Four common mistakes in machinery procurement projects.
In a recent article on mfrtech.com, Charles Reith of HSB Solomon Associates discusses four mistakes that are commonly made when energy companies build new facilities, www.mfrtech.com/articles/3252.html. They could be generalized to be applicable to any number of new machinery procurement projects in other industries as well.
1. Focusing on a single variable such as throughput or price at the expense of other potentially important variables. Reith says “concentrating on throughput alone can be a recipe for an inefficient facility. It is only one factor to consider in optimizing performance. Other factors include energy efficiency, process flexibility … and product specifications.”
2. Failing to get the input of operators and other people who will be involved in operating and maintaining the machinery. Plant level personnel are often all too familiar with problems with existing equipment and procedures. “The participation of operations personnel in the project team is critical for a number of reasons. For one thing, operations can offer ground-level insights that can improve the unit’s design. For another, the company will be more likely to earn the all-important buy-in of operations personnel in the new project”, according to Reith.
3. Not modifying procedures to take full advantage of a new machine’s capabilities and modern industry practices. “Even as they spend millions of dollars on state-of-the-art equipment and the latest bells and whistles, too many operators fail to focus on the nuts and bolts of running an efficient plant,” Reith said. “In our research, we have consistently found that the performance of a company’s existing plants is the single greatest predictor of the performance of its new facilities. A fourth-quartile performer won’t become a first-quartile performer by opening a new plant – unless it adopts industry best practices in its operations.”
4. Failing to consider the capabilities of their current operators and the potential need for training and maintenance support. “Building new facilities is expensive, and unfortunately, sometimes employee training is one of the first items to be cut in trying to meet budget estimates,” Reith said. “This is a classic example of false economy. New facilities rarely meet ROI projections if operations personnel are not adequately trained on new equipment and procedures that drive performance.”
Purchasing new machinery or processing lines for your plant involves more than just comparing technical features and benefits and then beating up the vendor on price. You need to consider many variables, related both to the vendor and to your internal processes as well. With decades of experience in the machinery sector, Procurement Management Group can ensure that you are aware of all the issues so you can maximize the return on your equipment investment.
