TY - CHAP U1 - Konferenzveröffentlichung A1 - Bonini, Marco A1 - Mete, Mert A1 - Nguyen, Tuan A1 - Urru, Augusto A1 - Echelmeyer, Wolfgang T1 - The STIC analysis: a decision support method for investments in automation T2 - 2021 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 13-16 December 2021, Singapore, proceedings N2 - Compared to the automotive sector, where automation is the rule, in many other less standardized sectors automation is still the exception. This could soon hurt the productivity of industrialized countries, where the unemployment is low and the population is aging. Phenomena like the recent downfall in productivity, due to lockdowns and social distancing for prevention of health hazards during the COVID19 pandemic, only add to the problem. For these reasons, the relevance, motivation and intention for more automation in less standardized sectors has probably never been higher. However, available statistics say that providers and users of technologies struggle to bring more automation into action in automation-unfriendly sectors. In this paper, we present a decision support method for investment in automation that tackles the problem: the STIC analysis. The method takes a holistic and quantitative approach tying together technological, context-related and economic input parameters and synthetizing them in a final economic indicator. Thanks to the modelling of such parameters, it is possible to gain sensibility on the technological and/or process adjustments that would have the highest impact on the efficiency of the automation, thereby delivering value for both technology users and technology providers. KW - decision-making KW - automation KW - LCCA KW - NPV KW - STIC KW - investment Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-1-6654-3771-4 SB - 978-1-6654-3771-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/IEEM50564.2021.9672880 DO - https://doi.org/10.1109/IEEM50564.2021.9672880 SP - 8 S1 - 8 PB - IEEE CY - Piscataway, NJ ER -