more. If
you don’t say anything, integrators will select the cheapest option or the
brand that they have experience with. Survey your engineering team to see what
brands they are comfortable with. Talk to distributors to find out what components
are readily available in case of a failure. Websites like Source ESB
allow you to search your parts across multiple distributors. You want to stay
consistent throughout your facility, if possible.
6. Who owns the intellectual property? The
vast majority of companies that invest in automation don’t even think about
this issue. The reason is that there is no clear-cut answer. The majority of
integrators bury their right to retain the intellectual property in the terms and
conditions. An easy way to think about it is if you hired a computer developer
to design a website for you. Developers will retain the IP so that they can use
some of the code they developed for you on other projects. Integrators do the
same thing. They retain the right to reuse the design of your system so they
can make it easier on themselves for future projects. This may be okay
depending on how much input your team gave during the design process. It is
rare that an integrator would sell a carbon copy of your machine to one of your
competitors, but I’ve seen it happen. Just make sure this discussion takes
place before the purchase order.
Robotic arms might help automate
processes, and replace larger pieces of equipment. Robotic arms can be
expensive, but so can floor space. The floor space saved might justify the cost
difference in equipment. These robotics are also programmable, so it can change
as you need.
7. Clear runoff expectations. What
dictates a finished machine? You need to have a conversation about this before
you start the project. Acceptance metrics are usually a combination of cycle
time and errors per shift. For example, we will accept the machine if the cycle
time to assemble one part is under 10 seconds, and only one system fault per
four-hour shift. Make sure these expectations are clear.
8. Clear documentation deliverables. Automation
companies hate putting together documentation. It is a chore for them and they
prefer if the project ended when they delivered the machine. These include:
electrical schematics, CAD files, bill of materials, and other supporting
documents. You will need these to support or upgrade the system in the future.
Make it clear before the project starts what files you want and how you want to
receive them.
9. Do a midway point design review. Once
the project has been kicked off, you will want to keep a pulse on the initial
design. The design review should not be the first time you see the system’s design.
Make it a point to have a midway point meeting to review. This will let you
sleep easier knowing the design is on the right track.
10. Can you support it? It is important that you have a plan
for service and maintenance. Machines break, so
make sure you know what to do when this happens. Being able to repair things
in-house is always best, but a platform such as FactoryFix.com is an easy way to
bring in additional resources when needed.
Comentários
Enviar um comentário