Playbook

Robotics & Automation Deployment Playbook

An interactive, end-to-end deployment playbook and project workbook for selecting tasks, evaluating payload/speed, documenting safety requirements, planning integration, defining pilot acceptance criteria, and recording ROI and scaling decisions.

Interactive Tool

Robotics & Automation Deployment Playbook

This interactive playbook guides a cross-functional team through selecting, piloting, and scaling a robot or cobot deployment. Work through each section with engineering, safety, operations, and maintenance stakeholders. Save the record so your organization can compare candidates, protect safety, confirm operator acceptance, and evaluate ROI before scaling.

A short name that identifies this deployment (e.g., Cobot-Palletizing-Line-3).
Person responsible for driving the pilot and coordinating stakeholders.
Describe the human task you plan to automate, where it sits in the value stream, typical cycle time, and main sources of variation.
1 = rare, 5 = continuous/highly repetitive.
1.0 10.0
1 = highly variable, 5 = very consistent. Lower variability favors easier automation.
1.0 10.0
1 = simple pick/place, 5 = complex multi-step with quality judgement.
1.0 10.0
1 = low risk, 5 = high risk. Higher risk can justify automation but requires stronger controls.
1.0 10.0
Maximum part or tool weight the robot must handle.
Average seconds per part or operation.
Estimate of throughput improvement from automation (used for ROI thinking).
Select the safety measures you will include in the cell.
Describe hazards, hazardous sequences, and any mitigations not covered above.
Core integration activities to plan for pilot readiness.
Duration of a formal pilot to validate safety, throughput, and quality.
Specify measurable criteria such as throughput target, quality target (PPM or defects), downtime target, and operator satisfaction threshold. These must be met to declare pilot success.
During the pilot, ask operators to rate their acceptance: 1 = strongly negative, 5 = strongly positive.
1.0 10.0
Include robot/cobot, end effector, vision, controls, installation, and commissioning.
Labor savings, reduced scrap/rework, higher throughput value, reduced downtime, etc.
Estimate using (capital + installation) divided by annual savings.
Organization's threshold for approving scaling investments.
Record observed throughput, quality, safety incidents, operator feedback, and issues encountered during pilot.
Select yes to initiate scale planning after pilot success.
How urgent is scaling this deployment if pilot succeeds?
Describe the conditions or events that will trigger broader rollout (e.g., payback under 24 months, operator acceptance >=4, defect reduction >=50%).
Any outstanding decisions, budgets, stakeholders, or risks to address.
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