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Automation Discovery: a site assessment.
Before anyone specifies a robot, we come to site and understand the operation properly. You get a clear, costed view of where automation creates value, what it would take, and in what order to do it.
01 Why start here
The expensive mistakes are made before the purchase order.
Automating the wrong process, underestimating product variation or missing an integration constraint are problems that no amount of good engineering fixes later. Discovery is where we prevent them.
It’s also useful if you’re not sure automation is the answer at all. A site assessment gives you an independent view, with nothing to sell you at the end of it.
02 What happens
From data request to findings workshop.
A structured process, adapted to your site. We work around production and keep disruption to a minimum.
- Before · Week 0
Scoping call & data request
We agree objectives and scope, then ask for what already exists: volumes, product mix, shift patterns, layouts and downtime records.
- On site · Day 1
Site tour & process walk
We follow material from goods in to despatch, observe each candidate process and understand the machinery, layout and access.
- On site · Day 1–3
Interviews & measurement
We speak to operators, leaders and specialists, time the work, record variation and identify constraints and bottlenecks.
- After · Analysis
Options, costing & modelling
We score opportunities, screen feasibility, develop technology options and build the business case.
- After · Readout
Findings workshop
We present the findings to your team, test assumptions together and agree the recommended roadmap.
03 Who we speak to
The people who know how the site really runs.
A process drawing tells you how work should happen. The people on the floor tell you how it does. Good automation needs both.
Operators
The people doing the work know where the time, effort and workarounds really go.
Shift & team leaders
Variation between shifts, staffing pressures, and where the day goes wrong.
Maintenance & engineering
Machine condition, downtime causes, utilities and what’s realistic to integrate.
Operations & production management
Targets, constraints, growth plans and priorities.
Health, safety & quality
Ergonomic risk, incident history, quality escapes and compliance needs.
Finance & leadership
Investment criteria, payback expectations and commercial objectives.
IT / OT
WMS, MES and ERP systems, networks, data and cyber-security constraints.
Operators are part of the design
Involving people early builds trust in the change and surfaces problems a drawing never shows.
04 What we measure
Evidence, not assumptions.
What we capture depends on the process, but a typical assessment covers the following. Where you already hold good data, we use it. Where you don’t, we measure it.
05 What you receive
A plan you can act on and defend.
- D-01
Opportunity map
Every candidate process, scored on value, feasibility, risk and disruption.
- D-02
Feasibility assessment
Technical viability for each shortlisted process, including product variation and integration constraints.
- D-03
Technology options
Categories of technology that fit, compared independently of any manufacturer.
- D-04
Cost ranges
Capex ranges and running-cost estimates, with the assumptions behind them made explicit.
- D-05
Business case & ROI model
Payback and sensitivity modelling in a form your finance team can interrogate.
- D-06
Implementation roadmap
A phased plan covering what to do first, what to defer and what to leave alone.
Value vs. feasibility
- 01 End-of-line palletising
- 02 Case erecting
- 03 Machine tending, cell 2
- 04 Kitting (don’t automate)
- 05 Inbound depalletising
- 06 Internal transport
Example layout only. Processes shown are generic, not a real client.
06 An honest answer
Sometimes the answer is “don’t automate this”.
Low volumes, high variation, an unstable process upstream or a payback that relies on optimistic assumptions: these are all good reasons not to automate yet. We’ll tell you, and show you why.
Because we don’t earn a margin on hardware, a recommendation not to buy costs us nothing. That independence is the point.
- Proceed
Clear case for automationStable process, sufficient volume, robust payback. Move to solution design.
- Fix first
Process or layout change firstRemove waste or variation before automating, or instead of it.
- Not yet
Revisit when conditions changeVolumes, product range or technology maturity aren’t there yet.
- Don’t
Leave it manualAutomation would add cost and risk without enough return.
A regional manufacturer struggling to staff end-of-line packing
This is a hypothetical scenario to show how a discovery engagement is structured. It is not a client project and contains no real data.
- Starting point
- Two shifts hand-palletising cases at the end of three packing lines. Vacancies are hard to fill and manual handling is a known risk.
- On site
- Walk the lines, time pallet builds by product, interview packers and the maintenance lead, review downtime logs and floor space at line end.
- Findings
- Palletising is a strong candidate for two lines. The third runs too many short batches to justify it today, so a layout change and lift-assist aids are recommended instead.
- Outputs
- Opportunity map, concept layout for a shared palletising cell, technology options, cost ranges, business case and a two-phase roadmap.
Questions
Common questions.
Do we have to use Adega for implementation afterwards?
No. The outputs are yours. Many clients do continue with us, but the report is written so that any competent integrator could act on it.
How much of our team’s time does it take?
We work around production. Expect short interviews with each stakeholder group, a guide during the site walk and access to existing data. We agree the schedule in advance.
Can you assess more than one site?
Yes. Multi-site assessments use a consistent method, so opportunities can be compared and prioritised across your network.
What if we already have a proposal from a supplier?
We can review it independently: whether the process is the right one to automate, whether the technology fits, and whether the business case holds up.
Next step
Book a site assessment.
Tell us about your operation and the problem you’re facing. We’ll come back to you to arrange a scoping call.