Why FDG?

 

Why Should An ESC Hire FDG? 

The design/build paradigm for custom electronics integration projects needs to change. It is very common for an ESC to spend considerable time going through the motions “close a sale” only to never actually engineer the solution. Rather, in many cases a parts list is generated as a place holder for hardware that will be figured out at a later date. Once the sale is closed, the “parts list” and little else is handed to a project manager or installer where they are expected to install the correct wire for the project, finalize the equipment list, build the racks and program the system. Our experience at Firefly has proven that if a detailed plan for the project is not created early, then many problems and headaches will show up later on through the installation phase. In most cases, the ESC sees his profit dollars slipping through his fingers as the installation takes longer than it should have, frustrating all parties.

There is an alternative. The ESC’s salesperson should spend quality time with the client and learn in detail about the client’s project goals and budget expectations. In many cases the ESC will need to offer this phase as a free service and a necessary step towards winning the project. Once the project scope and budget are known, the ESC can now collect a design fee to proceed to the detailed design phase where all of the necessary hardware and labor factors are defined based upon that integrators product mix. Firefly Design Group provides this design service for many ESC’s. Once the project proposal is finalized and accepted by the client, the system engineering should begin. This includes the creation of the wiring plan, rack elevations and schematics where all the “heavy lifting” occurs to plan the project. Once the plan is created, the rest is smooth sailing. The plan acts as the roadmap that the ESC’s team follows to complete the installation. The required effort required is low and the reward is high.