Particle Size Analysers: The One and Only Recommendation Ever Needed for Those Responsible with Financial Approval in Their Organisation

Choosing the right particle size analyser is not an easy task. This task can be especially difficult if your position in your organisation is to approve the budget for the next round of purchasing. Just about everyone who is in finance, does not have a career in science. Even if you have built up a considerable knowledge because of being in the industry, that knowledge is still ‘theoretical’ in nature. While you will need to rely on the recommendations of your own scientists, the recommendations from trusted and credible suppliers (who have a long career in science themselves), and the results of the discussions from your scientists and those supplier consultants, ultimately, you are responsible for the budget. Making the final decision for approval will always be your responsibility. Understanding this situation, and how to justify your decision with credible support and reasoning, is very important. Here we look at some of the issues, to help with dealing with this rather tricky situation.

• Consultants. In reality, a good consultant is a scientist too, and they know their machines and what types of applications are best for them. They will be able to save you money, for example, by minimising the amount of overlap in the same target materials for analysis. They might save you money because they will recommend two instruments that can do just about the same, but have some differences in application range for some less frequent tasks you do. You can then dedicate the budget of two machines to the majority of the workload, and occasionally use them for other tasks. A poor skilled consultant would have you believe you needed two separate machines for those separate jobs. There are many suppliers in this world, but that does not mean they are good consultants.

• New Products. Newer and more developed products are coming onto the market all the time. Newer products provide better results, higher levels of reliability, and some of them will be capable of more specific tasks, while others are capable of a broader range of tasks. The best manufacturers and consultants are producing these newer instruments to supply the changing needs of business. This is where consultants who know their science, and who know the commercial applications become very important. Newer products and a good consultant could be saving you a lot of money because they are selected with attention to your business, and the tasks that need to be done, while managing the budget. Obviously, the best consultants will be ahead of your own scientists regarding their understanding of newer products and instruments.

• Your People. Your scientists will have their own knowledge and experience. This kind of experience takes many years to build up for multiple reasons, and no more important than the fact there are just so many different situations, conditions, materials and instruments for different applications. The longer their career and the more experience they have will result in them knowing more about these devices. Not forgetting, there are many ways to use the same machines and so many types of them. The models using laser diffraction technologies have grown exponentially in number, and the creation of instruments for different tasks, has also greatly increased, in a very short period of time.

The recommendation. If you are allocating a budget for the purchase of this type of equipment, you want to get the most amount of advice from your own scientists you can, and simply put, buying from a reputable supplier, who preferably, is older, and well into their professional career, and has a strong career in science, is the only sensible option. If you are in Australia, for example, the only and best option for purchase, is from a company in Australia, who is well established, has a proven track record and demonstrates the full package of support that goes along with purchase of a particle size analyser. Any other way would be asking for a whole lot of trouble. You are going to be paying very good money for this compete package. Other options, such as buying from suppliers in China, can all go horribly wrong, and cost you a whole lot more.