If you use heavy, mobile machinery – such as construction vehicles or agribusiness equipment – you should look for manufacturing options allowing the most variety and customization possible. When choosing a manufacturer, you should ask if their processes are digitized as this usually translates to increased user functionality and ease of customization.
“Digitization” in manufacturing is more than creating digital FAQ’s, videos, or even building up an online customer support system. It even goes beyond making digital copies of your manuals, specs, and other information available online.
Customization should be important to making a purchasing decision. Providers who optimize digitization services can provide things such as custom analytics software, cloud data storage, services, and more. Gathering data about heavy equipment that’s already in use can be linked with information also gathered from digital production and other product information from plants and engineering departments.
Here are a few things you should look for when choosing a manufacturer for your agricultural equipment, forklifts, and other heavy-duty construction vehicles.
Adaptability
You probably don’t need or want to be locked into a fully complete system, yet you still don’t want to need to go through the hassle of building equipment from scratch with many base parts. You likely prefer a base model that you can customize. You should be looking for this happy medium when making your purchasing decisions.
Compatibility
You also should value the option to pair different brands or models of equipment with others. Digitization means that you can use open-source libraries to assist in configuring systems that piece together equipment from other interfaces. Look for options that do not lock you into a single proprietary system that doesn’t allow for movement across models or brands.
Ease of Use
When making a purchasing decision, look for systems that are easy for operators to use. Search for operating parameters that can be standardized, but not inhibit the ability to adapt and address new situations, applications, or environments.
The more data that manufacturers can collect from working vehicles, production processes, etc., the more easily this information can be analyzed for the benefit of the consumer. All this digitization can expand the possibility for easier customization for you and your applications.
