Automation Project Lead Times

October 2019

A late automation project is no fun for anyone. If you have found your way to this article, the chances are that you have ordered an assembly machine or a testing machine from a supplier, and it is late, or you are worried it will be late.

 

Either way, this article should hopefully give an insight as to why this happens and how SP Technology differentiates our approach from other suppliers to prevent late automation projects.

 

The number one reason that special purpose automation projects are late is … you – the customer (but not for the reasons you think!).

 

Very often, complex capital or engineering project timelines slip – it happens all the time, and if you have ordered machinery before, you’ll more than likely have experienced this already.

 

Before you can even place an order, you have to get the product design frozen, machine requirements fully defined, get management engaged and bought-in,  your vendors audited and assessed, jumped through the hoops of your capital request/approval process; at this point, you are hoping delays in each of these steps has only cost weeks on your timeline – not months.

 

This means you now have to find that time from somewhere, and the easiest way to do that is to ask the machine builder to shorten their lead time.

 

Be cautious of having the following conversation:

“What’s the lead time on the system?”

 

“For a system of this size and complexity and with the labour content involved, it will be somewhere around 20-22 weeks”.

 

“Is there any way you can bring that down?”

 

“How much do you need it brought down by?”

 

“We need it in 16 weeks”

 

“OK, as long as we get the order this week we can do that”

 

Now, if anyone reading recognises this conversation, they will also remember that the machine builder, in all likelihood, didn’t deliver on time.  They also more than likely didn’t communicate any problems they were having, gave you updated timescales, or maybe even stopped taking your calls or replying to e-mails.

 

The machine builder most likely would have never been able to meet this deadline; they have reduced the lead time only to win an order but have not made any significant changes to their project plan in order to reduce the estimated labour times for each activity.

 

 

Project Scoping:

At the start of every project, a manager is allocated to act as a liaison between the customer and the supplier.  It’s the project manager’s job to make sure that all of your requirements are captured and any technical and commercial risks are highlighted. This then allows a project plan to be created.

 

Rushing this process or involving any more people than is necessary (too many cooks, decision by committee, insert relevant cliché) is counter-productive both from a timescale and project delivery perspective.

 

Speeding this phase up is not a resourcing problem that can be solved by just adding more people.  The quickest way through this is to have your requirements clearly defined and build a good relationship with your machine builder. Involve them as early in the process as possible (ideally, before an order is placed).   Great communication is key.

 

 

Design:

So we’ve established that you cannot throw bodies at the scoping-out stage.  What about design?

 

To answer that question, I would ask you to think about what a project would look like if there were no time constraints.

 

You would have one mechanical designer, one electrical designer, and one software designer, all working in perfect harmony.

 

The mechanical design would be completed on schedule with a controlled and consistent approach.  The electrical and software design would be completed after all of the mechanical equipment and functionality have been fully defined.  There will be some overlaps in these design phases as one discipline does not need to complete its phase 100% before the next begins, but it will be a logical, sequential process.

 

Now, imagine I have to chop four to six weeks out of my design timeline.

 

I am going to get three mechanical designers, three electrical designers, and two software engineers to get the project through as quickly as possible.

 

I am going to have stations on the machine that follow three different philosophies: electrical and software engineers treading on each other’s toes, some work getting done twice and some not at all.

 

The four weeks I saved at the front end of the design are going to get used to fixing errors at the end.

 

Result = late delivery.

 

This is not a resource problem (you will start to see a theme developing here).

 

Manufacture and Assembly:

This is one area where time can possibly be saved, but only through the use of reliable high-quality sub-contractors to do the manufacturing work.  Once all of the parts are ordered and manufactured, we have to assemble them and then get the machine set up and running.

 

Our builders are craftsmen with decades of experience and the knowledge to be able to say, “I know the CAD says that looks OK, but I am going to have to machine 0.1 mm off that plate”.

 

A machine isn’t a machine until it is running. In an age where you can upload a CAD file to a CNC machine and it cuts metal almost completely automatically, we still need the human touch and experience to make all of those components work together.

 

This is not a resource problem.

 

 

Trials, De-Bug and Buy-Off:

Trials, de-bug, buy-off, installation, and commissioning are all related.

 

If a project is rushed or not correctly scoped from the start – buying off the machine is going to be a long drawn-out process.

 

But wait!  We can save time, skip the buy-off trials, get the machine on-site and get it up in running when it is on our factory floor.

 

Installation and Commissioning:

The machine is now delivered, having never even been partially tested.

 

You have to commission it, and you turn it on to start running; you then get flashing red lights and “beep – beep – beep”.

 

The commissioning engineer needs to go away and order a couple of extra parts, modify a plate and get the software engineer on-site to fix a PLC problem.  Oh, and it will take a week to get this turned around.

 

Passing the buck, robbing Peter to pay Paul – again, insert the cliché.

 

This is not a resource problem.

 

What we are trying to highlight here is that engineering, and in particular automation projects, are complicated, and there is a narrow margin for error.   Anytime something goes wrong, it costs time. Therefore, rather than try to get a supplier to deliver the impossible, it makes more sense to extend the timeline as much as you can. Ensure your machine builder is involved in the process as early as possible to prevent a late automation project.

 

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Read more about our automation here…

• Benefits of Automation
• The Benefits of Machine Vision Technology
• Robots & Cobots – What is the Difference?
• Robotic Automation
• What is a URS? Why is it Important?
• Cost of Industrial Automation
• Advantages & Disadvantages of Robotic Automation

 

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