Freeze the MVPC Concept

In this step, you will decide which aspects of the concept will remain part of the MVPC. After this point, you’ll aim to get through the Integrate phase without making any further changes to the design. This will prevent you from falling into the trap of losing sight of the end goal and adding too much complexity along the way. In the robotic task mapping step, you worked with at least one robotic cell concept. Ask yourself: for the things that could be changed about the cell, what effect would change them have on complexity, KPIs and ROI? Did you discover anything in the de-risking phase that affected the cell concept? Now’s the time to take a close look at these questions. It’s like conducting a sensitivity analysis with a financial spreadsheet: you change a few variables and see how the end result is affected. If there are a lot of ways for the concept to change, it might be worth taking a few variations as standalone concepts and comparing them.

It’s often not worth it to build a cell that can handle every type of part it could possibly encounter. Similarly, it might not be a good idea to attempt to build a cell that could execute every possible type of task you might need it to perform.

 

Place Purchased Orders 

Congratulation! You have completed the deliverables of the Design phase. At this stage, you will order the parts and pieces of equipment required to complete the automation project.

 The key deliverables here are the following:

  • A final robotic task map
  • Cell final design documentation 
    • Cell layout
    • Plans for mechanical components
    • Electrical diagrams
    • Bill of materials 
    • High-level programming structure
    • List of suppliers and their part numbers
    • Project cost review

Create a spreadsheet to follow every component's purchase and delivery status. Make sure to confirm every lead time before placing an order and follow closely the deliveries. 

While you’re waiting for equipment to be delivered, it’s a good time to start planning the Integrate phase. See you in soon the next lesson to covers the following steps. Stay Tuned!

Last modified: Thursday, 16 April 2020, 2:51 PM