The Over-Engineering Trap: Aligning Custom Equipment Specs with Operational Reality

Custom machinery projects often fall victim to "perfectionism tax." When equipment specifications exceed actual operational needs, capital costs skyrocket without a proportional increase in value. By shifting the focus from maximum engineering to optimal engineering, you can deliver high-quality solutions that remain on budget and ahead of schedule.

This 30-minute webinar will address the critical challenge of over-specification in custom engineering, a hurdle that impacts project managers, systems integrators, and procurement teams across the mobility and manufacturing sectors. The program will explore the consultative process of distinguishing "mission-critical" requirements from "nice-to-have" features that inflate budgets and delay timelines. Attendees will learn how to audit specifications against production goals to ensure every dollar spent enhances reliability and performance.

Key learning objectives:

• The meaning of “over-engineering”
• How to recognize red flags, common scenarios where over-engineering begins
• Techniques to evaluate whether a spec supports a core production goal
• Ways to streamline designs — strategies to simplify custom designs without sacrificing quality
• How to bridge the gap between technical desire and budget reality with consultative alignment

An audience Q&A session will follow the technical presentation.

Speakers:

Greg Larson, Equipment Project Manager, ACS

Greg Larson is an Equipment Project Manager with more than 20 years of experience spanning chemical engineering and instrumentation and controls (I&C) design through commissioning. He specializes in the full lifecycle of custom machinery delivery, from initial design and budgeting to client interface and proposal development. By combining deep technical expertise with a pragmatic approach to project management, Greg excels at aligning complex engineering specifications with operational goals, ensuring that custom equipment solutions maintain high reliability and performance while avoiding the costs of over-specification.

Ben Longstreet, Equipment Project Manager, ACS

Ben Longstreet is an Equipment Project Manager with nearly a decade of experience spanning the full lifecycle of custom machinery delivery, from initial design and budgeting through to commissioning. Leveraging a deep technical background in instrumentation and controls, Ben excels at aligning complex engineering specifications with practical operational goals, ensuring that every project stays on schedule and within budget. He oversees the entire project journey—including proposal development, team management, and client interaction—to provide clear visibility and high-reliability solutions. By combining this technical expertise with a pragmatic management style, Ben ensures that custom equipment meets rigorous safety and performance requirements while remaining cost-effective and avoiding the pitfalls of over-specification.

Moderator:

Amanda Hosey, Editor, SAE Media Group