PAYBACK CALCULATION REFINEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL ROBOT APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The paper focuses on describing and applying a refined method of investment payback calculation related to industrial robot applications. Industrial robots play an important role in modern manufacturing companies, therefore it is important to precisely determine the investment payback of robot applications. In the first part of the paper, we introduce payback calculation theory in general and the current approaches to payback calculation of robot applications in practice. Subsequently, we point out that current approaches seem insufficient due to tracking only a limited number of costs and savings. Subsequently, we attempt to identify all identifiable costs and savings related to robotic applications, then we present a refined method to determine the payback of robot applications more precisely. The method is then applied in a case study performed in an industrial enterprise. Finally, we evaluate how significantly this refined method differs from the calculation used in practice and these findings are summarised.