FEASIBILITY STUDY
What is the possible solutions and how is the business case?
A feasibility study is a pilot project that clarify the eligibility of an automation project. This is the technical input to the business case and is aimed at both the project and decisionmakers higher up in the organisation. A feasibility study is an objective presentation of a possible solution.
- Process clarification & analysis (understanding the primary process)
It is essential to begin all projects right here. The primary process is the process that adds value to your product. Where the tool meets product. This could be a weld, a glue string, a screw process or similar. Understanding the primary process is essential to success for the whole project. Only when all parties agree on the primary process, we zoom out and focus on hardware and programming.
- Solution development (automation scenarios)
Together with customer and Line Builder we come up with one or more automation scenarios which forms the basis for the feasibility study. This holds both standard automation equipment and special machinery that needs to be developed for the project.
- DFM (automation enhancements towards the product)
Design for Manufacturing is often an outcome of the feasibility study. Small design changes on the product can often ease the manufacturing automation remarkably and improve the overall business case.
- Preliminary dynamic 3D layout (reach/collision analysis)
The feasibility study evolves around a dynamic 3D layout which makes it possible to perform preliminary robot reach and collision analysis and establish estimated workcell footprint. It also serves as a powerful management summary of the technical solution behind the business case. We also support integration of point clouds from 3D scan of the factory.
- Preliminary cycle simulation (indicative flow and cycle times)
The 3D layout is the basis for a preliminary simulation of the workcell or line. An important part of the feasibility study is to establish the workcell flow and a rough cycle time, which is an outcome of this.
- Capacity estimation (indicative cell throughput)
Based on the 3D layout and simulation an indicative throughput, which is often one of the main objectives when starting an automation project, can be established.
- Technical input to RFQ (Request For Quotation)
When offering the automation project to sub-contractors, all of the above parts of the feasibility study is valuable information to ensure common understanding of the project and secure that all sub-contractor offerings are as comparable as possible.
- Equipment FRS (Functional Requirement Specifications)
Critical machinery that needs some degree of FRS at this early stage, can have a lot of inputs from the feasibility study. E.g. capacities, foot prints, reach etc.
- Preliminary BOM (hardware overview)
An instant outcome of the 3D layout is a preliminary Bill of Material that is an essential input to hardware costs in the business case.