An Automated NSW Smart Solutions Guide

Standardization, Shmandardization: When One Size Doesn’t Fit All

 

Challenging the Standardization Myth

It might seem counterintuitive, but standardization holds no intrinsic value. While standardization can be beneficial, it’s not a universal solution. The perceived value often comes with hidden costs that can impact your overall efficiency and performance. Before defaulting to cookie-cutter repetition, carefully evaluate whether standardization truly serves your specific needs.

The Illusion of Cost Savings

The most obvious reason to standardize equipment and programming is to reduce design costs by creating a “one and done” approach. Consider a scenario where you’re deploying 20 identical air handlers across multiple campuses. While a single design might save upfront costs, it simultaneously eliminates the opportunity for iterative improvements gained through individual installation and startup experiences.

Environmental Complexity Demands Customization

Specific environments and use cases require custom designs if efficiency and peak performance are your ultimate goals. A design intended to control humidity in both Phoenix, Arizona, and Jackson, Mississippi, will likely result in a compromise that satisfies neither location. Each environment presents unique challenges that demand tailored solutions.

The People Factor

Many organizations pursue standardization believing it will simplify personnel training. While there’s some truth to this, a false sense of uniformity can be dangerous. If various installations are not truly identical, or if equipment must operate differently to address specific environmental needs, standardization can lead to dangerous assumptions and critical mistakes.

A Smarter Approach to Standardization

Instead of forcing identical equipment across diverse contexts, focus on standardizing:

• Information organization

• Documentation procedures

• Knowledge management systems

This approach ensures workers can quickly find specific details about equipment, regardless of its unique characteristics.

Making Intelligent Design Decisions

Standardization is occasionally the best choice, but developing a methodical strategy for decision-making is crucial. Evaluate each new project against:

• Specific locale requirements

• Performance goals

• Efficiency considerations

The initial investment in customized design will pay dividends throughout your facility’s lifetime, delivering superior performance and adaptability.

Embracing Intelligent Flexibility

True optimization isn’t about uniformity—it’s about intelligent adaptation. By resisting the knee-jerk reaction to standardize and instead approaching each project with nuanced, context-specific consideration, you create solutions that are genuinely responsive to unique challenges and opportunities.