Integrator Project Team

On a $15-40M project at a full-line integrator, 8-15 people carry meaningful roles. No single person spans the full lifecycle from pursuit through warranty.

Roles and Phase Loads

Role	Phase Load	Key Responsibility
Sales Engineer (SE)	Heavy 0-2, resurfaces at escalations	Revenue generator, customer relationship owner
Solutions Architect	Heavy 0-2, mostly disengaged by Phase 3	System concept, throughput modeling, simulation
Project Manager (PM)	Heavy 2-6	Schedule, budget, cost variance, customer communication
Lead Mechanical Engineer	Heavy 2-3	Detailed mechanical design, fabrication drawings, BOM
Lead Controls Engineer	Heavy 2-5	Controls architecture, FDS, PLC platform selection
Controls Engineers (1-3)	Heavy 3-6	PLC code, SCADA/HMI, factory testing, commissioning
Software Lead / WCS-WES Architect	Heavy 2-5	WCS/WES configuration, ICD ownership, WMS API integration
Site Lead / Installation Manager	Heavy 4-5	On-site trades management, mechanical completion
Commissioning Engineers (1-4)	Heavy 6	System energization, SAT drive, punch list closure
Service Lead	Heavy 7	Aftermarket transition, LSA management

The matrix has two critical implications:

1. The roles with deepest technical accountability (Solutions Architect, Lead Mechanical, Lead Controls, Software Lead) are all off the project before commissioning starts.
2. The service team doesn’t peak until Phase 7 but if they have no involvement before Phase 6, they spend the warranty period learning a system they weren’t part of building.

The Five Handoff Failure Modes

Every major project failure happens at a phase boundary — not during phases, but at transitions.

Handoff 1: Sales to Solutions (Phase 0-1)

What breaks: SE made verbal commitments that were never documented — about throughput, timeline, scope. Solutions Architect discovers them when the customer references them in a kickoff meeting.

Structural fix: Formal scope confirmation document sent to the customer after every significant sales conversation, before the proposal is written.

Handoff 2: Solutions to Engineering (Phase 2 transition)

What breaks: The simulation model that sold the deal assumed things the Lead Engineer must now build into a real design — a different column grid, an additional 60 linear feet of conveyor, a WMS described as “standard REST API” that turns out to be a 14-year-old flat-file system.

Structural fix: Lead Engineer explicitly challenges every assumption in the concept package at firm design kickoff.

Handoff 3: Engineering to Execution (Phase 3-4)

What breaks: Post-2020, long-lead procurement was priced at 12-week lead times. Actual lead times: 40-60+ weeks. Component substitutions (PLC modules) may not be reflected in PLC code updates.

Structural fix: Decouple long-lead procurement from design sign-off. Issue POs for >20-week items before detailed design is complete.

Handoff 4: Execution to Commissioning (Phase 5-6)

What breaks: Drawings don’t match the site. Column grid shifted 4 inches. Conveyor lengths field-adjusted without drawing revisions. PLC code written against the engineering model; physical system is slightly different.

Structural fix: Laser scanning site surveys before detailed design begins.

Handoff 5: Commissioning to Service (Phase 6-7)

What breaks: The commissioning team built 4-8 months of system-specific knowledge — which PLC module runs warm, which sensor needs weekly cleaning, which zone has a timing workaround in code. When they leave exhausted, that knowledge leaves with them unless formally documented.

Structural fix: Structured knowledge transfer as a formal deliverable, not a handshake.

Source: 2.6-advanced-automation-design