Article

Cheap ATM parts, expensive ATM headaches

Can you really afford the hidden costs of cheap parts?

August 26, 2016

by Greg Hughes, CEO, TestLink Services Ltd.

Opting for cheap piece parts is often attractive, largely due to the effect on profit margins.

However, most professional buyers acknowledge that purchasing on price often involves a sacrifice in quality. While all piece parts have the potential for breakage, cheap piece parts just happen to do so more frequently.

So why is purchasing cheap parts still so popular? And, more importantly, what is the real impact of cheap piece parts on an ATM?

Cheap parts bring with them some obvious disadvantages stemming from their more frequent failure: decreased machine uptime; a poor customer experience; and a reduction in engineer efficiency.

Less obvious, perhaps, is the damage that a cheap part in one module can bring about in a completely different module in the same ATM, and the increased number of engineer visits involved in figuring out the source of this type of problem.

As an example, we'll use a cash cassette shutter.

This component is known to have a high failure rate. Additionally, failure can be hard to detect because the shutter is housed at the back of the cassette.

The cassette might appear to be working properly when it is removed from the ATM, and the fault might only present itself when the cassette is reinstalled into the mechanism.

When the cassette shutter fails, a sequence of other failures in the ATM can follow. These will include issues with pick lines, note jams and problems in the loading of the cassette itself.

The pick cups and pick line in the module are damaged when they strike the shutter, which occurs because it isn’t opening properly. This damage becomes worse over time, eventually reaching a point where the ATM is unable to dispense notes.

Aside from this problem, the faulty shutter can cause note jams because it is unable to release notes freely into the pick presenter.

This results in expensive service calls and avoidable inconvenience for the bank or IAD operating the ATM — not to mention penalties for failure to meet uptime targets.

Because shutter failure is hard to identify, the cassette handler can inadvertently force the cassette in to the housing.

When this occurs, the result is often a broken shutter. Fragments from the broken part can then work their way in to other modules of the ATM, where they are likely to cause a completely new and separate failure.

So what is so wrong with a cheap cassette shutter? Simply this: A cheap shutter is made from a lower grade plastic than a standard or OEM version.

To bring manufacturing costs down the cheap part is also made using less material. The manufacturing process itself also might not as thorough as it would be for a higher quality part.

In the instance of the cassette shutter, this is a particular problem. The shutter must be flexible, which means that also must be especially tough in thinner areas that need to flex in order to do their job.

Cheaper alternatives often lack this required toughness, which increases their propensity to wear — and fail — more quickly.

Naturally, the relationship between cost and quality is linear. So, if you choose to purchase cheap parts, it is worth considering the real impact that these will have on the ATMs you are responsible for.

Which means asking and answering this question: Can you really afford the hidden costs of cheap parts?

photo istock