Assemblex assembly frames!

Ergonomics in enclosure assembly

Are your panel builders working in the most ergonomic and safest way possible?

When it comes to automation and rationalisation of processes throughout every stage of machining, assembly, wiring and testing of enclosures, we have the right ergonomic solution for you. 

Our Assemblex assembly frames are mobile, tiltable and depending on the version, height adjustable with a maximum mounting plate or enclosure size of 1900 mm x 1900 mm. All 3 types offer simple and variable fixing of mounting plates using quick release fasteners, are independent of mains power preventing the risk of running over power leads and take up minimal space when not in use.

There are also a range of optional extras from managing cables reels to installing the mounting plate inside the enclosure directly from the assembly frame preventing heavy lifting and encouraging a safe working environment.

For further information click here or email info@routeco.com

How do you calculate an order cost for a typical UK machine builder?

Is it a valid exercise to try to audit the cost of a single purchase order as part of a machine BOM? 

In our experience it is a much more accurate process to look at the transactional costs derived from the purchase of the complete BOM for electrical components, as every order will be different in terms of line items and complexity. This needs to be averaged across the project to give more meaningful results.

The following is an example of real customer data for a project and the time factors derived from an audit of their processes:-

• £18,038 total parts cost
• 14 orders
• 7 suppliers
• 110 lines
• 197 components
• £78 delivery charges
• £20/hour (internal average rate)

If you divide the number of lines to transacted by the number of orders than we get the figure of 7.86 as an average number of lines per order. Time per operation in the supply chain can then be attached as minutes for each process and multiplied by an hourly rate that is an average across all business functions, (we have decided £20 in this case). We then end up with an average cost of £48.45 per order (excluding delivery charges) and a transactional total of £756 for the project.

A very compelling case from the introduction of vendor reduction, web based catalogues and electronic trading!

Brian Benson
Group Packaged Solutions Manager

How Can we Maximise the Benefits of Vendor Reduction for Machine Building OEMs?

The implementation of a vendor reduction program is widely recognised as having significant benefits for UK machine builders in terms of reducing numbers of orders and invoices. However, the actual cost saving is difficult to measure as in our experience an OEM is usually buying products for a complete machine BOM. This can easily exceed 200+ electrical items bought previously from perhaps 10 suppliers.

It is possible to buy all of these items from a single supplier, thereby reducing orders by 9. In practice, however, the 200+ line items still need to transacted and a processing time is associated with every line, even via a single supplier.

Routeco have taken the vendor reduction process one step further by having the capability of electronically uploading and turning complete BOMs into one kit part number, (or a few kit part numbers) dramatically reducing information input and giving the true benefits of vendor reduction:-

One order line, one delivery and one invoice!

Brian Benson
Group Packaged Solutions Manager

How Much is Customer Specification Driving Technology Selection for UK OEMs?

There are many large end users (mainly automotive, pharmaceutical, water treatment, etc) that will specify in detail what an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) must use for automation products. This has obvious advantages for the end user in terms of spares, training and in-house capability, but can impact on cost and engineering time for the OEM.

We often find that in reality when engaging with OEMs, the level of specified technology is less than 30%, but they continue to use whatever manufacturer has been specified the most. They will use this technology for the rest of the machine build, without evaluating if the solution is the best in terms of performance and even cost. The easy route is just to copy what has previously happened. 

Our Packaged Solutions Team`s BOM (Bill of Materials) analysis process followed by a detailed machine audit can simply identify where cost savings and performance gains can be made. A resource is ready to deploy alongside the machine builder to ensure the speed of integration and transfer of technology. Whatever barriers there are with software and training can easily be removed with the right business case.

The specified business can then end up being the least desirable as we create a “standard (best performance / lowest cost) automation catalogue” for the more enlightened & profitable OEM.

We often ask management in these OEMs:-

“Are you here to make machines, or are you here to make money”

The answer is usually the later!

Brian Benson
Group Packaged Solutions Manager