Simple Solutions That Work! Issue 8

42 Depending on the complexity of the project, the commissioning phase could range from several days to many weeks in duration. The foundry support team should have staff members assigned to “shadowing” the vendors startup team. By investing the foundry to this process, knowledge and understanding is quickly learned that will be of enormous benefit for the long term operational success of the new equipment. As the project winds down, be sure to keep an agreed Punch-List of tasks or topics that need to be corrected before final acceptance is issued. There’s always some items that need to be resolved, but the foundry should be diligent at documenting agreed to topics. Final acceptance provides the assurance to the foundry that all technical and commercial aspects are accepted and focus on efficient operations of the machinery is the next ongoing responsibility. THE SUCCESS STORY As we’ve referred to throughout this suggested process description, these steps were executed by our recent client and EMI to deliver a well-engineered and cost effective automatic green sand molding expansion. This was our clients first automatic molding system and working it into the constraints of the existing foundry operations proved challenging. The foundry followed a clear process and engaged many members of the management group to make certain all needs of the business were addressed. Throughout the consultation and proposal stages, EMI was able to offer suggestions that helped to lower the total installation cost and shorten the overall time frame. EMI worked successfully to deliver a system comprised of new and re-furbished equipment that met stated productivity goals at less than half the cost for comparable new equipment. Contact: JERRY SENK [email protected]