I brought my colleague an arm-and-gripper price for loading mounting blocks, then asked them to explain the fixture work for free. That did not go down brilliantly. I want a small paid study we can judge together, with preparation and staff time actually included.
Agree the start and finish of the job with your colleague first. Have the study price a representative mounting-block mix, fixture preparation, loading, release, changeover and operator support. Compare that with the current complete job, then define what a supervised pilot must answer before either of you commits further money.