Price/Customer Service

What do you have in your budget to spend? While it is tempting to think that price needs to always be the first consideration and to think that the lowest priced option is always the way to go, that can lead to headaches down the road. Cheaper models, options, or technologies may not provide the same length of service life, require more maintenance, or may require more downtime for things like calibration. These things all cost money in the long run and should also be added to the total lifetime cost of the instrument. Ask what the average life span of the model you are looking at is.

Also ask about warranties. How long is the instrument covered and does the company you are purchasing from have a known customer service record for supporting their instrumentation in an accessible and personal manner. This can make all the difference in ensuring that an instrument has been correctly installed and to easily troubleshoot any questions that come up as part of that process.

Another aspect is how long will it take to install? Will it require a shut down of a critical existing process that will cost money if it is shut down or can it be installed without this issue?

It is important to think in terms of total value and not just the initial cost. What may be cheaper at first may cost much, much more in the long run.

If you are looking to replace a part that has shut down a process, lead-time for the replacement is also an important consideration. Can you get it fast to get the process back up and running?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could try one out first to make sure it works? Some companies are open to the idea of suppying short term demo units to ensure that it is the correct solution for the application.