A readiness assessment is the most under-valued and most decisive step in any automation programme. It is cheap relative to the capital it protects, and it routinely changes the plan — sometimes by re-sequencing it, sometimes by stopping a project that should not happen yet. This guide explains exactly what the assessment involves so you know what you are buying and what you will walk away with.

First, the disambiguation that matters: RoboHub Africa does industrial automation advisory, enablement, sourcing and managed support — not consumer robotics, robotics education, AI, or RPA software. A readiness assessment here means diagnosing a physical industrial operation, not auditing software bots.

What the Assessment Is For

The assessment answers three questions that capital should never be committed without:

What is genuinely worth automating — and what is not.
In what order — sequencing by effort-to-impact and technical dependency.
To what standard, and at what realistic cost and payback.

It exists to prevent the most expensive failure in the field: automating the wrong thing well.

The Phases

1. Strategic Scoping

We interview the people who actually run the operation — to set the boundary of the review, surface the real priorities, and align the work to genuine budget and timeline constraints rather than assumptions.

2. Process Mapping

A systematic walk of each operational flow: production sequences, control points, human-machine interfaces, data flows and cross-department dependencies. This phase consistently reveals how the operation really works, which is often different from the org chart.

3. Gap and Risk Analysis

Mapped processes are scored against a multi-level maturity reference. Gaps between current and target maturity are qualified by criticality, feasibility and potential impact on overall performance.

4. Prioritisation and Roadmap

From the gap analysis we build a phased roadmap, sequencing initiatives by effort-to-impact, technical dependency and alignment with the human and financial capacity actually available.

5. Handover and Knowledge Transfer

Findings are presented to decision-makers in a structured report, with workshops so internal teams own the recommendations and can carry the next steps forward independently.

What You Receive

An assessment report describing current maturity, honestly
A prioritisation matrix of opportunities by effort and impact
A phased roadmap — what to automate, in what order, to what standard
A defensible business case you can take to whoever signs the cheque

The Standards Frame

The roadmap is built to recognised practice — IEC 61131-3, ISO 10218-2 / ISO 12100, IEC 61508 / IEC 61511 (functional safety / SIL), IEC 61439, ISA-95 and IEC 62443 (OT cybersecurity) — described as the framework we work to, with certifications and OEM-partner badges claimed only where actually held. Factory safety in Ghana sits under the Factories, Offices and Shops Act 1970 (Act 328) and the Department of Factories Inspectorate (DFI) — not the GSA — and the roadmap accounts for that regime.

Vendor Neutrality

The assessment is vendor-neutral by design. We are not selling you a particular robot or PLC line, so the recommendation serves your operation rather than a supplier’s catalogue.

What It Costs

The assessment is scoped and quoted per engagement — it depends on the size and complexity of your operation, so there is no flat published rate. We quote against your actual requirement, never an invented figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different from a vendor’s free site visit?

A vendor visit is designed to sell their product. A readiness assessment is independent: its job is to tell you the truth about what to automate, including “not this, not yet.”

Is this RPA or software process automation?

No — this assesses physical industrial automation readiness, not RPA software bots or AI tooling.

What if the assessment says we are not ready?

Then it has done its job and saved you the cost of a misfire. It will tell you what to fix first so a future programme succeeds.

Book a readiness assessment — or request an automation advisory: +233 20 531 3333.