For companies developing new products and prototypes or companies seeking to improve on current systems and components in a system, using engineering designs services can provide solutions to your problems and challenges.
These same companies often provide full service from design and development to prototype creating and testing. This full spectrum of services offered by the same company is an important consideration in getting your project done on time and in partnering with a company you trust.
Advantages
Some of the advantages of using an engineering team hired through a specialized company rather than trying to do the work in-house include:
- Team knowledge and experience – when working with a team to provide design, prototype development and testing you have the advantage of multiple, highly skilled professionals getting the job done. This can lead to more creativity, more recognition of potential problems in a design and less of a chance of falling behind the timeline.
- Industry experience – while some engineering designs services are very narrow in their scope of work with a specific industry, others have specialized teams with experience in multiple industries. Either option is a good choice provided your industry is one that the company specializes in.
- Scalability – with experience comes the ability to provide help to a company with scalability that will become a factor after the design and prototype development is completed. Moving up from creating the prototype to putting it into small or large scale production is an important consideration.
What to Check
It will be important to work with engineering designs services that have the edge you need to get your product to market. There are several questions to ask and have answered by each company you are considering.
- Experience – be careful about vague descriptions of experience within your area of industry. Ask for specifics, and you may also want to ask for references of past companies the engineering design team has worked with.
- Services offered – make sure that every step of the process can be handled by the engineering company you are selecting. If they cannot provide a critical part of the process from design to market, you need to think about how that will impact production, cost and the ability to get the project finished on time.
- Cost and delivery – of course, the cost will typically be a factor, but it shouldn’t be the only consideration. A very low quote on the job may mean a company that simply doesn’t understand the scope of the work. Ask the company about their record of on-time delivery for past clients. Delays in the process can result in a significant financial loss for your business.
Take the time to carefully review at least three different services. This will give you a good understanding of the industry standards, pricing and services, allowing you to pick the right partner for your next project.
