Edwards Lifesciences

Oliver Perez

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a metric that is used to measure the performance of an organization or business against specific targets or goals.

The increase of Automation implementations around the world is not only a desperate race of how to raise productivity with less labor content but also people asking for less ergo stresses and fewer safety risks at work and from customers asking for higher levels of compliance. Companies undergoing growth look into automation to expand manufacturing capacity and improve quality through machine consistency. On Labor competitive markets besides the benefits already mentioned, automation impacts the costs associated with managing people such as training, supervision, transportation, medical services, restauration, insurance, cleaning, and shields organizations from risk factors such as turnover and absenteeism which are immensely dependent of local politics and economical situations.

Automation is then an unstoppable technological tide taking over the predictable and repeatable activities associated with operating a business that is gaining ground more and more in cognitive tasks. Hence, it is an omnipresent force that is worth strategizing around to develop objectives and goals, a force that requires to be measured and demands a KPI.

Automation can be defined as the application of technology to improve a process that reduces human participation however with the advent of industry 4.0, a more suitable definition would be

“Automation is ANY technology or Cyber-Physical System by which a process is performed with minimal human assistance”

In the context of automation, a KPI may refer to a metric that is used to measure the effectiveness of automated processes. There are many different types of automation KPIs that organizations can track, depending on their specific goals and objectives. Some common KPIs for automation include:

Number of manual tasks: It is a way to measure the level of human intervention in a process either for manufacturing or any other business function. It tracks the number and time spent on manual tasks that employees are responsible for. This can help to identify areas where automation might be able to reduce the burden on employees and opportunities for automation allowing organizations to prioritize which tasks to automate first. For example, companies using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for sorting resumes and then using Artificial Intelligence for questioning and interviewing candidates have a long road ahead from companies still relying on human-to-human interactions along the hiring process. An automation KPI per business function of the entire organization will allow to recognize the HR department for its innovation and focus attention and budget on other lagging areas. This is paramount for a company experiencing rapid growth for example.

“Automation is ANY technology or CyberPhysical System by which a process is performed with minimal human assistance​.”

Employee satisfaction: Surveying employees about their level of satisfaction with their work can help organizations understand the impact of manual tasks on employee well-being and identify opportunities for automation. The liberated workforce of ergo stressors and associated risk is a critical metric for companies with high turnover or absenteeism. Technologies such as Exoskeletons or Augmented Reality reduce human intervention and improve the work environment. Dealing with Dangerous and dirty operations through automation increase employee satisfaction and retention.

Number of errors: Tracking the number of errors that occur during a process can help identify areas where automation might be able to improve accuracy and quality. Mature technologies such as MES are applied to document Records in the Medical Device Industry. Machine Vision and AI for Quality Control and Inspections. Companies suffering from a low performance of suppliers can use MES to accept/reject incoming parts or use vision Systems to match scripts containing the control plans for the component shown at the instrument and perform the measuring routines automatically. With all the data collected without human intervention, the number of errors reduces drastically, and data can be aggregated to populate supplier scorecards, and release material-reducing inventories among other benefits.  

Process efficiency: Organizations can also measure the efficiency of a process by tracking metrics such as the time it takes to complete a task or the number of steps involved in a process. Automation helps to streamline processes and improve efficiency freeing up employees to focus on higher-value work. A company that needs to increase capacity or improve productivity will rely on classic expressions of automation such as robotic cells or integrated electromechanical solutions.

Other KPIs may include Return on Investment to measure the financial performance of an automation initiative or Process adoption to measure how well automation technologies are being adopted by the employees.

Regardless of the KPI that best suits your organization, once the goals for the different manufacturing or business processes are declared, a plan of action that outlines the specific steps you will take to achieve your goal is required. A roadmap over the next five years will help you to communicate, budget and resources accordingly. Continuous monitoring of progress and a constant look at outside factors such as new technologies will allow you to refine your strategy year after year.

The common error companies suffer from when implementing an automation strategy is the lack of a leading indicator that shows progress aligned with the overall strategy of the organization. Another typical error is to deploy automation in places where you don’t need it because of atomized local strategies. But by far, the most widespread error is the industry 3.0 thinking that creates separate strategies for digital and automation with different goals, roadmaps, and resources just to realize later that both are two legs of the same body.

In conclusion, automation KPIs are an important tool for world-class organizations looking to optimize the deployment and maintenance of automation technologies. By tracking key metrics, organizations can identify areas for improvement, measure the impact of automation initiatives, and make informed decisions.