Template

Automation & Robotics ROI Assessment

Interactive template to capture task- and site-level inputs for automation pilots, guide practical ROI calculations (break-even horizon, utilization sensitivity, and non-labor benefits), and record recommended pilot scope and risks. Saves assessment responses for later analysis or export.

Interactive Tool

Automation & Robotics ROI Assessment

Purpose

Use this assessment to capture the key inputs for a candidate automation or robotics pilot, guide straightforward ROI calculations, and record recommended pilot scope and risks. The form collects labor, throughput, error, cost, reliability and capital information so teams can calculate: break-even horizon, expected annual net benefit, and sensitivity to utilization and uptime.

How to use

  1. Enter the real measured or reliably estimated values for the target task and period.
  2. Save the assessment. The platform stores your inputs so you can compare pilots or export data for calculation in a spreadsheet or an analytics tool.
  3. Use the simple formulas below to calculate break-even and conduct sensitivity checks (examples follow).

Simple calculation recipes

Core formulas (period = choose week/month/year):

  • Hourly labor cost (fully loaded) = average hourly wage × (1 + wage burden %)
  • Labor minutes saved per period = current labor minutes × expected labor reduction %
  • Annual labor savings = (labor minutes saved per period × periods per year / 60) × hourly labor cost
  • Remake reduction value per year = (current remakes per period × cost per remake × periods per year) × expected remake reduction %
  • Annual net benefit ≈ annual labor savings + remake reduction value + other quantifiable benefits - annual maintenance cost
  • Break-even horizon (years) = (capital cost + installation cost) / annual net benefit

Sensitivity checks

Re-run calculations varying utilization, uptime, and labor reduction percent. Small pilots should test assumptions about reliability and cycle time before large CAPEX.

Pilot scope guidance

Prefer pilots that are:

  • High-frequency, repetitive tasks with measurable labor minutes
  • Low-risk to guest experience or product quality
  • Contained physically and operationally so learnings are transferrable
Optional. Useful when you store multiple assessments for different locations.
Short name for the task (e.g., 'Plate assembly - breakfast', 'Dish sorting', 'Fryer basket loading').
Choose the period that matches how you measure labor and throughput.
Total minutes all staff spend on this task across the period (e.g., 1200 minutes/week).
Average base wage for employees doing the task (dollars per hour).
Enter as percent (e.g., 30 for 30%). Used to compute fully-loaded hourly cost.
Percent of items requiring rework or remake during the period (if measurable).
If you track remakes count, enter it here. Useful to estimate cost reductions from improved quality.
Direct material and labor cost per remake (dollars).
Number of items, plates, orders, or operations completed in the period for this task.
If automation is expected to increase throughput, enter the estimated output. Leave blank if throughput will be similar.
Percent reduction in human minutes after automation (use conservative estimate for pilots).
Average seconds per unit for the proposed automation. Helps compare to current cycle time if available.
Purchase cost of the robot/automation equipment.
One-time costs to install, integrate and commission the system.
Annual contract or expected yearly maintenance and parts cost.
Percent of scheduled time the automation is expected to be available (e.g., 92). Lower uptime reduces realized benefits.
Useful life for depreciation or planning (e.g., 5 years).
Optional: used for net present value style calculations if you export inputs to a spreadsheet.
Examples: reduced food waste, faster table turns converted to revenue, reduced overtime, lower temp-sensitive losses. Be conservative and list assumptions in notes.
Length of the pilot phase to validate performance and assumptions.
Percent of time automation will be running during scheduled hours. Low utilization increases break-even horizon.
Short bullet list of the main risks to monitor during the pilot (e.g., quality variance, safety, staff acceptance).
Describe the physical and operational boundaries for the pilot and the measurable success criteria (e.g., reduce labor minutes by X%, uptime > Y%, maintain quality within Z%).
Document any assumptions used to estimate inputs (e.g., how labor minutes were measured).
You can explore this tool now. Sign in or create an account to save your responses and return to them later.
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