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To Mechanical Engineers in the Robotics Field: Which seasons are the toughest
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Daniel Indish
Process Improvements, Lean Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, Operational Excellence, Manufacturing, Quality, Industrial Engineering
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Daniel’s Answer
Matthew –
One thing Engineers need to realize is that company finances directly impact your projects.
Every Mechanical Engineer, ME, should take a Finance 101 class and be able to understand a company annual report at a basic level.
ME projects, especially Robots, require the Finance Department to approve money for Capital Equipment. Usually at the end of a Financial Year, there is very little funding in the budget for Capital Equipment. There may also be a rush to get product out in the last Quarter, so there is little time to implement a large project. Different companies may have different financial cycles.
However, when the new year budget is finally approved (usually the 2nd Quarter), there is a rush to buy, and implement the new Capital Equipment. At this time, you’ll be "rushed" to install and validate the new equipment before the company gets “busy”.
At the end of a month, the company may be in a production rush to meet shipments, preventing work on projects.
A wise ME knows to be in tune to these Finance cycles (seasons) and plan projects/phases around them. A wise ME should also be able to provide data on Return-of-Investment, ROI, to justify the expenses of the equipment and downtime against the product that could be processed with a smooth-running project.
Robotics are an exciting career of the future. Wish you well.
One thing Engineers need to realize is that company finances directly impact your projects.
Every Mechanical Engineer, ME, should take a Finance 101 class and be able to understand a company annual report at a basic level.
ME projects, especially Robots, require the Finance Department to approve money for Capital Equipment. Usually at the end of a Financial Year, there is very little funding in the budget for Capital Equipment. There may also be a rush to get product out in the last Quarter, so there is little time to implement a large project. Different companies may have different financial cycles.
However, when the new year budget is finally approved (usually the 2nd Quarter), there is a rush to buy, and implement the new Capital Equipment. At this time, you’ll be "rushed" to install and validate the new equipment before the company gets “busy”.
At the end of a month, the company may be in a production rush to meet shipments, preventing work on projects.
A wise ME knows to be in tune to these Finance cycles (seasons) and plan projects/phases around them. A wise ME should also be able to provide data on Return-of-Investment, ROI, to justify the expenses of the equipment and downtime against the product that could be processed with a smooth-running project.
Robotics are an exciting career of the future. Wish you well.
Updated
Liam’s Answer
Robotics projects are not seasonal. Typically, a project has a business case and justification. When management agrees, a project starts where a robot is integrated into a system. When the project starts, there are expectations to satisfy safety and performance to support the original business case. The engineering team works to achieve the project goals.