How It Works
How It Works | EX31 Automation LLC | Factory Automation Company Virginia
EX31 Automation company Virginia is a custom machine creator that takes the hassle out of figuring it out on your own. We strive to keep our factory automation company Virginia solutions as simple as possible. This includes a robust approach to how we solve problems. Typically most of our customers have already done a great job at identifying the need. At this point we typically have a mini brainstorming session where we attempt to flush out the basic approach to solving said need. We want you very involved with us on this initial approach and along the development life cycle of your factory automation solution. This ensures we have the right focus and are all working towards the same goal. Our intention at EX31 Automation is to provide you with world class services, and custom machinery creation that fulfils your project goals and delivers a service worthy of a 5 star rating. We want your experience with us to be stress free, and hassle free, every time.
Initial Concept Creation and Budgetary Proposal
At EX31 Automation company Virginia, we offer a free CAD model and budgetary proposal in 5 business days or less. This allows us to vet each other and see if we would be a good fit or not. We don’t want to commit a solution to you that we are not confident has a high probability for success, so not every project or idea brought to the table is considered. Contact us today and let’s discuss you needs and determine if we can offer you a solution. Our next steps in this cycle usually involve a paid system proposal phase. This is where we will apply our mechatronics lab and team resources to vet any critical unknows, and provide you with real data to solve your scope of work.
Developing the Scope of Work (SoW)
Great project scopes are fantastic when we get them, and all to often, don’t exist. If you don’t have one, we can help you make one.
Scope creep in our industry is all far to common. It happens and is typically results in a higher valued added solution than initially anticipated. We want our factory automation customers in Virgina and beyond to know that you can trust us to be fair and balanced with every project. Scope creep is avoided at EX31 and is usually driven by the customer, not us. If a project goes way off track, right or indifferent, we will do our best to rectify it and keep our customers solutions goals on track. This starts with a very robust scope and a well defined approach. We make sure that our deliverables are clearly defined and milestones are included in each phase of a factory automation project as appropriate.
Final Project Proposal
After going though the initial factory automation concept creation phase and developing a clearly defined scope of work, we build you a final project proposal that meets the machine performance requirements. This in turn with costing and expected performance outlined, and many times with data driven metrics will be the tools you need to visualize confidence for success.
POs & Tracking
The next step involves signing a contract or issuing a PO. Our ratings show that we value doing good business the right way, and we pay our vendors on time or early. This enables us to have a great working relationship with our vendors and in turn great pricing which we can extend to our customers.
Project tracking has many different flavors at EX31 Automation company Virginia. Sometimes it’s a simple parts order, and our closed loop tracking system keeps us on top of delivering spare parts and machine components on a visible basis. Larger scale projects typically involve both parties and even weekly or bi-weekly meetings to track progress and ensure clear visibility to your investment with us.
Project Kickoff
Our factory automation company Virginia projects usually start off with a team meeting. We identify what level of engagement that make senses, and clearly identify action items for both parties. Depending on the project size, this can be as simple as a weekly email thread, a bi-weekly team meeting, or involve detailed planning between project managers and technical personnel on a daily basis. We do whatever we need to do that makes sense to get your project off the ground and soaring to new heights.
Every project is different but our goal is to always provide clear communication to you so that you are not surprised by delays due to critical path item availability. The past few years have been especially challenging on due to supply chain for industrial components having high level of uncertainty. When you work with EX31, you get the benefit of our wide range of component suppliers helping reduce critical lead times.
Manufacturing Phase Milestone
With any factory automation solution, there is a critical pivot point, where we release a system from engineering design to our production cycle. This is typically a customer sign off point, or critical milestone event, where you agree to the developed approach for your solution layout. Many times this involved a multi-faceted method that takes on partial release(s) of long lead items and internal work to further refine the details for a complete solution. However the project needs to be orchestrated, we have the tools in place to control your design and work it through our processes in an orderly fashion. This keeps waste to a minimum, allows us to focus on the key details, and drive every factory automation company Virginia projects forward with success and clear communication to you.
Factory Acceptance Testing
After completing the machinery build, we typically have our customers on site for a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT). This is done before you come in, and when on site we run the machinery at rate verifying performance criteria has been met. Our goal is to do as much work as possible in house prior to shipping to your manufacturing or testing facility, so that any issues can be resolved quickly. Boring FATs are a good thing. We like them.
Addressing Projects That Go Off Course
We put a lot of effort into the front end of a project, most of it not being visible. It’s the right thing to do by our customers. Despite best efforts many times FATs and Site Acceptance Tests (SATs) do not go as planned. Projects can get way off course very easily. With our experienced team at EX31 Automation company Virginia, creating factory automation is our passion. We want every project to be a win, and our commitment to you is that if a project goes off course, failure is not an option for us. This does have to come with a understanding on both parties of where problems come from. If it is clearly on us, we will rectify it and your invested time with us will not be wasted. Other things outside of our control have to be accounted for, and we will work with you to identify those high risk areas. If they can be mitigated then we will do our best to capture that ahead of time. It is where the experience comes into play, and at EX31 Automation company Virgina, we commit our best efforts forward to working with you in the smartest approach possible.
A case example is with labeling systems. We may be creating an assembly machine for you that involves the purchase of a label applicator, and this new fancy label is going to set your product apart from your competitors. So you have made all of one purchase of a single roll of custom cut labels. We use that roll in the process setup, debug of your machine and everything is great. The you get to production, and labels are now die cut, and that labeling machine starts having problems and needs fine tunning to make it function correctly. At EX31 Automation, we understand that you can’t go out and by 10 different lots of labels to account for what you will find in manufacturing, so we do our best up front to create robust machine design that can account for most of these issues. The flip side is you don’t want to make things up that have not happened, and this is where experience is king. Our commitment to you is to use our expertise for your benefit and best possible outcome for a factory automation solution.
Why EX31?
You need a trusted team of talented people to work with. We want the opportunity to earn your business. What better combo can you ask for? Factory automation is what we do. Check out our reviews, ask about us from our suppliers. We want our reputation to speak for us, and creating a long lasting business relationship means we must service you and your business with excellence. Call us today and let us know how we can help you with your next factory automation project.
CAD Model and Quote
Contact us today. Our offer to you is a free 3D CAD model and budgetary quote in 5 business days or less. We believe factory automation should not be intimidating. Let us help you go down the solution path with a solid plan and new ideas. At EX31 Automation company Viginia, we stive to be the best and deliver for our customers, every time.