A Guide for When Considering Automation

August 2020

In today’s climate with uncertainty regarding Brexit, labour shortages, etc., many companies are looking to automate. Automation has been part of business for more than a generation, and now, more SMEs are looking at how they can create their competitive advantage than ever before.  With the hype and realisation of Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT), there are so many advantages of automating. Not necessarily from reducing headcount but improving quality, working on real-time data, and upskilling your workforce to help make your business and manufacturing into a smart factory. This automation guide sets out some of the things to consider when looking to introduce automation to your production.

Here, we look at a number of simple steps to allow you to ease this sometimes daunting task of looking at automating.

Identify the Problem.

Perhaps an obvious area to start, but this is a crucial step. Within many manufacturing companies, the good old “it’s always been done this way” is a phrase these businesses need to eradicate. We need to look at bottlenecks in production and what causes the heartache.

• Map out the process
• Carry out time studies on each of the processes
• Look at the supply chain, how does your inventory work.
• Can the product have design changes?
• Get production involved – your operators generally know more about the process than most people.

Sell the Automation Concept

As soon as automation is mentioned, this can throw up so many problems if it is not managed. The reason behind automation is to improve the business, profitability, and, therefore, sustainability. Your production line operatives, production engineers, and design team all have to come together to make this work. Without everyone’s input and buy-in, it could present problems and resistance further down the line, so having this buy-in is invaluable.

Create a Team

Many hands make light work. This is very true, and in the case of implementing automation, it is crucial. Select a team that embraces this change but also mixes it up with a few who don’t. Dragging people along is difficult, but it comes easier with time, and in most cases, the resistance is due to a lack of understanding.

Create a User Requirement Specification (URS)

This document is extremely important and should be based on your findings from your identification of the problem.  It should be written in a very concise, easy-to-read format that will enable a recipient to fully understand the process and the problem. It should not necessarily tell any supplier how it should be done unless there are specific operations or tests that have been developed and validated that need to be used. The best way to do this is to leave the door open, indicating that this is the current way, and you may consider alternatives. A picture says a thousand words, and a step-by-step process, supported by good work instructions, sequences of build and so on, can aid any potential supplier or partner to better understand your requirements.

This document should also contain your expectations of any solutions, such as specific functionality, Efficiencies or Overall Equipment Efficiencies (OEE).

Production space is a premium, and each square meter is valuable real estate, so this should be MINIMISED. Providing this at the start allows potential partners to know their limitations. Another area that is often forgotten about is how to get the equipment in. Again, providing this information is crucial. There is no point in the machine being delivered and finding out that a wall needs to be knocked down. Likewise, knowing your limitations on services such as power and air also needs to be considered.

This specification can be as exhaustive as you want, but generally, the more you put in at the start, the more likely your project will succeed.

Finding your Automation Partner

Even if your requirement looks very simple, you still have to dig deeper to understand who you need to get involved.  Searching for a robot manufacturer or a vision system manufacturer might seem logical, but you may find these companies prefer to “box shift” and not give you a solution. They may, however, refer you to a few companies. Likewise, if your products are a “widget”, there’s a good chance that this will throw up a lot of confusion when searching for “widget” machines. If your process involves a number of areas of different expertise, a good search would be “Bespoke Automation”

Research the company to find out its history both from a technical point of view as well as a financial one

Invite them to the site. This might seem obvious, but a lot of companies don’t do this.

Select 3 or 4 Potential vendors

• Visit these companies
• Meet the team (people buy from people)
• See how their project management operates
• See how their quality system works
• What are their capabilities – Do they rely a lot on subcontracting? Not necessarily a problem until it comes to calling on these subcontractors only to find they are not available. An example of this is software. Many companies say, for example, that they have software engineering capabilities when, in fact, they subcontract. A crucial resource, especially near the end of the project.
• Ask for reference sites
• Locality – This shouldn’t be a deal-breaker. With today’s technology, dialling into machines is a norm, therefore eliminating issues of geographic locations. Even if the company was on your doorstep, there is no guarantee they can support you within an hour.
• How do they interact with suppliers and Partners?
  • A good automation company will not pretend to be an expert in all areas. Companies that “partner” with technology experts are usually the ones who are up to date with new possibilities to make sure their solution is both practical and up to date.

Vendor Final selection

• Does their proposal meet your URS?
• How quickly has the company responded to your request?
• How well have they communicated with you?
• Can they truly demonstrate their lead times?
• Have they fully risk assessed the application (from a safety as well as an overall project point of view)
• Have they considered Proof of Concept (POC) to validate certain areas of concern?
• Cost is always a major part of the project and shouldn’t just be based on payback. Health and safety improvements, quality improvements, and potential labour savings have to be considered. In addition, the old accolade of “buy cheap, buy twice” can ring very true in this situation, and many automation companies have come and gone due to them “buying in work” If there is a big difference in vendor costs, there is normally a reason behind it.

Once this has all been completed and you’re ready to push the button, it doesn’t stop there. Close project management is required. Regular design review meetings, weekly updated project plans and general good communication are required. Milestones should be established and chased. If things are slipping, you need to know how this will be overcome. It’s not the first time a client has turned up unannounced to see their “finished protect” to find a machine-based frame, so make these milestones both technical and financial.

This article may not cover every eventuality when looking to automate, but hopefully, it provides you with a means of streamlining the process to help you on your road to successful automation.

Contact Us