Advanced Electronics Sales Director, Ian Thompson, talks about Bespoke Product Solutions, and why the company is focusing a drive on new products that can be adapted from its existing product portfolio.
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| From initial design... |
Advanced Electronics Ltd produces thousands of fire panels per year for everyday use in commercial and industrial applications, but now requests for bespoke products are increasingly common.
As a business we set out to offer a unique ‘made to order’ service for our customers; every product, even our standard panels, are made to order and are available quickly. For this to be successful we adopted and follow a lean manufacturing model based on mass customisation.
By following this philosophy, we have a flexible manufacturing process that not only supports the demand for our ‘standard’ products, but allows us to offer an efficient in-house design and manufacturing service, especially for customers who require a more complex solution to their requirements.
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| The latest in surface mount technology for bespoke solutions |
In-house facilities Mass customisation requires fast changeover times and quality small volumes. This is achieved by our flexible, cellular manufacturing facility and our own dedicated metal fabrication plant.
Our unique ability to understand the intricacies of our customer applications means that we frequently deliver highly customised solutions that are designed specifically to meet the needs of our clients.
Advanced Electronics recently expanded its Special Operations facility at the Northumberland site. This department acts as the liaison between the customer, the end-user, and the design and manufacturing teams to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible. We ensure that speed and efficiency are at the core of the manufacturing process.
Our Technical Sales Department plays a key role where ‘Bespoke’ products are concerned, being able to fully interpret customer requirements and provide a quotation for a cost effective solution.
With over 100 years engineering experience, Advanced has a vast array of expertise from within the industry. All custom engineered solutions will be designed, built and tested in accordance with the latest industry standards.
Building the team to build the product From initial enquiry to finished product, our Technical Sales Department liaises with the customer, obtains the key engineering detail behind the specification and ensures that the products meet the requirements.
All our bespoke products are then manufactured by our special operations team, managed by our in-house manufacturing engineering department, using the latest in manufacturing software and plant machinery.
With a strict ISO9001 policy and IS014001 environmentally friendly approach, all products manufactured - from component selection to metal fabrication - are chosen carefully using the latest in industry standard techniques, with all products manufactured and assembled in-house in the UK.
We have a dedicated ‘Special Ops’ for the construction of bespoke equipment. Our skilled production team and dedicated Special assembly staff build each product using detailed information from the internal engineering department.
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| Large scale mimic LED indication |
Over the past 10 years bespoke products have ranged from general mimic assemblies, dedicated rack mounting solutions to, most recently, standalone 2m x 3m mimic enclosures as well as solutions for more complex site configuration.
Before general dispatch all custom product assemblies undergo a rigorous testing procedure, before being inspected/checked and then boxed or crated for safe delivery.
Engineering solutions... Last year saw the completion of several large scale projects utilising rack mounted enclosures.
A typical project, installed at a convention centre, links 10 halls and 10 executive meeting rooms, with dedicated registration and foyer areas. It offers one of the UK's largest selections of facilities under one roof.
As part of the fire system upgrade, the intelligent control systems - custom designed and manufactured to the client's request - are based around several networked rack enclosures. The custom enclosures each house up to 20 loops of fire detection with other field devices.
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Typical rack-mounting enclosures |
In addition, there is condition monitoring for all dampers, a bespoke full colour graphical LED mimic panel, and key-switch control panel for plant isolation. The six racks formed a major part of the site detection system, and were networked using the Ad-Net+ ‘Fault-Tolerant Network’ to satellite panels, which pick-up the more remote parts of the installation.
By utilising the 50 way network I/O unit for key switch control and LED indication, the ability to control and interrogate the fire system is a valuable benefit for both the end user and installer. Installers can identify problems arising before they actually happen, saving time and money by reducing unnecessary false alarms.
Geoff Cooper, Specials Manufacturing Engineer says: “In my opinion, working in the Specials Department is one of the most exciting departments to be in. We take the customer’s outline specification and turn that from a concept idea into a physical reality for them. All of our team get a buzz from the varied scope of projects we receive on a continual basis. We are all aware that the product we design and manufacture is there for the protection of lives or property and take each of our roles very seriously; we’re proud of the work we produce.”
Beware unforeseen circumstances
“It takes a good manufacturing process to become confident with very complicated bespoke customised products,” says Paul Duffy, Technical Support Manager. “Being involved in specials on a daily basis, creating quotations, preparing assembly documentation or just reviewing the manufacturing process, it’s our speciality. We understand site conditions and end user requirements. Specifications can quite easily change; this can range from enclosure sizes, incorporating additional products or quite simply a change in colour but a challenge which we have to overcome, that’s pretty much the norm.
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100% redundant rack enclosures |
“There is generally no room for error. We can't miss our agreed deadline for certain dispatch dates without a huge knock-on effect incorporating delays to commissioning. Remember, we are protecting life or property and for the product to be delayed can have severe inconvenience and affect installation schedules,” said Paul.
Conclusion In general, clients fully appreciate the time and effort that goes into building the unique product based on their own special requirements. Paul Duffy concludes: “Providing bespoke products for end users is a daily request. Fire alarm companies and clients world wide are increasingly very specific with their requirements. We offer a unique design and manufacture service to suit any fire system application.”
www.advel.co.uk
Call our sales department on +44 1670 707 111
