Hierarchical Automation Potential Assessment System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for assessing automation potential in processes lack a structured approach, leading to biased results and failure to account for end-to-end automation across sub-processes, resulting in suboptimal investment returns and limited realization of automation potential.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that divide processes into hierarchical tiers, assess parameters for each tier, compute scores, and identify automation categories to determine current and maximum automation potential indicators, providing a quantifiable assessment of automation potential and recommending suitable automation types.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual process study and blueprinting are used to assess automation potential, then the assessment can be performed with existing tools, but the results are biased and vary between different persons due to lack of structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the automation assessment into five hierarchical tiers (tier one to tier five), where each tier represents a different level of process decomposition. This structured segmentation eliminates the bias and variability in manual assessments by providing a consistent framework for evaluating automation potential across all process levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a standardized scoring system with predefined parameters and weightages for each tier. By changing from subjective manual evaluation to an objective parameter-based scoring system, the assessment achieves consistency and reliability across different assessors while maintaining ease of implementation.
2Device complexity
If existing assessment tools are used in isolation, then the assessment process is simpler, but they do not provide end-to-end view and miss micro level assessments across sub-processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested hierarchical structure where tier one contains the overall process, tier two contains subsidiary processes, tier three contains sub-sub-processes, and so on down to tier five. This nesting ensures that micro-level assessments at each tier contribute to the macro-level view, providing complete end-to-end automation potential information without losing details at any level.
3Speed
If technologically advanced automated components are deployed without proper assessment, then automation implementation is faster, but the return on investment is suboptimal and failure chances increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary automation potential assessment across all five tiers before actual automation implementation. By calculating scores and identifying high-potential areas in advance, organizations can prioritize investments in areas with the highest automation potential, ensuring faster and more reliable ROI while reducing the risk of failed automation projects.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to determining automation potential of a process by dividing the process into subsidiary processes corresponding to five hierarchical tiers, assessing the subsidiary processes by selecting a value for each of one or more parameters for each of the subsidiary processes at the tier five, computing a score for the subsidiary processes at the tier five based on the selected values, identifying a category of automation for the subsidiary processes in the tier five based on the score for the subsidiary processes at the tier five; determining an automation potential indicator for the subsidiary processes in the tier five based on the category of automation and the score; computing a maximum automation potential indicator and an automation potential indicator at each hierarchical tier based on a maximum automation potential indicator and an automation potential indicator at immediately lower tier to compute the automation potential for the process.