Choosing the Right Tech for Your Facility: A Simplified Guide to Smart Automation

By: Philip Blackwelder, AV System Interface Designer 

As seen in Inc. Magazine

When looking to add automation to the current operation, whether it be in a factory or in the order fulfillment space, it is critical to understand what can and can’t be automated within a reasonable cost and timeline. This involves understanding what automation currently exists and what is feasible for development. Choosing to invest time and money into automation when the proper payback and risk is not known can lead to wasted efforts that will ultimately leave a bad impression of automation within the team and broader leadership.

To avoid those pitfalls, here are five steps to help guide your facility through smart automation decisions:

Step 1: Understand Feasibility

Understanding the true feasibility of what can be automated and the anticipated cost should be the first step in starting down the road to automation. While fully automating processes is often the initial desire, realizing that certain steps may be better solved with either manual or semi-automated processes can help to isolate areas that may be better served by waiting for technologies or equipment to further develop, while focusing on areas where lower-risk automation can be implemented sooner.

Step 2: Build a Master Plan

Once the feasibility for automation has been examined, the next step is to explore the available options and begin to develop scoring for those options. This should be preceded by first developing a master plan that not only includes the lower-level automation, but also considers the upper-level systems that should be included to help properly manage the automation as well as to connect with existing ERPs and Factory Control Systems.

The exact order of implementation is less important than making sure that the automation will be developed with a focus on limiting future development that could ultimately add unplanned cost and complication.

Step 3: Focus on Major Wins

Once the master plan and control structure has been developed, focusing on major wins should then be the next step. Major wins can include immediate results such as reduced labor, increased OEE, and better control of processes.

Areas that require more complicated solutions or carry higher risk should be prioritized by associated preferences within the organization. Identifying the right resources to lead these challenges is critical as well. While pursuing more custom-oriented solutions will allow for the automation to be developed around the process, more established solutions may lead to the process being developed around tried-and-true solutions.

Step 4: Manage Risk and Timing

Downstream impacts such as packaging and product type limitations could impact other parts of the operation. This dictates that a comprehensive risk assessment be performed at various stages of the path to automation so that all stakeholders can understand and frame expected or unexpected consequences from the effort.

Another factor that plays into decisions is implementation time. This can often be difficult to outline early in the analysis, but the potential impacts on cost and operation can sometimes be prohibitive to implementation. For this reason, it’s important to align automation projects with the broader organizational roadmap. If a product cycle is shorter than the actual implementation timeline, there could be wasted effort as a result.

Step 5: Build the Right Team and Culture

Choosing the right partner and identifying key internal resources and stakeholders is the fundamental first step to help mitigate the complexity and risk. While more conventional challenges may be able to be addressed independently, complex challenges require the proper team and leadership to help avoid mistakes.

Adding time up front has its own implications, but establishing proper steps early allows for a smoother, more cohesive solution that sets everyone involved up for success.

Smart automation is less about rushing to install technology and more about creating a roadmap that balances feasibility, cost, risk, and long-term strategy. At Chang Robotics, we partner with organizations at every stage of this journey, from feasibility studies to implementation, to ensure automation creates real, lasting value.