10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Machine Vision System Integrator

Hiring a machine vision system integrator is one of the most consequential decisions you will make in a vision project. The right integrator turns a vague requirement into a working production system. The wrong one delivers a system that works in the demo but fails on the line and by then you have spent the budget and the timeline.

The challenge is that most buyers do not evaluate integrators often enough to know what to ask. The questions below are the ones that separate good integrators from average ones and they are the questions that most buyers only think to ask after something has gone wrong.

1. Have you done this specific application before?

"Machine vision experience" is not the same as "experience with your application." An integrator who has built 50 barcode reading systems may have no experience with surface defect inspection. An integrator who excels at automotive measurement may never have worked in food production.

Ask for examples of projects in your industry, with your type of inspection task, at your production speed. Not conceptual capability. Actual completed projects. If they cannot name at least two or three relevant reference projects, they are learning on your budget.

2. Can I visit a reference site?

This is the question that separates integrators with genuine track records from those with good presentations. Any integrator can show you a demo in their lab. Asking to see a system running in a real production environment tells you whether their systems actually survive the transition from lab to factory.

If they say no, ask why. Commercial confidentiality is a valid reason for some projects but an integrator who cannot show you a single live installation should raise questions. If they say yes and the reference customer speaks positively, you have your strongest indicator of likely success.

3. What hardware platform do you use, and why?

Some integrators are locked into a single manufacturer's ecosystem because they have a distribution, reseller or system integrator partner agreement, so they can have a commercial incentive. Their recommendation will always be that manufacturer's products, regardless of whether it is the best fit for your application.

An integrator who works with multiple camera manufacturers, multiple software platforms, and multiple lighting suppliers can recommend the best combination for your specific application rather than the combination they happen to sell. Ask which manufacturers they work with, and why they would recommend one over another for your project. If the answer is always the same brand regardless of the question, that is a signal.

4. Who owns the intellectual property?

This is the question that most buyers forget to ask until it is too late. If the integrator develops custom software for your vision system, who owns the source code? Can you modify it yourself after the project is complete? Can you take it to another integrator for support if the relationship does not work out?

Some integrators retain ownership of the software IP and licence it to you. This means you are dependent on them for every future modification, every update and every bug fix. That may be acceptable if their support is excellent. It is a serious risk if it is not. Clarify IP ownership in writing before the project starts, not after the software is delivered.

5. How do you test and validate the system before delivery?

A good integrator has a structured testing methodology, which starts with factory acceptance testing (FAT) at their facility, followed by site acceptance testing (SAT) at yours. Both should have documented pass/fail criteria agreed before the project starts, not improvised on the day.

Ask what FAT involves. How many parts do they test? Do they test with your actual production samples or with idealised test parts? What happens if the system passes FAT but fails SAT? Who pays for the rework? These questions are uncomfortable to ask before the project starts and extremely expensive to resolve after it has failed.

6. What happens when something goes wrong after installation?

Every vision system will eventually need support. A camera fails, a lighting unit degrades, a software update creates a conflict, or the production team changes a process parameter and the system stops performing. The question is not whether this will happen. It is how quickly it will be resolved when it does.

Ask about response times, remote support capability, spare parts availability and whether support is included in the project price or charged separately. Ask what happens at 2am on a Saturday when the line is down. An integrator who answers these questions confidently has thought about post-installation support. One who is vague about it has not.

7. What is your engineering team's experience and certifications?

Machine vision sits at the intersection of optics, electronics, software and mechanical engineering. The quality of the system depends on the quality of the engineers who design it.

Ask about their team's background. How many engineers do they have? What are their specialisms? Do any of them hold certified machine vision professional (CMVP) qualifications? How long have they been working in machine vision specifically, not just in automation or software generally? A small team of experienced, certified machine vision engineers will typically deliver a better system than a large team of general automation engineers who occasionally work on vision projects.

In the UK, there is now a formal benchmark worth asking about, which is the UKIVA Vision Integrator Standard. Developed by the UK Industrial Vision Association (part of Automate UK), this is an independently audited standard that evaluates integrators across areas including safety, acceptance testing, aftersales support, staff training, customer training, and proof-of-concept methodology. An integrator who has achieved the UKIVA Vision Integrator Standard has been assessed against criteria that align directly with many of the questions in this article. It is not the only indicator of a good integrator, but it is a useful external validation, particularly for buyers who are evaluating integrators for the first time and want an independent reference point. You can check which integrators hold the standard on the Automate UK website.

8. How do you handle specification changes during the project?

Every vision project encounters scope changes. The production team discovers a new product variant that was not in the original specification. The line speed increases. The reject criteria change. A new regulatory requirement appears. These are normal, and a good integrator expects them.

Ask how they manage change requests. Is there a formal process? How are changes priced? What is the impact on timeline? An integrator who treats every change as a major disruption is likely operating at the limit of their capacity. An integrator who has a structured change management process has done enough projects to know that changes are inevitable and has built a system for handling them efficiently.

9. What training and documentation do you provide?

A vision system that only one person in the integrator's company understands is a system you do not truly own. You have purchased a dependency, not a tool.

Ask what operator training is included, what engineer training is available, and what documentation is delivered with the system. At a minimum, you should receive operator manuals, system architecture documentation, wiring diagrams, software configuration guides and a recommended maintenance schedule. If the integrator delivers the system and walks away without transferring knowledge, you will be calling them (and paying them) for every minor change for the life of the installation.

Clearview's KnowHow training programme exists specifically to bridge this gap. Whether you are working with Clearview directly or with a third-party integrator using Clearview-supplied components, we can train your team on the hardware, the software platform and the vision fundamentals so you can support the system independently.

10. What is the total cost of ownership, not just the project price?

The project price is what you pay to get the system installed and running. The total cost of ownership is what you pay over the 5 to 10 years of the system's operational life: annual support contracts, software licence renewals, hardware replacements, training for new operators and the engineering time required for any modifications as your production needs change.

Ask the integrator to break down the total cost of ownership, not just the capital expenditure. A system that costs £50,000 to install but £8,000 per year to support has a 5-year TCO of £90,000. A system that costs £70,000 to install but £2,000 per year to support (because the software is open, the team is trained and the hardware is standard) has a 5-year TCO of £80,000. The cheaper project price was actually the more expensive system.

Use this as a checklist

Print these ten questions and take them into your next integrator evaluation meeting. The integrator's reaction to the questions will tell you as much as their answers. A confident, experienced integrator will welcome them because they are used to being evaluated on these criteria. An integrator who is uncomfortable with the questions may not have the depth of experience your project requires.

Where Clearview fits

Clearview is not a system integrator. We are a machine vision distributor and engineering services provider. We work with system integrators in two ways.

First, we supply the components. Many of the integrators operating in the UK and Europe buy their cameras, lighting, lenses and software from Clearview. We provide the hardware, the technical specification support, and the feasibility testing that helps the integrator specify the right system for their customer.

Second, we provide engineering services that complement the integrator's work. ClearviewFormula for specification and feasibility. KnowHow training for the end customer's engineering team. Insights Lab testing to validate the approach before the integrator commits to hardware. Ongoing technical support on the components for the life of the system.

See how Clearview works with system integrators and end users

Get in touch: info@clearview-imaging.com | +44 (0)1844 217270