Why Most Automation Projects Fail (And How to Fix It) | Ep. 82 [William Willard]

Thinking about investing in automation? Watch this first. In this episode, Bill Willard shares decades of experience helping manufacturers move from “shiny object” automation to scalable, real-world solutions that deliver results. He explains why most companies underestimate the true cost of automation, why labor reduction is often the wrong ROI focus, and how overlooking operators and maintenance teams can quietly sabotage even the best-designed systems.

This conversation goes beyond the hype to reveal what actually drives success, clear process understanding, smart implementation strategies, and building trust at every level of the organization. Whether you’re just starting your automation journey or trying to recover from a failed project, you’ll walk away with a clearer, more grounded approach to making automation work in the real world.

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Transcript

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 0:07

What if the fastest way to unlock automation ROI isn't buying the robot, but earning the buy-in of the people who have to live with it every day? Welcome to Industry Ignited, the podcast where we explore the leaders driving transformation across industry, manufacturing, and innovation. I'm your host, Dr. Leanne Aguilar. And today I'm joined by William Bill Willard, CEO and General Manager of Automation Technology Consulting. Bill is a consultative sales executive and automation leader who helps manufacturers move from shiny object automation to practical, scalable solutions. Bill, welcome to Industry Ignited.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Thank you, Leanne. It's a pleasure to be with you today. I'm looking forward to it.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 0:51

Yeah, likewise. I'm really excited to learn all about automation and getting it integrated into systems. So give me a little bit of history. You started as a McMechanical engineer and moved from pulp and paper into industrial distribution, then integration, and eventually consulting. What were the pivotal moments that pulled you from designing equipment to becoming a trusted automation advisor?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Well, I would first tell you that it was circumstance going from college as a mechanical engineer, stepping into the pulp and paper industry, learning how all that worked together. But as I moved along in the pulp and paper industry, the vice president of the company I worked for wanted me to look at being a sales support for the salespeople in the field. Pulp and paper was an old man's business. I was only 21, 22 at the time of all of that. And it was where I had my first taste of sales. And I come from a history of salesman. So it was intriguing to me. And I uh decided I would uh try something new. So I fell into distribution of uh automation distribution. But at the time that I fell into it, it was selling Photo Eyes of proximity switches. And through that process, I was intrigued in how they were being applied. So I worked with my customers and they taught me a lot of how to be able to where they were applying it and how they were applying it. And through that education, I was able to go out to other customers and educate them on what I learned.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 2:26

All right. And you said you were educated by the people using the products as much as by manufacturers. What did the plant floor teach you early that still shapes the way you sell, scope, and deliver automation today?

SPEAKER_01 2:39

It's not really the plant floors as much as that I developed a keen sense of um of looking around, being intrigued by what's going on, having this interest, this driving interest in how manufacturing processes are done. I like to call it playing uh with big boy toys, if you will. And so through that process, I would, as I was there to understand one thing, I always took the time to talk to the people that I was meeting about the process and why they were doing the process and that kind of thing. And so I absorbed that. And as I absorbed it, I was able to take it and transform it into educating myself and looking at other applications.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 3:24

Yeah. So really just talking to the people who were running the processes and who were, you know, hands-on with all of the different elements of the process and learning from them and like you said, just absorbing it and so you could get a big picture, the big picture of how everything worked and ran.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Exactly. Exactly. And through that process, I learned a great deal and continued my I was a mechanical engineer by education, but I became a um learned more in the process of automation and applying it than the mechanical engineering focus of my education.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 4:03

Oh, interesting. Now you said you you built and ran an integration business for 14 years and later lost it. Looking back, what were the most important lessons you learned in the liquidation and reset that made you a stronger operator and leader?

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Well, the main thing that I learned from it was risk management. I'm a firm believer that you're gonna have a good day and you're gonna have a bad day, or a good sale and a bad sale. You need to look at each one and learn about why you were successful in the good sale and why you failed in the other. There's always a silver lining through that. If you educate yourself in that process, then you're going to redefine and how you present yourself in the next opportunity.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 4:44

Yeah, right. So just learning from your mistakes, you know, basically. And like you describe your style as drive with your eyes wide open, using your peripheral vision to spot what others miss. Can you share an example where noticing the hidden stakeholder or overlook constraint changed the outcome of a project?

SPEAKER_01 5:03

Um let me think here. There was an automation project that I worked on, and I'm one of those type of engineers where I first have to understand how the customer does their manufacturing processes. Typically, it's it's a manual operation they have with some minor automation or machinery on their floor. But the first thing I need to understand is how they're doing their product, how the manual process is being done, and then turning around and applying the automation to that process. How can I take automation and do the same thing with robotics or whatever the case may be? There was an opportunity where I was working with a customer in the development of a complete autonomous operation using robotics. In that particular case, there was a lot of custom machine design that needed to be done. I have a tendency to take a bird's eye view of the application and then take a deep dive into the equipment and analyzing each process so that I was more of a solution architect, if you will. And through that process, I would then have an intimate knowledge about how the machine needed to work. So whenever I reviewed the drawings with the mechanical or the electrical engineers, I had a keen sense of how it's supposed to operate and be able to identify flaws in what we've got. Oh, you've got a place here where uh, you know, you've got a solenoid that needs to come up, but you don't have a hole in the place where the solenoid can come up, you know, those kind of things.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 6:39

Right. So were you actually modifying machinery then as well to fit processes?

SPEAKER_01 6:45

In the automation process, you have to look at the full process and what the customer is looking to do. So, in essence, you may be applying new technology or automation, such as robotics, custom machines, and everything like that. But in an automated line, there is going to be equipment that may need to be rebuilt, modified, go it from a mechanical operation system like gears and uh gears and cams and stuff like that to applying servos to that. So you may it otherwise it is gonna be become the bottleneck of your system. So you may have to take that machine and modify it to be able to be efficient at what it does in order to keep the automation line running at its optimum performance.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 7:35

All right. So that's where your background as an engineer, I guess, really helps too, just get giving you the mechanical understanding of how equipment works in order to make recommendations as well. Now, many leaders default to automation as a labor reduction play. How do you reframe ROI to focus on the levers you've found actually move profitability? Quality consistency, waste reduction, throughput, returns, and uptime.

SPEAKER_01 8:02

Well, over the years I've found that um I need to be able to, there's two stakeholders in any operation. There is going to be the executives, the CFOs, the CEOs, and they're the ones that are going to be controlling the money and everything like that. You want to understand, listen to them, understand how they are evaluating the automation need. And nine times out of 10, they will lean towards labor reduction. But that's when you need to re-educate them and saying, well, in the process, you're not going to get the return you're expecting off labor reduction. You're probably going to be reallocating that labor to another place within your plant and not as not reduce the number of people that are going to meet your R the realistic ROI. And so you need to educate them on that. You need to look at it more in educating them on if we were to reduce your raw material waste, would that be of importance to you? What about an increase in your productivity and increasing the quality of consistency and the quality of your product? Those things are going to be more valuable to your ROI than you laying people off because you're applying automation.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 9:22

Right. So it's not about cutting jobs, it's about reallocating them. It's about making or putting people in positions where they're going to make the biggest difference and re-educating them or training them in other ways that support the process instead of just cutting jobs. Correct.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Correct. It it it you know, you may reduce one or two people, but when you go look at the cost of the equipment and the labor reduction, they don't match. Whereas a client may have a uh an ROI of uh one to two years, but the labor reduction and it's you know its loaded labor rates may not meet that two year one two-year ROI. Some ROIs are a bit uh uh extreme and unrealistic. So you have to educate them on that as well.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 10:11

Can you tell me more about that? Like how are they unrealistic?

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Like what are you seeing that well, in a lot of cases, they're they're looking at maybe a one-year ROI, okay, depending on the cost of the equipment. You know, they have an expectation in their mind of what the what the automation solution is gonna cost. Now you've got to qualify that. You've got to qualify whether they have a clear understanding of the true cost of the automation. And does it fit within that one-year ROI? And then how can you help them navigate through that ROI process to a reduction in material waste or quality of the product or increased productivity, those kind of things?

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 10:53

Okay. So there's unrealistic expectations of being able to automate systems, uh, reduce labor, and then have everything work perfectly, and then have an based ROI right away when in reality you're you're having to just move uh labor around, and it takes a while to implement and perfect uh systems. And so they ultimately achieve that ROI, but it takes time.

SPEAKER_01 11:20

Yes, it does. It does take time, and you have to create an environment of trust that you have confidence in yourself when you're presenting yourself to the customer. You have to also know what the process is so that you can guide them along.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 11:36

Yeah. And you emphasize that a system can be technically perfect and still fail if operators and maintenance aren't on board. What does earning adoption look like in practice before, during, and after implementation?

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Well, what I've learned over the years, and this is typical of any sales cycle, is that we tend to go in and we're talking to the maintenance guy or somebody on the plant floor, not typically the manager, certainly not the CEO or the CFO who actually controls the money. In that particular case, you still want to show interest to that individual on the plant floor because they are the ones that can make you or break you. We can sit in front of the CFO, we can sit in front of the C the CEO and educate them on all the great things that automation can do for them, but you have to have that individual, those individuals on the plant floor. They're the ones that are going to be running the machines. The CEO and the CFO are not gonna be on the plant floor running the machines. So the C-suite is definitely a stakeholder because they're they're controlling the cost of things. But the people on the plant floor, they're the true stakeholders because they're the ones that need to take ownership of the equipment that's been purchased and put in place.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 12:54

Yeah. So there's that education and training time. And with an automation system, what is the uh implementation timeline typically look like?

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Well, it will vary. It depends on the customer's need. The one thing that you've got to be careful about is room for error. We're humans, we're applying this equipment. There's gonna be error. Manufacturers have a schedule, they're gonna deliver you equipment on time, but it doesn't show up on time. You're trying to get information out of the customer and they're dragging their feet to get the the information to you. There's always these vertibles that are always gonna come up and you have to adjust for them. Typically, it depends on the size of the project. For example, doing a palletizing, robotic palletizing cell, you could possibly get it done in six months. But if you're looking to do an autonomous manufacturing process with a bunch of robots and a bunch of custom machines, you've got to have time to design, build, test so that when you put it on the plant floor, it's doing what it needs to be done. So that could take anywhere up from uh a year to 18 months, maybe even two years before that equipment can be run on the floor.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 14:09

Right. And there's probably a lot of logistics involved also in the transition over because you have your existing lines that are running, your existing processes, and you don't want to slow down delivery to customers on that regard. But then at the same time, you're trying to implement a new process and introduce this automation, train people. How does that work? And what should people expect?

SPEAKER_01 14:31

Well, don't bite off more than you can chew. And in certain cases, I've experienced where the customer wanted to automate their plant floor and uh they were gonna run their manual operations side by side while you're doing the you're trying to automate the plant floor. But then they're gonna want to do a hard switch rather than doing a gradual switch from manual process to automated processes. You got to keep the manual process going until your automation is producing at the rate that your manual process is going. The other part is again, don't bite off more than you can chew. Develop your plant floor processes, make sure that process is running efficiently before you start doing other things like vertical implementation of softwares and things like that so that order taking can go down to the plant floor.

unknown 15:27

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:27

Make sure that plant floor is running at 100% and you're confident that it's working fine. Then step into the next step or the next phase of your project. Don't try to do them all at one time.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 15:40

Yeah. And I I guess companies might even expect increased costs during that time, too, because there's gonna be redundancies of processes like during the transition.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

There are in that particular case, but you have orders that you got to fill. You have to have a capex to be able to support the automation when you put it in place. And you've got to have a long-term strategy of going from point A to point B relative to your automation and make sure that you allow yourself room for error, such as if I'm sitting with a customer and they're saying, Well, I need it in six months, I'm gonna try to negotiate nine months, knowing that I can probably get it done in seven months. It gives me that room for error. If I show up in seven months, we all look good. The customer looks good, the integrator looks good, we all look good. But if all of a sudden I'm sitting at nine months and I still don't have that seven months or nine months, and the equipment's not running, we all the level of temperature rises accordingly.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 16:43

Yeah, so it's all about managing those expectations, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:47

Exactly. I know. And a lot of customers will tend to have an expectation that uh is somewhat unrealistic.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 16:54

Yeah, because manufacturers they might arrive with that trade show expectation of a robot is $50,000. And so how do you help them understand the full system reality without losing momentum?

SPEAKER_01 17:07

We're all human, okay? So when we go to a trade show or we're listening, we tend to listen and hear what we want to hear, not less, not necessarily hearing everything that we need to hear. So when you're in a trade show and you're talking to a salesman, there's always that question, well, what's it gonna cost? And the salesman says, Well, you know, the robot's gonna cost you $50,000.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 17:32

Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Well, that's what we typically walk away. What's it gonna cost? And the salesman says $50,000. You have now walked away with the idea that I can put a I can automate for $50,000. But it's not taking in the Yeah, maybe we could sell you a robot at $50,000, but we haven't even sized the robot. It could be $60,000. Then you got to have this shipping. There's costs associated with the the logistics of getting the equipment in. But then you have to have peripheral equipment around it to support the robot. There's the end-arm tool. There are conveyors where you're bringing in product to be able to support to deliver product to the robot. There's also the safety and guarding equipment around it and everything like that. So you have to take that into consideration. But we're human. We listen, we only hear what we want to hear.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 18:24

Yeah. Yeah, that's true. So again, I guess it's it's reminding them or meeting with them continuously and setting expectations along the way to and scaling their expectations according to what they're needing to use the robot for or the or the automation for. Because I mean, like you said, it can look a lot of different ways. And just because the piece of equipment costs a certain amount, there are all these associated costs and implementation costs and training costs and other things that have to be considered. And do you work with the salespeople to help set those expectations as well? So ultimately, customers don't get disappointed?

SPEAKER_01 19:00

Uh yes. One thing about a salesperson is that they've got to know their product, they got to know their target market and what they're working in. And they have to be able to go in and they have to know their competition and their points of difference. So when they're sitting with the customer, they have to educate the customer on what the needs are. So the customer may be looking at it and going, I want to automate. And then you find out they want to automate the most difficult thing on their plant floor. Well, you have to educate them that sometimes that's not a good idea. Let's look at your culture, let's look at who you have to be able to support that equipment. Because Mr. CEO or Mr. Mr. CFO, you're not going to run that equipment on the floor. Frank and and and Deborah are going to be doing it. We need to educate them. We need to make sure that they buy into the process. So you want to bring everybody together and help them understand their responsibilities in the role of being successful.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 19:58

Right. Absolutely. Because it is more than just buying the equipment. It's, you know, a lot is going to be impacted as far as processes and labor, et cetera. And it's going to disrupt for a while. It'll be a disruption in the company until there's a transition. You know, because I've um been to some of these trade shows, and yeah, there are, I mean, impressive machines and robots and and all kinds of cool things that they can do. But so, you know, it's like, oh, how what's the price tag on that? And yeah, I guess it is tempting for a salesperson just to put a you know sticker price on then the machinery, but that's not realistic. Just having that overall awareness and during the consulting process, just helping them or companies be become completely aware of what's involved is gonna, you know, help set up that, you know, more realistic expectation of what that looks like and then what the ROI ultimately is for time.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

Right, right. And you know, you've also got to have educated salespeople to say the robot costs $50,000. We don't know what size robot you need. We don't know what uh um peripheral equipment you're gonna need. So it the the robot may be $50,000, but you may be looking at $800,000 total scope of work. And you've got to be able to help them understand that so that they walk away with the $800,000 scope of work, not the $50,000 price tag for a robot.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 21:29

Yeah. And I'm sure you sometimes even experience it being an evolution where you get in expecting to implement one automated system and then either learn it's going to be more complex than anticipated, or they see other possibilities and so they expand what they want to do automation wise. Is that is that true? Is that the case?

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Yeah, sometimes they do, but um, at the same time, don't bite off more than you can chew. Right. Make sure that your autumn your first the first. Time that you do automation, it's something that you that you and the people on the plant floor can cut their teeth on. Nine times out of ten in my career, I've walked in and they want to do the most difficult thing because that's their lost leader. That's the one thing that's hurting them the most. And that's fine. But the probability of the based on the culture and the training of the people that are existing on the floor, trying to automate the most difficult thing is a lot more complicated than if they went and say, okay, well, let's do this application over here so we can get the maintenance team and the engineers and the um the uh the operators familiar with equipment. One, that takes away a lot of the fear, uncertainty, and doubt about applying the automation. And trust me, people on the plant floor have that fear, uncertainty, and doubt. What's my they're bringing automation in? Oh my God, I better put my resume out there.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 23:03

Right. Yeah, that makes sense. Right. So it's it's dealing with the people aspect, you know, as well.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

Yeah, you have to, you you've got to build that level of trust with the uh C-suite people, but at the same time, you've got to build that level of trust of the people on the floor. Nine times out of ten, when the CEO goes down on the plant floor and it sees his maintenance maintenance guy, the typical question is, how's that equipment running for us that we just installed? Oh, well, it's running great. Well, again, people want to hear what people want to hear. And typically that it's running great goes in one ear and out the other. Okay, it's when the maintenance guy goes, I wish you had me involved involved, Bob, because it's not working out very well. All of a sudden, that is what he hears, and that's what he walked away with. And that puts a bad taste in his mouth. Why I do, why did I do this? Why am I doing this? Let's educate the people on the floor. Take away the fear and certainty and doubt about what they're trying to accomplish.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 24:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

By doing that, you got you got not only you've educated the people on the plant floor about what you're doing, and all of a sudden they have this um reason to accept it. You're also educating them, and that makes them much more valuable not only to you, but if they were to leave, they're leaving with something that that uh a value that makes them a better employee for the next guy. You don't want them to leave, but if they do, you've done a great, great service to them by educating them and making them better than they were when they first came into your plan.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 24:47

Right, giving them a new skill set. So now they know how to work with automated machines, they have that experience, and and that makes them more valuable. So if they can see that, then maybe they won't be as resistant to embracing new technology and afraid, like you said, of being replaced by the technology. Correct. Yeah. Now you've worked across food, packaging, aerospace, NDT, and more. What are the most common patterns you see in failed automation projects? And what do high-performing teams do differently from day one?

SPEAKER_01 25:20

It is understanding the process. Okay, as I mentioned earlier, you want to go down on the plant floor. You want to have a clear understanding of the process from beginning to end. And then you want to understand where the automation is going to be applied in that process. But let's say you're replacing a manual process with an automated process. Understand how the process is being done manually, and then sit back for a minute and figure out how you're going to do it from an automated point of view. You've got, you're the eyes and the ears to your engineering team. So you have to have a clear understanding, an intimate knowledge of the process so that you can transfer that information to your engineering team so that they have a clear understanding of the process and how the automation should be applied.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 26:12

Yeah. Now, you launched automation technology consulting during the pandemic when access to plant leaders was limited. What did that period reveal about the real barriers to automation adoption and how has your go-to-market approach evolved since 2020?

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Well, um the reason I started uh automation technology consulting was simply because um I had been laid off from the company I was working with because people weren't responding to salespeople. They were more in tune to keeping their plant door open, getting product out to their customers, and making sure that their employees were healthy and safe. And through that process, it kind of slowed things down quite a bit for an extended period of time. At that point in time, I needed something to do. So I started automation technology consulting and reaching back in my career and taking the time to evaluate pros and cons, benefits, and features that I needed to present to people to help them make the right decisions. Also, at the same time, we were coming into an era where uh we were doing a lot of manufacturers were doing onshoring of manufacturing processes. May have been done in Mexico, but they're moving it back into the United States.

unknown 27:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

So it's helping them understand how to apply the equipment and how to how to wisely identify their ROI and help them navigate through those processes. So, and you were able to do that virtual meetings and everything like that became more of a necessity because you couldn't get into the plant, but the education process as well.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 27:58

Right. So, are you working with clients nationwide? And is there a certain vertical that you're focused on?

SPEAKER_01 28:05

I have been fortunate uh to play in a different uh a number of different industries. And the one thing that uh that I'm feel very fortunate about is that I'm able to understand that I can take a robot from automotive and use that same robot in uh aerospace or in packaging or in warehouse logistics. So I'm uh talking to customers. I use LinkedIn quite a bit. I'm targeting customers at the end users, trying to find the the CEOs and the CFOs of organizations that I want to do business with. I could be talking to a company that makes carpet one day to a manufacturer that is making denim the next, or a packaging company that is looking to retrofit their existing equipment so that they can increase their production without having to go into a buying new equipment and shelving or selling off the equipment they have in their plant floor.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 29:09

Yeah. So a variety of industries, I mean, the the main part is that they're just looking to add automation and integrate it into their processes.

SPEAKER_01 29:18

Right. And I've been fortunate to learn the processes. The key to my success well relative to that is taking the time to understand the process and how I can apply the automation to that process.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 29:32

Yeah. Now you've helped clients select integrators and avoid mismatches like warehouse logistic firms doing robotic welding, et cetera. What is your decision framework for selecting the right integrator? And what should executives ask that they that they rarely ask?

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Well, in the uh evaluation process, I again want to know what the process is, what we're what we're gonna be achieving so I can get my head wrapped around on what automation equipment needs to be done. And then I'm familiar with a lot of integrators, machine builders in the marketplace. So I'm gonna look for a uh machine builder or an integrator that has their core competencies are focused in on the processes that I am trying to implement.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 30:20

Yeah. So really again, just looking at the outcome and big picture, what they're really trying to do. And then you have the knowledge of the options. Is that that's what you're really bringing to the table, is just the understanding of the equipment and really seeing how it can be integrated into their processes. Just with yeah, your experience and understanding again of the engineering and mechanics.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

And it's fun. Big boy toys.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 30:47

Yeah, big boy toys, like you said. It sounds fun.

unknown 30:49

I know.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 30:50

No, AI is everywhere in the conversation these days, but you've been clear it's still uneven in manufacturing. Where do you see AI creating near-term value? And where is it still mostly hype?

SPEAKER_01 31:04

The AI is is based on having a plethora of information that the AI intelligence software can actually access. So, and AI is all about speed of information. On a plant floor, you could have two machines side by side. Okay, and they're identical machines, but they both have a different DNA per se. This machine over here, A, is not going to run exactly like B. They're gonna have subtle differences between them. I see AI right now is being applied into the preventative maintenance and monitoring the actual performance of the machines to be able to identify when things are about to fail so that a preventative maintenance plan can be put in place so they can continue their production. So there's a number of AI, AI per se companies that have developed AI software and sensors to be able to censor the harmonics of the machine, vibrations and the such. That's where I think the automation is gonna be applied the most. The other part of the AI is going to be up above in the front office. And it's just gonna take a while until you know we have developed the database for AI to connect to to understand how the equipment is supposed to be running and how the plant core is supposed to be running.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 32:32

So it's really right now it's for monitoring, collecting data, you know, just using the sensors to gather information and on how each individual machine is operating. And from there it can provide information on data, like you said, that ultimately can be used to make decisions, you know, down the road on efficiency, et cetera. Looking ahead, what's your thesis on the next three to five years of manufacturing automation? And what should mid-market manufacturers do now to avoid being left behind?

SPEAKER_01 32:59

The let's see, the mid-market manufacturers just need to start looking into the process of automating their processes so that they can educate themselves, finding a consultant like myself to help them through that process. And then over the next three to five years, AI will grow as being a good entity of helping manufacturers in their processes. But it won't necessarily be on the on the plant floor as much as it would be in the front office, of being able to figure out okay, what is the optimum way for me to reduce my waste? How can I increase the machines that I have on my plant floor in order for me to be able to increase productivity, but at the same time increase the quality of my product? Those things are gonna help are gonna be generated by AI more than trying to apply the AI on the plant floor from my perspective.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 34:05

Yeah. Now you repeatedly emphasize trust, trust with customers and trust inside plants. What are the behaviors you've seen that create unshakable trust fastest in complex automated automation sales and delivery?

SPEAKER_01 34:20

It all boils down to understanding your product, having confidence when you're sitting down with a customer that you've got the right product. It is understanding how to apply that product on the plant floor and having intellectual conversations with the front office, but at the same time having technical conversations with the engineering and the people on the plant floor so that they all are endeared by your knowledge of your quick knowledge of learning the process and how the automation can be applied. Through that, you're you're helping them open their eyes to applying the automation and avoiding the pitfalls.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 34:56

Yeah. So really just establishing that relationship at first where you're educating them so they really understand what they're getting into. Have there been times where you've actually dissuaded customers from implementing automation for one reason or another?

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Yes, I have been experienced. I've I've been in those situations, but it's more or less not trying to dissuade them from applying the automation. It is more or less helping them understand that you need to look at the culture of your floor, your plant floor, your and educating them to prepare for the automation, getting the maintenance guys educated so that they can stand on their own TV to support the equipment. Don't take on the most difficult product in the process. I mean, application in the process. Let's go for something over here that's less complicated and less expensive, and let's cut our teeth over there so that you change the culture, you change the mindset of the people on the floor. That will help that the process become more successful.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 36:02

Okay. So really introducing automation in a way that's less threatening or the least threatening. So you get the buy-in first of the operators. And then once they're comfortable with the automation, then introducing more. And so they're more keen to embrace it. Exactly. Yeah. That makes sense, right? So have you ever seen circumstances where operators or where you know people using the equipment actually try to sabotage them the machinery in in order to um I don't yes and no.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

Uh nine times out of ten, they're trying to bypass systems so they can run the equipment faster. Many years ago, I worked with a wire a wire manufacturer, and we put in some equipment. In this particular case, they were winding big cables of wire. And on that machine, it ran like about its maximum speed could be 1100 RPM. On that machine, you might have several spools of wire. So as the machine rotates, you're paying off the wire onto one cable and it's being drawn out. And in that particular case, the operators were trying to run the machine because they were paid paid on linear feet. And when they did, when they increased the speed, well, unfortunately, the mechanical holding device that kept these spools in place would become dislodged based on a centrifugal force, and these spools would shoot up.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 37:32

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Oh yeah. Nine times out of it, they went vertical. So you'd walk in the plant, you'd look up, and you'd see a glass ceiling, you know, um, and roof above your head, and you'd see where the glass was replaced from time to time because those those spools became dislodged and shot up through the stuff through the ceiling and the roof.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 37:53

Oh, wow. So what did you do in that circumstance?

SPEAKER_01 37:57

At that particular time, and this was one of the first applications in motion control that I did, the whole principle behind the motion control is to minimize to take the operation of the machine out of the operator's hands to a point where they could not run it faster than they could than was safe. So the manager would have in his office, he would have a board and he could see what the operators were trying to change the speed to. But the operators on the plant floor could change the speed, but it was they always had a uh they always had a safe speed that they could hit. They couldn't go up any higher.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 38:41

Right, right. So consider changing the the pay structure too, so they're not paid in a way that they're paid um by the linear foot, I guess, right?

SPEAKER_01 38:50

Right, right. But there again, you know, back in the day when automation was sort of a buzzword and and uh not everybody was applying it, there were operators that had years and years and years of experience about running those machines, and they were irreplaceable.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 39:07

Yeah, right. Now, for engineers or sales leaders entering automation now, what's one skill they must develop to be credible with both technical and non-technical stakeholders?

SPEAKER_01 39:19

The uh the one thing I would say is learn your product, be confident in what you know about your product, know your points of difference to your competitors, and educate the customer on how the product can be applied to their plant floor. Build confidence and that level of trust between yourself and them. Educate them, educate the front office on the ROI, educate the people on the plant floor, the automation, how it's going to work, how they can benefit from it, those kind of things. Level the temperature of applying the automation.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 39:56

Yeah. So basically, education equals trust, and education uh sets the expectations, which ultimately will lead to that uh set or uh understanding of a realistic ROI and then uh expectations as far as implementation, and that will lead to success.

SPEAKER_01 40:18

Well, yeah, exactly. It's kind of like uh, you know, you've got a young child just turning 15, 16 years old, and you're gonna they want to get behind the wheel and learn how to drive a car. Well, we have to go through the process of learning the how to drive the car before the parent is going to let them go and drive on their own. So that has to be that process. You have to take the time to educate them on how the how to drive, what to look for, and things like that. You're gonna have to sit in the passenger seat and let them go through that process. Mistakes are gonna be made. You have to educate them on the consequences of those mistakes so that they can better drive with their eyes wide open. Yeah.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 41:01

And finally, Bill, if a CEO came to you and said, we want automation, but we've been burned before, what are the first two steps you'd recommend to restart the journey in a lower risk, higher confidence way?

SPEAKER_01 41:12

The main thing I would tell anybody was let's walk through the process of the system that you were you had bad, bad um opportunity. Yeah, bad experience. And through that process, you'll understand. And if you have, if you're in there with the equipment solution to do the right process, you can help them navigate that, build confidence that you know what you're doing, and how you can help them with that equipment. And it may be that you're gonna go back and retrofit to that equipment. Sometimes it's the wrong robot, it's sometimes it's it be this, that, or the other, and applying the automation. Or it could have been the wrong integrator that they put in, they were stepping into um a lane that they are not familiar with.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 42:06

Yeah. I like that. So, first going back and really understanding what happened, retracing the steps and the journey previously, and then identifying, you know, what went wrong, and then, like you said, identifying the solutions that would better fit their situation and bring them success. Correct. Yeah. Well, Bill, thank you so much for joining me today and for bringing such a grounded perspective to automation. When that it's not just about technology, but it's about people, process, and outcomes. For listeners who want to learn more about automation technology consulting, what's the best way to connect?

SPEAKER_01 42:41

You can reach me through my email address, Bill Willard at Automation Technology Consulting.com.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 42:48

All right. Well, Bill, thank you again for this conversation. I really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

Thank you very much for your time, Leanne, and the opportunity to speak with you on such a vital topic.

Dr. Leeanne Aguilar 43:00

Absolutely. And for our listeners, if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Industry Ignited on your favorite podcast platform or YouTube and tune in for our next conversation. Until next time, stay bold, stay curious, and keep igniting industry.