Wednesday, July 10, 2019

How Pilot Plants Save Money

By Susan Hayes


Inventors and product creators often struggle to go from the workbench to full-fledged production. The amount of time, energy and investment can be overwhelming. This is where pilot plants come into play. Since they are not full-fledged production facilities the cost is quite a bit lower, reducing the capital investment. Adding the reduced time to get it set up and going adds benefits in many areas. The creator is able to go from creating a single product at a time to do more without having to go broke doing so.

Moving from creating one at a time to many is a huge step for some. The ability to take an item that needs a lot of testing or a product that needs to be made faster and on a larger scale is not an easy task. As the inventor or discoverer, finding that middle ground is harder than it seems. Having a smaller facility that has what you need to do things are a larger scale than before helps move things forward quickly.

Testing the product part needs to be done. When it takes a significant amount of time to create one at a time, the testing will be slowed and interrupted. Having the ability to create many and test them all at the same time can move things forward quickly. There is a point that you need to know that the product works under various conditions. Testing one scenario at a time would take too long.

Scaling up for production is tested through the pilot phase. The cost of a huge production facility is not always a good investment when you're still working out the kinks in how a product will be produced. Having a smaller and less expensive facility allows you to test and modify the production setup before investing in the larger production line. When so much is at stake, it is important to get the assembly line and testing systems set up to know that your end product will be exactly what you want. Without this intermediate step, the modifications to a full-scale production line will be extremely costly.

Costs are reduced by creating a smaller plant. A lot of investment is required for full-size factories. The land, buildings, time, employees, and equipment cost can be enough to cause companies, investors, and banks from taking the risk. With a middle ground, the cost is greatly reduced and the investment is able to be turned around quickly to get the product to market faster. Once this happens, as the company and sales grow, the facilities can too.

Using modular plants allows remote access and flexibility. The cost is usually less than a permanent structure. A business can also have it built on location when there is a need for a plant in a remote location, such as being near a natural resource. The facility can be built on site and then moved when needed.

The construction time for a smaller system is much less. Since you're not setting up a full-scale operation, the amount of time it takes to get everything built and in place is reduced. Saving time like this helps get the production moving quickly. Sales can happen as soon as the product is ready to hit the market.

Providing a middle ground for small companies to grow is essential to move forward. The smaller plants provide the advantages of a large production facility without all the costs associated with it. Time is saved and things can get moving much faster.




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