February 2021 Volume 3

AUTOMATION

Fundamentals of Automation Project Management By Terry Chilson

Your organization has identified a particular forging process as a candidate for automation. Robust project management is essential to successfully track and coordinate activities including, but not limited to, scope of works (SOW), quotes, budgets, timelines, purchase orders, equipment run-offs, deliveries, installations, and launches. The organization may be looking for a new forging line, purchasing and re-manufacturing used equipment or planning to retrofit an existing forging line. Regardless of whether the project encompasses new or existing equipment, the project management process is similar. Project management assistance from original equipment manufacturers (OEM) will most likely accompany the purchase of new automated forging lines. Re-manufactured or existing equipment requires your organization to own the responsibility and drive project oversite. In both cases, a dedicated project manager (PM) is necessary to coordinate and manage the organization’s objective.

plan and forecast budget. Most often the forecast will reflect supplier payment at the time of order, upon equipment delivery, at successful runoff, and successful commissioning. In most organizations, the project manager will be the face of the organization interfacing with the supply base. Therefore, the PM must be comfortable and capable of managing communication exchanges between organizations. Over several weeks, multiple conference calls, meetings, and most likely on-site visits will take place reviewing project progress. There are multiple project management tracking methods, forms, and processes. It seems every organization has a preferred format for tracking projects. The bottom line is that the PM tracks and documents all activities and tasks associated with the project. Maintaining accurate records is a fundamental project management responsibility. Notes, timelines, emails, etc. are frequently referenced to facilitate project status inside and outside the organization. The PM will most likely be called upon to frequently provide updates to various levels of management. Core Pre-Project Questions A successful project is managed best when detailed pre-planning precedes the initiation of any purchasing activity. The project team is responsible for establishing accurate specification criteria; therefore, numerous requirements demand explicit discussion prior to developing scopes of work (SOW) that are relevant to the automation project. • What timeline is required to launch project? • What is the cycle time required to meet product volume requirements? • Howmany forming stations are required? • What forging equipment will be utilized – hydraulic, mechanical, or screw press; hammer or upsetter? • For multi-stage processes, does forging equipment have substantial tonnage to run process fully loaded, or will it require a skip load process? • What is the bed size and center-to-center distance between stations if there are multiple operations? • Is the process cold, warm, or hot? • Will equipment run continuous or intermittent (stop/ start) cycle? • Does process require a robot, transfer (hydraulic, mechanical, servo), or cam driven transfer automation?

Assigning the Project Manager The assigned project manager (PM) will have a high level of organization, discipline, andattention todetail. It is desirable that the PM have a good understanding of forging equipment and processes to properly sequence and coordinate project activity to effectively address all aspects of the organization’s operating concerns. The PM is not solely responsible for implementing a successful project. In fact, the PM requires a cross-functional support team of subject matter experts that are well versed in technical applications such as engineering, production, quality, electrical controls, logistics, and purchasing. That team will be responsible for establishing the timeline and milestones. The timeline will include some component of a financial

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2021 42