By looking beyond initial purchase price to understand and reduce costs associated with justifying, applying, installing, operating, maintaining, and upgrading the automation system, customers can lower total costs and increase their return on the initial investment. The following is a capsule view of Allen-Bradley's Automation Investment Life Cycle model. Apply This stage requires that the automation system be designed to fit today's and tomorrow's specific applications within definite specifications. Install Installing the automation system is an opportunity to optimize the entire operation before it even starts up and to keep the transition to production smooth. Manufacturing systems need to be fully integrated with existing systems and equipment to provide maximum benefit, and benchmarks need to be established to qualify and measure future continuous improvement.
Operators can begin training now to ensure a smooth start-up and efficient operation.
Operate A properly justified, designed, and installed system is easy to use and costs less to operate because things were carefully planned and executed early on. And it doesn't stop there. Operators need ongoing training to make the most of their equipment, thus maximizing efficiency, reducing waste and collecting information that can be used during the maintenance and continuous improvement stages. Today, maintenance means much more than top-notch maintenance teams repairing faulty or worn equipment. Prevention and predictive maintenance strategies can help keep automation equipment running at peak efficiency while minimizing costs.