When you consider partnering with custom automation companies to build out new automation and control technology for your facility, any company you choose is going to give you a different experience. We are proud of our process and know it forward and backward.
If you remember, it was Knobelsdorff’s organized approach to custom automation that first caught my eye. In a previous blog post, I provided an in-depth look at our automation process. In this post, I’m going to detail the timeline you can expect when you work with us.
Learning a facility’s current processes is an essential first step. Custom-automated machines can meet a series of needs, if those needs are understood. By evaluating current processes and communicating with the various employees these processes impact, we can determine how current automation technology needs to change in order to reach the needs and goals of a facility.
Once we understand your current processes and technology, along with your needs and goals, we map out the process for your new, custom automation. This step includes building out the lists we need to develop the control system architecture that can automate your processes.
With your processes mapped, it's time to program the technology to automate them. In other words, we give the technology the inputs and capabilities to accomplish what it needs to accomplish.
What goes into programming factory controls will always depend on the complexity of the task being automated. By adhering to programming standards and taking the time to understand your facility's process, we're capable of programming a wide array of factory automation.
Now it’s time to outline operations and build the physical materials that will become part of your system. Unlike you might find with other custom automation companies, we handle these steps internally. We have an in-house panel shop that adheres to UL508A standards, as well as UL698A standards for clients with hazardous locations.
Without thorough testing, we can’t ensure proper function, and we won’t install until after we’ve secured proper function. We’ve developed a checklist of internal testing stages that all parts of the system must satisfy. During internal testing, clients are invited to verify that the system is meeting their requirements prior to shipment to their facility.
While some clients handle installation independently, the majority of them contract our services. We ship the control system to your facility and set a day to dispatch our install team to get everything set and in working condition. Post-installation, we run another set of tests to ensure the system has proper on-site function.
Even at the end of an industrial automation technology project, the work isn’t done. Just like machinery or equipment, these systems require support and maintenance to consistently function at optimal levels.
Directly after installation, we monitor the technology via a remote connection to ensure everything operates as it should while our client first starts using the system. System monitoring can alert us on an ongoing basis to any issues with the technology that require attention.
Over the years, Knobelsdorff Electric has continued to refine and improve our custom automation process. Now, I can comfortably say that our capabilities for custom automation and controls are unmatched.
In today’s market, we can bring a project full circle, from discovery to final install, faster than you expect.