ALGI Advisory e.U

Technical review and assessment

Technical due diligence and operational assessment

How sound is your company's technical position? ALGI Advisory e.U examines technical, operational and digital capabilities to provide a traceable basis for management reviews, investment, change and industrial transactions.

Discuss your technical situation Explore the review areas

For executive management, technical directors, operations teams, owners and investors. The questions to be answered and the required depth determine the scope.

Three reasons to take a closer look at your technical position

The same technical rigour can support different decisions. The starting point is the question your company needs to answer.

Management review & current-state assessment

Make the technical status, capabilities and critical dependencies clear. This includes weaknesses, gaps in supporting evidence and the technical prerequisites for planned next steps — technical readiness.

Risk & decisions about change

Interpret technical findings, prioritise action and prepare investment decisions. This supports improvement programmes, technical changes and the development of existing structures.

Acquisitions & equity investments

Examine an industrial target company's technical capabilities, investment needs and integration readiness before a transaction.

Technical due diligence for investors

What we examine

Review areas are selected to suit the business model, current situation and decision requirements. Our focus combines industrial experience with control engineering, software and technical interfaces.

Machinery, plant & production

Within the agreed scope, we examine the technical condition of machinery and plant and the stability of production and assembly processes. This includes servicing and maintenance, spare parts supply, and documented faults and downtime. We consider capacity, bottleneck equipment and alternative production options, as well as material flow, throughput times, quality and rework. For critical equipment, we examine dependencies on components and suppliers, together with technical documentation and equipment history. On this basis, we assess identifiable maintenance, modernisation and replacement investment needs.

Value for your decision: You can see which technical weaknesses constrain production and delivery capability, where downtime risks exist, and which maintenance or investment needs must be clarified first.

PLC, software & automation quality

We examine PLC systems, control and software architectures, and the integration of robotics. This includes development standards, code quality, documentation and test methods. We consider version control and change management in relation to maintainability and the traceability of modifications. Within the agreed scope, we also examine the availability of source-code versions and technical dependencies on individual developers or suppliers.

Value for your decision: You can see whether changes can be managed reliably, where maintenance or corrective work is needed, and which dependencies limit further development.

OT/IT architecture, data & integration

We analyse communication structures and interfaces, such as OPC UA, Profinet, Modbus or EtherCAT. This includes connections to HMI, SCADA and MES systems, as well as middleware and cloud/IoT services. We examine data flows and integration with existing production and engineering structures. The assessment reflects the planned changes, required scalability and technical prerequisites for integration.

Value for your decision: Integration barriers, necessary modifications and potential follow-on investment become visible before you commit to a technical solution or change.

Security, safety & technical evidence

Within the agreed review scope, we examine OT security concepts, machinery and plant safety, and functional safety concepts and supporting evidence. We review existing risk assessments, for example those referencing ISO 12100, and technical documentation relating to CE conformity. We establish which evidence is available, how it relates to the equipment under review and which technical questions remain open. The applicable requirements for the review subject and the agreed scope guide the work.

Value for your decision: You gain a traceable basis for prioritising gaps in evidence, technical questions and necessary measures for operations, investment or change.

Engineering & technical organisation

Analyse development and engineering structures, technical responsibilities and interfaces. This makes the effects of organisational dependencies on technology and implementation visible.

Readiness for change & integration

Examine how existing technology, processes and systems can accommodate planned changes. This includes technical prerequisites, interfaces and foreseeable implementation barriers.

Review criteria in detail

As standard, our methodological catalogue brings together 70 criteria in eight specialist scorecard types. It shows the individual topics ALGI Advisory typically examines according to the questions to be answered and the agreed review scope.

Review scope: The eight types form a catalogue. Selection and review depth depend on the business model, the questions to be answered and the agreed assignment. Not every assignment covers all eight scorecards or every criterion.

Open a scorecard type to read its criteria. Several cards can remain open at the same time.

Technical Readiness Scorecard 8 criteria
  1. Condition of plant and machinery
  2. Maintainability
  3. Technical documentation
  4. Engineering maturity
  5. Degree of automation
  6. Technical scalability
  7. Technical risk management
  8. Technical integration capability
OT Security Scorecard 9 criteria
  1. OT network segmentation
  2. Remote access control
  3. User and access rights management
  4. PLC/SCADA security
  5. Backup and restore
  6. Patch management
  7. Third-party service provider access
  8. Incident response
  9. Assessment against IEC 62443

OT: operational technology. PLC: programmable logic controller. SCADA: supervisory control and data acquisition. The assessment against IEC 62443 is not a certification.

Integration Scorecard 10 criteria
  1. Process alignment
  2. Culture and capacity for change
  3. Organisational structure
  4. Second management tier
  5. IT and data compatibility
  6. Governance
  7. Ability to realise synergies
  8. Management of integration complexity
  9. Day-1 post-closing readiness
  10. Readiness for the first 100 days of post-closing integration
Digital Maturity Scorecard 8 criteria
  1. Digital process maturity
  2. Data governance
  3. Digital operations
  4. Digital workflow / efficiency
  5. KPI & dashboard readiness
  6. Digital culture & adoption
  7. Digital roadmap capability
  8. Data integration capability

KPI: key performance indicator.

Engineering Readiness Scorecard 9 criteria
  1. Mechanical design
  2. Electrical engineering
  3. PLC engineering
  4. Libraries
  5. Degree of standardisation
  6. Reusability
  7. Project handovers
  8. Approval and release processes
  9. Organisation and knowledge retention

PLC: programmable logic controller.

Risk Transparency and Hidden Risks Scorecard 9 criteria
  1. Knowledge retention & know-how transfer
  2. Documentation transparency & quality of evidence
  3. Legacy system management & modernisation capability
  4. Legacy software transparency & maintainability
  5. Management of dependencies / vendor lock-in
  6. Safety and security management
  7. Maintenance transparency & clarity on investment needs
  8. Project and warranty transparency
  9. Transparency of cost and integration implications

Vendor lock-in: dependency on a supplier.

Production & Operations Scorecard 9 criteria
  1. Production stability
  2. Capacity and utilisation
  3. OEE / equipment availability
  4. Quality and rework
  5. Maintenance
  6. Material flow and warehousing
  7. Occupational safety
  8. Operational scalability
  9. Shop-floor management

OEE: overall equipment effectiveness.

Software & MES Scorecard 8 criteria
  1. ERP maturity
  2. MES maturity
  3. Interfaces
  4. Software quality
  5. Ability to manage in-house software
  6. Data quality
  7. Safety and security management
  8. Integration capability

ERP: enterprise resource planning. MES: manufacturing execution system.

How to interpret the criteria overview

The criteria map shows the catalogue without company-specific findings or scores. A completed specialist scorecard records the case-specific assessment, its supporting evidence and its limitations. Review domains organise the investigation; assessment axes structure the mathematical assessment.

A decision basis you can trace back to the findings

You receive a technical assessment tailored to your questions. Available evidence and unresolved issues are integral to understanding what the findings can support.

  • Structured findings on the technical, operational and digital starting point
  • Assessment of material risks, weaknesses and critical dependencies
  • Identifiable investment needs and technical prerequisites for next steps
  • Transparent documentation of open points, evidence gaps and review limitations
  • Prioritised areas for action and a clear management summary

Decisions remain with management. The scope and format of the deliverables are tailored to the agreed assignment.

From the decision question to the technical findings

  1. Define the questions and scope

    Which decision is required, which areas matter most and what information is available? These questions establish a clear review framework and technical priorities.

  2. Compare documentation with technical reality

    Bring together documents, interviews and, depending on the assignment, site visits or system reviews. Statements are checked against the available evidence and observations.

  3. Assess and prioritise findings

    Evaluate technical implications, dependencies and the need for action. Unresolved questions remain visible rather than being presented as certainty.

  4. Discuss the results and next steps

    Consolidate the key findings clearly and discuss them with the responsible people. This provides a basis for decisions and a sensible scope for further work.

Experience from industrial due diligence

During an acquisition in the machinery and plant engineering sector, technical capabilities, processes, IT systems and integration readiness were examined. The example shows how technical findings can support an investment decision and the subsequent integration.

View the investor case study

Questions about technical reviews

Is a technical review useful without an acquisition?

Yes. A technical current-state assessment can support internal management reviews, investment decisions or change programmes. The specific questions and the depth needed to answer them determine the approach.

What does technical readiness mean here?

We consider whether technical systems, processes, interfaces and available evidence support the planned next steps. The assessment relates to the specific initiative and the areas examined.

What documentation is needed?

That depends on the assignment. Useful inputs may include equipment and system overviews, technical documentation, process descriptions, engineering records and information about faults, investment and planned changes. We clarify the requirements at the start.

Industrial experience and personal responsibility

Alexander Girkinger combines more than 35 years of experience in plant engineering, mechanical engineering, automation, control engineering and technical project management with extensive industrial practice.

More about Alexander Girkinger

Related services

Technical due diligence for M&A

For acquisitions, sales and equity investments involving industrial companies.

Assess automation options

When an identified technical need leads to an automation initiative.

Support implementation

For technical project clarification, delivery and stabilisation.

Which technical question do you need to resolve?

Describe your current situation, the decision ahead and your timescale. Together, we can define a useful scope for the review.

Discuss your technical situation Contact details