What does SP do and how do we make it happen?

October 2019

What Does SP Do And How Do They Make It Happen?

For over 39 years, SP Automation & Robotics has been providing special purpose, bespoke automation solutions to a wide range of clients. The first machine produced by the company was for forming scampi nuggets for a UK manufacturer back in 1984. Since then, we have produced over 1000 solutions for a completely diverse range of clients and industries, including;

• Assembly and testing of medical devices
• Removal of blood spots in fish fillets
• Printing of golf balls
• Assembly and testing of detonators for the automotive industry
• Assembly of plumbing fittings
• Testing of electronic devices

The clients that some of these systems have been for, have included some of the leading pharmaceutical, food manufacturing and automotive organisations in the world. As the years have gone by, the complexity and size of the projects have increased, along with the company’s steady growth. Project sizes ranged from £20k, with the biggest to date being just under £3 million.

How do we succeed in what we do?

With bespoke automation, there is potentially a much higher risk in the project from both SP Automation & Robotics’ point of view and also the clients. One of the most important parts of the process is mitigating these risks as much as possible and at an early stage. This process starts at the first contact with the client, where our trained engineers visit to discuss the application and gain as much insight into the client’s culture, processes, and operations. It sounds obvious, but if we don’t understand the problem, then we won’t be able to come up with a solution.

The bespoke nature of what we do, allows us to think out of the box and utilise our wealth of experience which enables us to propose the best solution to suit the application.

However, we also understand that where a standard solution is available then that is the approach that needs to be taken. We understand that coming in as a new solution provider to many companies can pose potential risks, and this is where we feel we excel in. This relationship has to become a true partnership in order to maximise the end result. Transparency in concepts and costings, detailed specifications, and sharing and understanding of as much information as possible are the ingredients for a successful project.

The Team That Makes It Happen

Within our spacious engineering design office, our software, mechanical design, and control system design engineers work closely together to ensure communication is open and transparent. SP Technology is one of only a few automation companies which employ a full array of dedicated engineering staff, which include;

• 5 mechanical design engineers
• 3 software engineers
• 2 controls system design engineers
• 3 control wiring and panel build technician
• 11 mechanical production and machine build engineers

Project Management

Project management is combined with production control, with weekly project meetings taken place internally in our dedicated meeting rooms. Client project updates take place at predetermined intervals that are agreed with them at the beginning of the project. These progress meetings can be via video conferencing, teleconferencing and visits to either the clients’ facilities or here at SP Automation & Robotics.

Good communication is a major factor for a successful project. It would be fantastic if everything went to plan, but in reality, we all know there can be possible hiccups. Good project management ensures any possible delays are brought to light as early on as possible and a plan of action to bring this back inline is agreed in writing with all stakeholders. Having all resources in house ensures we don’t have to rely on subcontract schedules or availability which in itself can cause major project planning issues. Subcontracting is used but we try to minimise this as much as possible.

Manufacturing

Following the formal sign off of designs for manufacturing, drawing packages are issued in a priority approach to manufacturing, with the machining of detailed components for the machines being carried out in our segregated machining workshop which houses an array of machining centres operated by our highly skilled manufacturing engineers. Machine control panels are built in a control workshop lab, before being transferred to our machine build area. These are then installed into the machines, prior to machine wiring.

Machine Build and Commissioning 

Each project has its own dedicated build bay, where all bought in parts, manufactured parts and build files are located, numbered and identified to ensure the machine build process is as seamless as possible. The build phase is controlled by the project schedule, with each machine builder having access to all project-related information. Again issues do crop up from time to time withdrawing errors, but our factory layout being as it is means the design office is adjacent to the build area, so again good communication is made possible to rectify problems quickly.

The build phase sees the mechanical parts of the machines coming together with bought in ancillary parts such as industrial robots, pneumatic systems, vision systems etc. Control panels are installed, and the machine begins its wiring stage. During this time, our software engineers will have been creating offline coding, which will be installed into the machine, once the machine wiring is complete. Quality checks are carried out for operational purposes such as PLC checklists, safety systems and pneumatic systems before the machine debug commences.

Factory Acceptance Testing

Following on for this, we enter pre Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT’s) phase where we encourage our clients to visit and work through the agreed FAT criteria. The final stage FAT’s take place with our clients normally running the system as it would be in their manufacturing process. Assuming a successful FAT, then the machine will be shipped, and installed at our client’s premises, with a team of engineers from SP Automation & Robotics visiting to perform final installation, onsite training and Site Acceptance Testing (SAT’s) to an agreed specification.

Our Success

With over 1000 systems being installed, literally across the globe, our business model may have some improvements to be made, but our approach has seen 100% success rate in installation over the years. This doesn’t just happen by chance, it is a result of years of learning how to concept solutions and make them into reality, whilst building solid relationships with our clients at the same time.

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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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