The "right" price should always be the price needed to effectively accomplish the desired outcome. Understanding what the desired outcome is and what's needed to acquire it is the key to assessing the true value of any price.
"How much should this thing cost me? ...."
is a question that frequently comes to mind when considering a significant purchase. Usually, we answer this question with a familiar approach – “The lowest price is the best price.” But how many times have you bought something based on low price and later regretted it because the item did not meet your needs or expectations for features, function, or quality? In hindsight, you would have gladly paid more for something that actually met your needs. Perhaps you realized you weren’t particularly experienced or knowledgeable about what you purchased, and you over-relied on the seller. Sound familiar? The better question would have been “How do I make sure I buy the right thing, and how much should that cost?”
For most purchases there is a “cost-effective” price that ensures the buyer-user’s needs and expectations are properly satisfied. Often this is not the lowest price. A low cost purchase that does not meet requirements is not an “effective” cost. This is particularly true when it comes to purchasing industrial FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) equipment and piping. Unfortunately, end-users today are often frustrated and disappointed with their FRP purchases because of equipment failures that cause expensive production outages, and costly maintenance problems that plague their operations. Clearly, the end-users’ reliability needs and expectations are not being satisfied in these cases. Perhaps the cost of their FRP was not “effective.”
Don’t Lose the Forest for the Trees
To illustrate this, consider the man and wife who need to replace their refrigerator (we’ll call this task “the project”). The project needs to make a purchase, so the wife sends the husband to the local appliance store to buy a new refrigerator. Seems simple enough. Although he doesn’t know much about kitchen appliances, in his mind the man thinks the project requirements are clear – come home with a new fridge. After several minutes with an eager, convincing salesperson the man decides on a basic model with a low price. He’s confident it’s the right choice because the salesperson knows refrigerators, seemed to say all the right things, and gave him a low price. Exactly what he wanted! And after all, the lowest price is the best price – right?
Well, let’s see how our purchaser did satisfying the actual project requirements. After arriving home and unloading the new fridge, the man’s wife (we’ll call her the end-user) came in to inspect her new appliance (the product of the project).
“Honey, this isn’t the stainless steel finish I asked for … and I don’t see an ice and drinking water dispenser in the door like I wanted …. and I really need a bottom drawer freezer for more space. This refrigerator isn’t going to work for me!”
In an attempt to defend his purchase decision the man countered “but Sweetheart, I got a really good price for this fridge – we saved a lot of money!” The wife was not impressed.
A Special Material Requires Special Attention
It’s not too hard to see that the project failed to satisfy the end-user’s requirements, even though the buyer’s frugality saved the project money. Realizing his mistake, the man returned the new fridge to the store and this time selected a more expensive model that was “fit for purpose,” having all the required features and functions needed to satisfy the full requirements of the end-user – a happy wife who will enjoy her new refrigerator for years to come.
What caused this purchase to go so wrong? In our illustration the man was not personally experienced and knowledgeable about what he was purchasing, so he did not perceive the importance of looking past a low price to the additional features and functions that would actually satisfy the end-user’s requirements. And then of course, in not realizing this upfront he did not plan to bring along someone on his team who was knowledgeable and experienced to assist him. This then resulted in him over-relying on the person selling him a refrigerator to be knowledgeable and protect his (the buyer’s) best interests. The salesperson was very good at his job, quickly picking up on the fact that this buyer was focused solely on low price. Because competition between local appliance stores was intense, the salesperson intentionally avoided offering additional features and functions that would drive up the price and risk the sale – better to get a low priced sale than no sale at all.
Be Purpose Driven
Purchasing and installing industrial FRP equipment can be a lot like this COST-INEFFECTIVE illustration, where the end-user’s needs go unsatisfied. Even more important to the end-user than cost is long term reliability, and the assurance that their money was effectively spent for equipment that actually satisfies the purpose.
As in our story where important requirements were ignored during the initial purchase for the sake of low cost, FRP purchasers frequently ignore or are unaware of design and quality requirements that are essential to long term equipment reliability – and a satisfied end-user. Frequent and common problems often result from a project focusing on low cost instead of ensuring that essential FRP requirements are satisfied:
Weak, unenforceable specifications that allow vendors too much design judgment.
Low design safety factors caused by FRP product designs that are not based on the true governing load case for the particular application and conditions.
Poor quality fabrication, especially non-mechanized hand workmanship elements.
Poor quality equipment installation and FRP field joint work.
Projects often make purchasing mistakes similar to the guy in our story. These mistakes can result in the same failed outcome – an unsatisfied end-user stuck with unreliable FRP.
Buyers without sufficient FRP experience and expertise.
Too much focus on lowest cost and not enough focus on fitness for purpose.
Overreliance on FRP vendors and installers.
No FRP expertise applied on the customer’s team.
The Best Cost Is an Effective Cost
Industrial FRP is an excellent material for corrosion resistance, and can be designed, fabricated and installed for decades of reliable, trouble-free service -– if it’s done properly.
So, how can an FRP customer be confident they are spending enough (but not too much) to ensure that their purchase is EFFECTIVE in accomplishing their reliability requirements? “How much should it cost for FRP that is truly fit for purpose and reliable?”
An effective cost should include all elements necessary to ensure that complete requirements are actually satisfied and the product produced is fit for purpose and reliable.
Avoid structuring your project to over-rely on FRP vendors and installers for your project’s technical and quality assurance. Tip: FRP manufacturer and installer warranties are very ineffective hedges against expensive production losses and costly repairs caused by FRP failures.
Make sure to understand ALL the important design, fabrication, installation and quality requirements needed for reliable FRP. Tip: Not all FRP specifications are created equal.
If your organization or project team does not have qualified in-house FRP experience and knowledge, consider adding outside FRP subject matter expertise to your team.
Remember ….. Regardless of how little you paid for something, if it doesn’t satisfy your needs you paid too much.
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