• Assembly • Labelling and Marking • Custom Processes www.designenergy.co.nz info@designenergy.co.nz www.engineeringnews.co.nz 25 Process automation is not a new concept. It’s obvious and easily quantifiable benefits are well understood by New Zealand businesses, primarily because these benefits are key factors in building a case to justify investment. But what if the metrics used to judge the economics of a case for say, a robotic welder or an automated beer keg cleaner, were incomplete? If the decision makers are unaware of or unable to quantify significant contributors to an economic justification then how can effective decisions on purchasing value adding capital equipment be made? Christchurch based Design Energy Limited has a relationship with its clients that goes beyond a machine’s installation. Both parties’ enjoy the benefits of keeping the inventors of the machinery close at hand; accessible and highly capable technical support for the customer; and for the team at Design Energy a valuable insight is gained into the real, measureable effects the company’s products have on production. As a producer of automated machinery the company has been careful to understand the economic value its product represents to its customer. On this, Mike Shatford, Design Energy’s Founder and Managing Director has this to say: “An obvious economic goal is to be able to offer a prospective client a solution with an attractive ROI (Return On Investment) over time. With automated machines the quality of the ROI is often weighed against the savings made in reduced direct labour. This rule of thumb is safe but can leave out very significant bottom line improvers such as; more timely and consistent product delivery; improved health and safety and workplace culture; higher prices for better quality; and pace setting of any labour. These factors, while real can be difficult to measure so are treated as ’cream on the top’ and not included in figuring a payback.” “An example of these other factors coming into play comes from a robotic production machine Design Energy engineered for a customer whose Board required a two year ROI on labour. Due to the scale of the project this was going to be very difficult so we focused on helping the customer understand where else they could find tangible, bankable returns. Here is what we found: The existing line was capable of producing $10,000/hr of product but was averaging output of less than 75% of its potential, not terrible but room for improvement. Additional shifts were run to keep up with demand so the inability to use this capacity represented a considerable cost, and affected the company’s ROI on every Automation – what you need to understand is…. Design Energy Specialists in Industrial Automation Giving local manufacturers a globally competitive edge Production from $2 per hour? • Machine Tending • Welding • Product Life Testing • Palletising/Packing • Machining • Labour Replacement Let us show you how! Call Today • High Performance Industrial Robots • World Leading Collaborative Robots • Production Engineering • Turn-key Solutions Distributors of: 0508 ROBOTS (0508 762 687) EN025 other system, process or person being throttled back from its potential. More importantly, calculating even an extremely conservative 5% increase in production represented an additional $1million per annum product available to sell. After costs and taxes still a considerable sum and definitely worth factoring into a business justification.” So, when considering whether automation is right for you please, in the interests of your own business – if not for New Zealand – make sure you are measuring and applying the right metrics to judge an opportunity to automate for what it is – viable, desirable or transformative!?
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