Fractional Automation Engineer vs. Automation Consultant
People call this role a lot of things. Automation consultant. Automation engineering consultant. Medical device manufacturing consultant. GAMP consultant. All of them point at roughly the same work.
The label isn’t the part that matters. What matters is what’s behind it: whether the person has a defined process, a track record you can actually check, and a way of working that ends cleanly when the project ends.
Some do. Many don’t.
The Side-by-Side
| Generic Automation Consultant | MEPSCo Fractional Automation Engineer | |
|---|---|---|
| Defined process | Varies by individual | Same 8-step process on every engagement |
| Track record | Often difficult to verify | 96+ documented projects, named references |
| Industry focus | Frequently general industrial | Medical device manufacturing exclusively |
| Role in the project | Often advisory | Hands-on execution, URS through IQ/OQ/PQ |
| Documentation system | Ad hoc or borrowed templates | 22 proprietary document types |
| Vendor relationships | Varies | 15+ relationships built over 25 years |
| Manufacturer-side independence | Not guaranteed | Built into the model |
| Engagement structure | Open-ended or hourly | Scoped to the project, ends at handoff |
What “Automation Consultant” Usually Means
“Automation consultant” is a broad title. It covers a lot of ground, from someone brought in for a single technical opinion, to a generalist who advises across industries without executing hands-on, to someone whose process changes with every engagement because there isn’t a standard one.
None of that makes the title wrong. It makes it incomplete. Two people can carry the same title and offer completely different things: one shows up, gives an opinion, and leaves; the other embeds with your team and runs the project from requirements through validation.
The title tells you what someone is called. It doesn’t tell you what they’ve actually done, or whether they’ve done it in medical device manufacturing specifically.
What Makes a Fractional Automation Engineer Different
Reza’s title is fractional automation engineer, not automation consultant, and the distinction is deliberate. It signals a defined scope of work: full ownership of the equipment procurement lifecycle, not advisory input on someone else’s project.
That comes with specifics that are easy to check.
A repeatable process, not a fresh approach every time.
An 8-step GAMP process, developed from scratch at Gen-Probe starting in 2001, tested and refined across every project since. Every engagement runs through the same steps. The scope changes. The process doesn’t.
A documented track record.
96+ completed equipment procurement and validation projects across 25 years. Named references at Hologic, Philips Medisize, and Kinematic Automation, available on request. Not a claim to take on faith.
Medical device manufacturing specifically, not general industrial automation.
The equipment types, the regulatory requirements, and the vendor landscape in medical device manufacturing are different from general industrial automation. 25 years of pattern recognition in this specific environment doesn’t transfer from a background in a different one.
Manufacturer-side independence, every time.
MEPSCo doesn’t sell equipment and doesn’t work for the vendor. That’s true on every engagement, not something that depends on which consultant you happen to get.
When an Automation Consultant Might Be the Right Call
MEPSCo isn’t the right fit for every situation, and a narrower engagement with an independent consultant sometimes is.
If you need a single technical opinion, a second read on a spec, or a short advisory review rather than end-to-end project ownership, that’s a smaller and different scope of work than what MEPSCo provides. A few hours of focused advice doesn’t need a fractional engagement built around it.
Hands-on execution, not advisory review. MEPSCo writes the URS. We run FAT and SAT. We manage the vendor through the build. We’re not reviewing someone else’s work after the fact or handing off execution to a junior team member once the engagement is sold.
If your question is scoped that narrowly, say so on the Manufacturing Automation Assessment call. Reza will tell you if the fractional model is more than your situation needs.
Proof
96+ completed equipment procurement and validation projects across 25 years in medical device manufacturing. $150M in equipment validated during COVID for a DOD pandemic contract, on time, with no change orders.
“He is well versed in all aspects of automated projects from mechanical to electrical design, assembly/fabrication methods, and testing. Reza has mastered this guidance through the development of protocols from the URS through PQ that state the requirements and test them throughout the duration of the project to ensure project success.”
JERRY TER LAAN · PRESIDENT, JERIT AUTOMATION
Common Questions
Is a fractional automation engineer the same as an automation consultant?
The search terms overlap, but the titles aren’t identical. “Automation consultant” is a broad label covering many kinds of arrangements. A fractional automation engineer, at least at MEPSCo, is a specific version of that: one senior engineer, a documented process, and full ownership of the project rather than advisory input.
What’s the difference between hiring a consultant and hiring a fractional automation engineer?
Scope, mainly. A consultant is often brought in for a specific question or a review. A fractional automation engineer takes ownership of the entire equipment procurement lifecycle, from the first requirements interview through validation and knowledge transfer, the same way an employee would, just for the duration of the project.
Do all automation consultants have a defined, repeatable process?
Not necessarily, and that’s worth asking about directly. Some build a fresh approach for each engagement. MEPSCo runs every project through the same 8-step GAMP process and 22 document types, developed once and tested across 96+ projects.
Is MEPSCo an automation consulting firm?
No. MEPSCo is one engineer, Reza Bashar, with a bench of contractors available for execution support on larger projects. A consulting firm typically deploys a team. MEPSCo doesn’t operate that way, by design.
When would an independent consultant be a better fit than MEPSCo?
When the need is narrow, a single technical opinion, a spec review, a short advisory conversation, rather than full ownership of a procurement project. That’s a smaller scope than what a fractional engagement is built for.
Does MEPSCo do hands-on execution or just provide advice?
Hands-on execution. MEPSCo writes the URS, manages vendor selection, runs FAT and SAT, and oversees IQ/OQ/PQ directly. That’s a different role than reviewing someone else’s project and offering recommendations from the outside.
Book a Manufacturing Automation Assessment
30 minutes with Reza. Bring your project. Walk away with a clear read on whether it needs a fractional engagement or something narrower.
Or download the GAMP Roadmap to see the full process.