Ten Common Mistakes in Automation Purchasing

Buying automation equipment can be a complex process. Experience gained from common purchasing mistakes can serve as a useful guide:

1. No equipment specification

Failure to define your company's expectations about performance, esthetics, and hardware preferences will lead to confusion and misunderstandings. A detailed equipment spec will force the project engineer to look at all aspects of the project.

2. Failure to visit prospective automation vendors

Quotation requests often go out with little prior knowledge about the automation company. A visit to the supplier early in the process helps ensure that you're looking at viable companies and solutions.

3. Incorrectly estimating automation project cost

Presenting an underestimated automation project for internal management approval and receiving it leads to the possibility of having to look for the right price rather than the right solution. Requesting a quotation from a couple of automation houses provides a more accurate cost estimate and may prevent a nonviable project startup.

4. Insufficient in-house technical capability

Companies have been known to buy a piece of automation without fully considering technical expertise needed to maintain the equipment. Be sure to consider all costs associated with new or unfamiliar technology.

5. Failure to involve production staff

People responsible for ultimately operating the automation system can make the machine look good or bad. Allow production people to be involved early in the project.

6. Poor communication with automation vendor

Even with detailed equipment specifications submitted to the vendor, constant, constructive communication must be maintained. "Constructive communication" is the operating term; simply documenting all conversations and responding to written correspondence to maintain good records is not nearly enough.

7. Accepting equipment before it is ready

Don't allow shipment of the machine before it is ready. This usually prolongs the automation system from performing according to plan, and damages vendor/company relationship, leading to extra costs in the long and short run.

8. Failure to supply the vendor with latest information

Maintaining up-to-date documentation is an ongoing challenge for most companies. Failure to supply the vendor with sufficient, up-to-date project drawings will cause expensive delays, since nonconformance from parts to prints will not always be detected until it is too late, causing rework.

9. Failure to design for automation

Some products are not designed for automatic manufacturing or assembly methods. When automation is difficult, perhaps a semi-automatic solution makes more sense.

10. Using the wrong technology for the application

Failure of a project engineer to do the required homework could result in less than efficient use of equipment. Is there off-the-shelf equipment available for your application? Should flexible or hard automation be used? These are types of questions that should be considered early on.