ASK AN ENGINEER- MY COMPANY IS NEW TO AUTOMATION, WHERE IS A GOOD PLACE TO START?

“My company is new to automation, where is a good place to start?”

Andrew Larson, Sales Engineer at Mechatronic Solutions:

“Oftentimes, first time automation customers look at automating the manual process that seems to take the longest. They feel that if they automate this process, it will speed everything up but there is usually a reason this process takes the longest. It has complex steps that can make it a more intensive automation project that can drive the cost over their initial budget and they don’t see the ROI as soon as they would have liked to. This then scares them away from automating other processes.

A recommendation would be to first look at automating some of the simpler tasks to get your feet wet and gain a better understanding of what it takes to have a successful project. This also frees up your workers to focus on the more complex tasks which in the end speeds the whole process up as well.

Once you have successfully automated some of the simpler tasks, it becomes easier to slowly start tackling more complex tasks as you will now have the experience and expertise to build on the complexity level of your automation projects.”

Ask an Engineer

Mechatronic Solutions takes a consultative approach to helping customers meet their goals for successful automation projects. A team of engineers is always available to help select the right automation products, provide technical services, and create value-added solutions.