One of the barriers to automation is the fear of change. Your manufacturing method may not be perfect or the most efficient but you have done it a particular way for a long time. So, deciding to implement a brand new, shiny new automation method that is making all sorts of claims about big lifts in efficiency, profit and productivity is uncomfortable.
So the key question is how do you implement change where you know 100% that 1) the solution is proven in your site and 2) there is no risk to your workflow and SLA performance and 3) you are not risking any $.
We have 3 tips to guide you through the automation journey……..
Tip 1: Create staged proof points
- Implement end to end automation of a single product or small group of products
- Scale it up to the Department or Product Category level
- Go whole plant live
By doing it this way you 100% validate that your workflow does everything that you need it to do and then increase the scope of the implementation. What you are doing is making sure there are no edge cases that need management. If there are rules that are not applied correctly – you find them out early and small in scope.
Tip 2: Align commercials with the journey – keep your costs as aligned as possible with the implementation.
There are two broad approaches to implementing an automation solution. Big up front fees and big commitment (will it work out 100%?) – the big bang approach and a far more pay as you go, SaaS type model – where you license by the month and pay as you go. This means you control your financial risk. The SaaS type model gives you far more control over the rate of spend.
Tip 3: Bring your team on the journey
Automation has many benefits for the team – it removes repetitive tasks and enables effort to be focussed on high valued added/competitive advantage type tasks, information can be shared with the team in real time so they understand their role and place in what the business is achieving. It’s important to sell the benefits of automation to the team rather than it being seen as change that is imposed on them.
By applying these 3 tips – the net result is total validation before you risk your workflow and no capital at risk with known return on investment and a team that embraces and drives change.
