Quotes look alike; what happens after commissioning makes the difference. Seven questions to ask before signing.
A business collecting automation quotes usually sees three or four and they all look alike: PLC, panel, program, commissioning. The real difference shows in the three years after commissioning. These questions let you see those years in advance.
1. Who keeps the program and the documents?
Are the PLC program, HMI project, wiring diagrams and parameter list handed over? If not, changing supplier is practically impossible. Have "source files and diagrams are delivered to the client" written into the contract.
2. Which brand are we tied to?
Some firms are single-brand dealers and solve every job with that brand. Not necessarily bad; but ask about spare-part prices, lead times and who can intervene without that brand.
3. How will the switch happen without stopping production?
Can the new system run in parallel, is there a rollback plan, which shift is the switch planned for? If the answer is "you will stop for two days", add that cost to the quote.
4. What is the first response on failure?
Will remote access be set up, who can connect, is it logged? Is on-site response time written in the contract? "Call us and we come" is not a response time.
5. Where does the data go?
Will the SCADA or monitoring system keep data in the cloud or on your premises? Both are legitimate; what matters is that you decided. Ask who can access it and what happens when the contract ends.
6. Who has done this before?
Ask not for a reference list but for the story of a job like yours: what it was, what went wrong, how it was solved. Reference pages untouched for years say nothing.
7. When automation is done, who owns the IT side?
Is the SCADA PC, network, backup and firewall the automation firm's responsibility or the IT firm's? Systems that fall between two firms fail most often. Ask for one responsible party or define the boundary in writing.
The answers say more than the number on the quote. SMB Teknoloji answers all seven in writing; ask any other firm for the same.