AMT President Craig Salvaggio shares insights into how to select a qualified system integrator for your new or upgrade automation project, and the critical questions to ask when embarking on this path.
Packaging manufacturers are increasingly turning to automation for the same reason that many industries are seeing mass optimization of their facilities. It's no secret that there is a shortage of workers in manufacturing. In this day and age, surviving means embracing robotic and automated advancements. Optimization of floorspace, improvement of quality control, attaining reliable and consistent throughput, and reduction of operation costs are all favorable considerations that come into play. However, it takes help, which brings us to the process of asking the right questions to find a qualified system integrator.
What level of automation and technical maturity are you ready for?
If you’re at the point in your facility where you’ve decided to implement automation, we suggest the best-in-class approach for upgrades. Let’s use autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), for example. AMRs are a relatively new technology, and the forecast is that the AMR space is going to grow tenfold in about a four-year span. New AMR suppliers are going to be popping up, and when making the decision to automate you need to be careful. The way we look at robotics from an industrial side is best in class; consider integrators who can promise you low risk, high longevity, and a commitment to evolving with you. So, ask yourself, what benefits are we looking for from expanding our automated capabilities? Who is renowned for providing these services?
Who Can Be Your Trusted Partner?
Once you've done your due diligence, it's time to select a partner to implement your automated solution. The partnership approach to your vendor and your customer relationship is important. The old days of having six companies bring a quote to the table and you buy from the lowest bidder are gone. We've learned that method doesn't work, and it’s not how you achieve the best-in-class technology. The process starts with a qualification and screening process. You're looking at trust, long-term capabilities, and partnerships, as well as integrators who can show you past successful installations. If you were to call their last customer, do they trust that integrator to come back? That's where it all starts.
You also want to look at business stability: how long they've been around, and the size of projects that they handle. Depending on the size of the integrator and the end user, you may want to size those together. How does the integrator handle their proposal process from change orders to line items? How does the company handle service and technical support? What is the response timeframe? Do they have remote connectivity? Can they get access to the equipment and will your company allow access to the equipment?
Who Is Going to Follow Through?
A high level of communication between your project managers and a deep understanding of the facilities through walkthroughs and multiple meetings is crucial. Here at AMT, we do full factory acceptance testing (FAT) on our floor. Let’s go back to the example of AMRs. In this case, you've got multiple pieces of automation being joined together. We typically set all of that up on the floor for the customer to come in and actually witness the performance of the technology at the same time. It's a great opportunity for training. With customers who have never used AMRs before, we get them on the floor for the FAT, and they can spend time learning how the system runs and getting their hands on the system.
Post-Project: What Was The Impact?
At the end of the day, did the integrator provide the result that the end user was looking for? Did they get not only the ROI but the overall business case that we all agreed to at the beginning? This is always the toughest to define. Are you meeting the throughput requirements? Have you improved safety or quality and what do those metrics look like? It’s important to consider the demonstration of stable automation and whether that customer or end user will be likely to look at the technology again. Did they demonstrate success on the first implementation and would you go on the journey again?
At AMT, we understand the process. Selecting a suitable integrator for your new or upgraded automation projects requires asking the right questions and we’re here to help. To have a better grasp of our experience with the process, watch us break it down in this webinar hosted by OTTO Motors, using an example in which a client needed support with AMR integration. For more information on selecting an integrator, read The End User’s System Integrator Selection Process, an eBook by Craig Salvalaggio.
If you would like additional help, please contact our team.