As designers, we tend to draw curtains around our part of the process. There is a lot going on, and sometimes it is best to block everything out and focus on what we need to do to keep things moving along. While that serves the moment, we really can’t do our jobs well if we don’t pay attention to the greater thrust moving us down the path to conclusion. Each of our parts is one of the various streams that feed the river.

An automation project has many stages. At the risk of oversimplifying, we start with a need, develop concepts, design, build, test and deliver. Down in the trenches, we tend to expect the various parts of the project to move along in lockstep with our efforts. It doesn’t, however, happen without good cross-functional coordination. For that, we need a project manager who isn’t directly involved in our particular focus but has the bigger picture in mind.

Project management is a key element of any project but is often underestimated. Imagine, if you will, 15 cars running in a race. They all have one goal in mind—to be the first to the finish line. If all we did was take our positions on the starting line and race off down the road, we would get to the finish line only to discover that we didn’t get the job done because the parts don’t all fit together. Project management is more about making sure that we all cross the finish line together.

On a grander scale, a project really has three finish lines. We first aim to make sure that our product meets what the customer asked us for. That is the internal factory acceptance test (FAT). Once achieved, we invite the customer to visit us and go through an exercise so that the customer gets to verify that what we built is what they asked for. That is the true factory acceptance test. Finally, we go through a site acceptance test (SAT). In that last stage, we insert our part into the bigger picture and make sure that it all works together.

On the first part of the journey, we bring all the assemblies together. We build mechanically, install the electrical components and wire it all up. This is the most detailed of the acceptance tests in that we must make sure that everything fits properly and that the devices all talk to the processor as expected.

We do an I/O checkout, line by line, to make sure that the field wiring matches the electrical schematic. We validate the operator interface, page by page, to make sure that each element correctly interacts with the processor. We can then manually test field devices, using the operator screen, to ensure proper function.

These early stages of testing are designed to make sure that the machine or process won’t hurt itself. Moving things manually allows us to ensure full travel points and check for any interference with other devices that will activate in proximity.

Once the I/O checkout and basic functionality have been tested, we move on to commissioning the machine. This is the key step in the development process. We will usually dry-cycle, watching for any unexpected behavior before we commit to having product involved. Finally, we introduce product and take the machine through complete cycles, ensuring that cycle times are appropriate and that good product is being produced.

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At this point, we are ready for the first finish line, the internal FAT. The purpose here is to verify that what we set out to produce is reflected in the machine before us.

A very important suggestion at this stage is to resist the temptation to use the people who built the equipment to perform the testing. When we design and build, we have intimate knowledge of the steps taken to create it. That can be a hindrance because, during a test, we will make assumptions based on how we expect the equipment to run, rather than how it runs.

Bring out some office personnel and make them the operators of the equipment. From this, you will learn many things. For example, is your operator station intuitive? Think of your machine as a photocopier. Can anyone walk up to your machine and make it perform based solely on the buttons on your screen? Does it lead them to the right pages, based solely on the order in which the navigation buttons take them?

Ask a sanitation person to go through an equipment changeover. Does the supporting documentation make sense? Does the sequence follow an intuitive pattern?

The process described during the internal FAT likely leads to corrective actions. If it doesn’t, you likely haven’t been thorough enough. The last thing you want is to get to the customer-attended FAT and find out that you missed important things. There is nothing worse than having your customer discover your error and then having to resolve it, under huge pressure, while the customer stands by watching the process evolve in front of them.

Completing the internal FAT is an important milestone, but it is only the first of three finish lines. The next challenge is demonstrating to the customer that the machine meets its specifications, operates safely and delivers the expected performance. Even after the customer accepts the machine at the manufacturer's facility, the final test awaits: integrating it into a live production environment. Customer-attended FATs and SATs reveal different challenges. Thorough preparation matters. Machine builders can learn from the problems that surface after installation.