AHU manufacturing automation: few things a software house won’t tell you

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As AHU manufacturer, you have your own very specific an peculiar needs: in Altec, we realized it thanks to our more than twenty-years’ experience in strict contact with the HVAC market and with AHU producers.

But as a manufacturing company, you share also common needs with the manufacturing marketing in general: for example, you need to make enough product at acceptable quality levels in order to reduce scrap product and keep volume fulfilment high.

Or, better, this happened in the past: today this is not enough. In the recent years, most likely you faced a more strict issue.

Things started to change in 2000 in manufacturing industry. Due to a pronounced decline in product demand and a rise in offshore manufacturing competition, manufacturers expanded their methods and practices to include making the right products, at the right time, at the right cost.

Doing this “right stuff” requires companies to provide agile response to real-time customer order updates and small order lots, continuous supply-chain coordination, and never-ending cost reductions in manufacturing processes, all the while complying with, and proving compliance to, governmental health, financial, and environmental regulations.

These post-2000 competition-inhibiting constraints are real, critical survival matters for companies that face stiff competition from low-cost manufacturing centers.

A new breed of software solutions for manufacturing companies

To meet the needs of manufacturers, today’s automation solutions for manufacturing are requested not only to add value through traditional selection software, but also by integrating with existing accounting system and providing a smooth and straightforward way to go into production: the delivered solution has to provide a comprehensive system that covers all aspects of a manufacturing company’s business.

Thus, the need is changing from a software provider to that of a consultative partner that identifies opportunities for improvement while recommending solutions for achieving manufacturing operational excellence.

To do so requires more than technical proficiency with software development. Today’s progressive engineering solutions also partakes in continuing improvement on existing and emerging continuous process improvement initiatives, methods, and practices.

You as AHU manufacturer need a partner that must then combine his knowledge with practical, field-proven expertise to solve today’s (and tomorrow’s) manufacturing problems. And, as consultants, today’s engineering company must enters into long-term relationships with customers, ensuring clients’ ongoing operational efficiency.

Standard “ready-to-use” software vs. Engineered Solution for Automation

If what I wrote above sounds familiar to you, I think that soon or later you are going to investigate about the possibility to select a solution that will help you in your daily activities.

In this case, you have the following possible 2 scenarios as a choice, as far as concern your daily AHUs selection, offering and production activities.

1. You can select a software from a software house

Any software house, with no exception, due to the nature of their task, have the following common aims as part of their strategy:

     1. To develop a software that is as much generic as possible;

     2. To sell as much licenses as possible, to as many customer as possible;

     3. To sell maintenance service for the generic software.

 

The above is not a criticism, is just a consideration about the business model of software houses and it is valid independently on the target market they refer to.

What is the bad side of this approach?

 

The target of a software house is to serve as much customers as possible in the same time, so it is very difficult for them to dedicate too much time to the peculiarities of each single manufacturer

 

If you choose a software from a software house as your main tool for AHU selection and production, either with your current supplier or a new one, independently on the quality of the software itself, this is what is going to happen:

• You will get a generic product, that can be in some way adapted to your case the generic product is not optimized: it has useless overheads that make the system very “heavy”;
• You will be required to adapt your processes and way of work to the software, and not vice versa;
• You won’t go into a real production automation without manual modification (no fine tuning of the production results with your real needs will be provided);
• In many cases, you will be required to input the data related to your units by yourself;
• After the software delivery, you won’t get prompt answers to your specific and urgent issues (please remember the 3 points about software house strategy above).

And you are one among the many. In a nutshell, the software won’t be done for you: it has been done to be suitable to as many manufacturers as possible.

2. You can choose an Engineering Company as your Partner

 

You have your own peculiarities and very specific needs.

You need a reliable partner that, by using and engineering approach, will target your specific needs by designing a solution for you.

The engineering company business is not selling a software.

 

By choosing an engineering company as your preferred partner, you will get:

• A dedicated solution, tailored on your specific needs and requirements and an optimized solution (as is designed for you only, it addresses your specific needs only);
• A platform that will cover all your daily work tasks (from unit design, offering, drawings, production);
• The possibility to manage both standard and custom units, with the same smooth and effective tools and processes;
• No need to repeat the same processes many times: the clear target is to reduce at the minimum the manual work;
• The possibility to have advanced features you need (as double fans, fans wall and other that we provide to our customers) included in your solution;
• The fine-tuning of the solution, done with you in your office with your technicians;
• A fast and reliable answer to your urgent and specific needs, even after the delivery the solution;
• A platform that fits your current processes and way of work.

In a nutshell: you will get A RELIABLE PARTNER in the long-term period.

Meeting the changing needs of AHUs manufacturers through “Engineered Solutions for Automation“

Altec srl is an engineering company.

We have been the 1st one to apply an engineering approach to the automation in HVAC market, in order to target the manufacturers real and peculiar needs.

And we are still the only ones.

We call this approach: Engineered Solutions for Automation.

 

 

We don’t sell a software.

We don’t have a ready to use software to provide you today.

We establish a long term partnership with our customers, based on mutual trust and a consultative approach.

We trust this is the only way to put YOU at the centre of our interest. We are not too much in love of our product: instead, we matter about what is important for our customers and we will target it with a comprehensive solution, designed for YOU and for YOU ONLY.

If you would like to know more about the Engineered Solution for Automation approach by Altec srl, please contact us for a free, no obligation consultancy service and a live demo, click here today

https://www.altecsoftware.com/contact/

 

 

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