Hardly any design department is staffed to absorb every project peak on its own. On top of that there are plants in a system that nobody in house handles with confidence any more, and revisions that have been waiting for months because day to day work comes first. At that point the question arises whether part of the electrical design should go outside.
Finding a service provider is rarely the problem. The harder part is finding one whose results feel as if they had been produced in house. These questions help with the choice.
When an external partner pays off
Most often it is about capacity. A large project coincides with two smaller ones, and your own designers cannot keep up. An external partner then takes on clearly defined parts, such as the schematics for a plant extension or the terminal and cable diagrams.
Just as often it is about systems. Existing plants are documented in ELCAD or WSCAD, new projects are created in EPLAN, and nobody in house masters all three. A service provider who works in all of these systems maintains the existing documentation while your own team designs in EPLAN.
And finally documentation. After several conversions the drawing no longer matches the plant. This work is important but rarely urgent, so it gets left behind. That is exactly where an external partner is particularly useful.
Does the provider work in your system and your standard?
The first question is the system, including the version. EPLAN Electric P8, Pro Panel, ELCAD and WSCAD each have their own way of working. A provider who only handles your system on the side needs longer for everything.
More important than the system, however, is your standard. Designation structure, article master, macros, forms and page layout turn a schematic into your schematic. Ask whether the provider works in your environment, with your master data and templates, and how they make sure their projects pass your check runs without errors.
A team or a single person?
A single freelancer can do excellent work. But if they fall ill, go on holiday or are tied up in another project, your design stands still. And the knowledge about your plants leaves with them.
With an established team it is different. Several designers know your standard, cover is arranged, and whoever worked on your project in spring still knows it in autumn. So do not only ask about capacity, but also about who will work on your project and who steps in.
What exactly is delivered?
An order is only cleanly described when it is clear what is handed over at the end. That includes the project data in the original system, PDF output, terminal diagrams, cable lists and bills of materials. For revisions, a list of changes is added so your team can see what has changed compared with the old state.
The reports are a good test. If terminal diagram, cable list and bill of materials are right, cross-references and article references usually are too. A provider who checks their own results against the reports delivers less rework.
How will you work together?
Agree in advance whether work is done in your environment via remote access or with exchanged project data, who the contacts are on both sides and how queries are handled. For plants in operation, ask as well whether the provider can come on site to survey the actual state. A confidentiality agreement goes without saying for customer plants.
Start with a small order
The most reliable way to choose is a first, manageable order. A revision, an extension or a clearly defined sub-project shows faster than any meeting whether the results fit your standard and how coordination works. Afterwards both sides know what they have in each other.
The questions at a glance
- Which systems and versions does the provider work in?
- Does the provider work with your master data, macros and templates?
- Who works on your project, and who covers in case of absence?
- What is handed over, and how is it checked?
- How do access, data exchange and queries work?
- Which first order can be used to test the cooperation?
How we work
Since 1998 we have been taking on electrical design for industrial plants and for machine and plant builders, in EPLAN, ELCAD and WSCAD, as an established team and in your standard. How an order runs with us is described on our page about electrical design. If you are mainly looking for extra capacity for your own team, see engineering support. For projects in EPLAN there is the page on EPLAN design services.