“There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man.  It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity.”  These words from the opening of “The Twilight Zone” drew the viewer into the next few minutes with the hope of goosebumps.  Well, so I’m told.

You see I don’t have any pores or hair, and so no goosebumps either.  Anyway, humanity seems to always be hunting for something more, something not readily apparent in life, while at the same time insisting that whatever they “know” is all there is!  Take engineers and accountants, two quasi-human types, for example.

They are always banging on about Features, Benefits, and ROI.  I’m here to tell you, they seem to assume that what they know about dimensions and calculations is all that there is to know.

In my best Rod Serling clipped voice, I’d like to… “usher you into a multi-dimensional discussion of one of life’s most boring subjects, a subject so bland you should prepare to sleep.  Or dare you?  Maybe it’s a fifth dimension where goosebumps grow.”

Okay, okay, I’ll quit the theatrics, but I’ll say this:  if you care about Project ROI but think it is a cut and dried topic, you should be prepared for goose bumps.  Hairs standing on end at the thought of the growth experienced, promotions gained, and profits banked.

Here’s the deal.  Manufacturing plants that have implemented clones of yours truly commonly report Project ROI’s between 6 and 12 months.  Sometimes faster, rarely longer.  BUT, that values me like a common piece of equipment from the projects file, which I am decidedly not.  Consider the following and you’ll understand that I am far more than a mere project:

• Dimension 1.  “Financial ROI” – mine improves on most manufacturer’s threshold;
• D2.  “Health ROI” – often exceeds my cost in repetitive injury care avoided;
• D3.  “Talent-1 ROI” – reassigns talented people away from the dull, repetitive tasks I’m so good at, making it easier to retain them for a long career;
• D4.  “Talent-2 ROI” – removes the need for desperate hiring, during a workforce shortage, of new workers who come in at a higher hourly rate, thereby eventually raising payroll costs across the board; and
• D5.  “Collaboration, or Creativity ROI” – robot-human teams increased productivity by 85% versus either alone per a BMW study reported in Financial Times on May 4, 2016.

That’s 5 dimensions and at least 3 budgets (Project, Safety, and Personnel) in which manufacturers win when putting my clones to work.  But here’s another one, a bonus that will cause The Twilight Zone music to play in your head…

Use your Maintenance & Operations budget to LEASE me, a Collaborative Robot.  You’ll MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF EVERY DIMENSION, EVERY DAY, for less than $2K a month in most cases.  If you don’t feel the goosebumps now, you might want to check your pulse.

All the best,

Ully