Discrete ManufacturingFree worksheetPDF, Excel, Word export

Automation Candidate Process Scoring Worksheet

Most plants have more automation ideas than capacity to deliver them. This worksheet ranks manual processes by how well they suit automation, using volume, how rule based the work is, how clean the data is and what happens when it goes wrong.

Download:

Process	Owner	Runs per week	Minutes per run	Rule clarity (1-5)	Data quality (1-5)	Risk if wrong (1-5)	Hours per year	Fit score
							160	18.6
							360	13.6
							192	10.92
							144	16.44
							320	10.2
							288	7.88

Total hours per year

1,464

Equivalent FTE at 1,800 hours

0.8133

Average fit score

12.94

Score is rules x 2 + data x 2 - risk + a volume bonus capped at 5. It is a ranking aid, not a business case. Hours assume 48 working weeks. Edit the weights if your priorities differ.

Review your automation shortlist

Optional: an expert look at which candidates suit ERP-connected AI or scripted automation.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use the worksheet

Add one row per process, not per task. Enter how often it runs and how long one run takes, using stopwatch or log data rather than memory. Score rule clarity, data quality and risk from 1 to 5 with the process owner in the room. Sort by the fit score and take the top five to a feasibility review. Export to Excel to share with finance and IT.

Use the same scale for every row so scores are comparable
Have two people score independently and discuss differences
Re-score after the first pilot, assumptions usually change

The scoring logic

Rules and data are weighted double because they decide whether automation is possible at all. A high volume process with unstructured inputs and unwritten rules is expensive to automate and fragile. Risk subtracts, because errors in safety, regulatory or customer facing work need human review or an approval step. The volume bonus is capped so a single huge process does not hide smaller, easier wins.

Reading the result

High fit with low risk is a quick win: scheduled reports, notifications, data entry from structured sources. High volume with low data quality needs data cleanup first. High risk items may still be worth automating, but with human approval on write-back. The FTE figure shows effort released, which is only a saving if the time is redeployed or avoided overtime.

Common mistakes

Automating a broken process just makes it fail faster, so fix the process first where possible. Another mistake is counting hours saved at the full loaded rate when the work is spread in small pieces across many people. Include exception handling time: a process that is 90 percent automatic can still leave most of the effort in the exceptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a high fit score the same as a good business case?

No. The score ranks technical and process suitability. A business case also needs build cost, run cost, change effort and realistic savings. Use the score to choose which candidates deserve that deeper work.

How many processes should I score?

Start with 15 to 30 across operations and back office. More than that and the scoring becomes a project of its own. Rescore quarterly and add new items as they surface in daily management meetings.

Should safety critical processes be excluded?

Not automatically, but the risk score will lower their rank and they should keep a human approval step. Anything affecting product conformance, regulated records or personnel safety needs validation and clear accountability.

Why does the worksheet use 48 weeks?

It allows for holidays and shutdowns in a typical year. Change the formula if your plant runs 50 or 52 weeks, or if the process only runs in certain seasons.

If your shortlist includes ERP data entry, reporting or document handling, Netray can review which items suit AI or scripted automation on your own infrastructure. The worksheet is complete without that.

Talk to an Expert Explore More Free Tools

Related Tools

Discrete Manufacturing

More Discrete Manufacturing tools

See all

Back to All Tools