Never underestimate the value of a good systems integrator

George Thompson, Chairman of BARA, the British Automation & Robot Association, explains why he sees system integrators as the most important facet of an automated manufacturing solution.

Iwas recently asked what I thought the most important part of an automated solution was. My reply could have been the robot, which I consider to be the beating heart of the automated solution, or perhaps the control architecture, which I would describe as the system’s brain and central nervous system. If we add in vision, then the system can see. The list goes on. However, the most important part for me would be the system integrators, and the core knowledge they have about a particular process or application should never be underestimated or assumed.

I often describe system integrators as being like the conductors of a worldclass orchestra. Even if you have the best musicians and instruments, the conductor is the key to it all. Just as the conductor understands how to get all the different component parts of the orchestra to work together and squeeze the very best out of each piece to create beautiful music, so do the system integrators. They understand how each component works and how to incorporate each part to create a highly efficient automation solution.

One of the first things that most integrators would like to understand is how their potential customers’ current process works. Personally, I want to have a discussion with the line operatives to learn what improvements they have made to the official process. Once this information is obtained and the detailed models of the parts to be handled or assembled have been studied, this is when we need to start the process of developing the initial concepts for the automated process.

There are times when perhaps an integrator is chosen from an area outside of its core expertise because of either how it approaches challenges, or because its expertise is close enough to the manufacturing challenge that it would be deemed advantageous for them to at least look through the project. An example of this could be a company known for its work in the pharmaceutical or aerospace industries being asked to look at a project in the food and drink sector, because of its experience in traceability control procedures. Another may be for an integrator known for automotive tier 1 experience being asked to look at a project in general industry to give insights on how to rework the end product with automated assembly in mind.

As another example, I was recently looking at a project where the product needed a specific process that was unusual for the raw product. The inspiration for the solution came from a machine tending application I sold several years ago. The only similarity between the projects is they use robots to achieve the end result. They are entirely different industries, and the materials could not be more different. It was only as a direct result of looking at the information gathered from my site visit and one of those operator improvements to the manufacturing process that made me even think, ‘I wonder if this would work’.

So, if you are an end customer and you have a manufacturing challenge, when you are researching system integrators, make sure that you carry out your due diligence and make sure that the integrator that you are thinking about engaging with has a wide range of experience within their pool of employees. You never know where the inspiration for the solution you have been looking for may come from.

If you want to start your automation journey, but don’t know where to start, I highly recommend visiting the BARA website (www.ppma.co.uk/bara.html), where we have outlined several topics under the expert advice section to give some initial information.