As manufacturers push to scale automation across complex global operations, many face the challenge of knowing where to start. Wabtec Corporation – one of the world’s leading transportation technology companies – addressed this head-on by partnering with IfM Engage and applying a research-backed Automation Assessment. The collaboration delivered significant gains in idea generation, prioritisation, decision-making and internal capability building.
Key takeaways:
- Start with an objective, technology-agnostic assessment: Successful automation depends on evaluating opportunities based on value and feasibility – not on specific products or vendor-driven solutions.
- Involve the people who understand the work best: Frontline employees and cross-functional teams hold critical insights into daily processes. Structured, collaborative workshops (‘workouts’) unlock richer ideas and create buy-in
- Use a consistent, data-driven framework to filter ideas: Automation portfolios grow quickly. A clear framework enables organisations to prioritise high-value opportunities and avoid low-impact or high-risk projects
- Make the process visual to support alignment and decision-making: Visual mapping and scoring help technical teams and senior leaders build a shared understanding, speeding up communication and strengthening confidence in investment decisions.
- Build internal capability – not dependency: Long-term automation success comes from developing repeatable methods, internal tools and cross-site expertise so teams can continually reassess, refresh and scale automation.
Wabtec is a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services for the freight and transit rail sectors. With more than 150 years of experience, the organisation has consistently set the industry standard for safety, efficiency, reliability, innovation and productivity.
Its technologies stretch beyond rail into mining, industrial and marine applications, helping accelerate the future of transportation around the world. At the core of Wabtec’s success are its people – 27,000 employees across more than 50 countries whose collective expertise drives continuous progress.
The ambition to embrace automation at Wabtec was clear and backed by senior leadership. An ‘automation council’ was formed to define a corporate strategy, but faced a critical hurdle: the high-level ambition was there but lacked a practical, structured process to identify and prioritise the right projects at the facility level. The company needed a proven methodology to serve as the starting point and foundation for scaling automation.
The leadership team explored various external vendors but found most offered product-specific solutions. They needed an impartial partner to help build a robust, insightful approach from the ground up. The search for this led them to the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) at the University of Cambridge and its research-backed Automation Assessment.
“Most solutions we found were product-led or focused on a single technology or solution provider wanting to sell their products. We needed an approach that was independent of an actual solution provider. That way we could focus in on the significant value in the ideas from our employees who understand the context of our organisation and facilities. The IfM’s Automation Assessment was unique in this regard and exactly what we were looking for,” said Thomas Rupp, Lead Manufacturing Engineer, Wabtec Corporation.
Turning site-level ideas into a prioritised portfolio
The IfM’s Automation Assessment is a structured, five-step process to guide companies from initial scoping to a prioritised implementation plan. The series of workshops is designed to be a collaborative, practical process through which experts across the organisation identify automation opportunities and projects.
IfM Engage, the knowledge transfer arm of the IfM, facilitated two initial pilot workshops with Wabtec in facilities in the US. The engagements were intentionally framed by Wabtec not as a top down ‘assessment’, but as a collaborative ‘workout’. The goal was to harness the deep knowledge that already existed within the facilities and channel it into a structured, prioritised plan.
The experience was very successful, leading Wabtec to scale the initial initiative to an additional five facilities, making seven in total to date. From the seven ‘workout’ events, over 250 distinct automation opportunities have been identified.
A wide range of processes and activities across Wabtec’s operations were considered, including machine tending and deburring, inventory management, assembly and foundry operations, empowering teams to think broadly. This resulted in ideas that ranged from the physical to the digital, including projects to exploit technologies like robotics, cobots, AGVs and palletisers, alongside data-driven solutions targeting process optimisation in inventory management and automated inspection.
The real power in the approach, however, was in providing a clear, objective method to filter this high volume of ideas. The Automation Assessment’s data-driven framework gave the teams the focus they needed, enabling them to distil a long list of possibilities into 15 key initiatives. Just as importantly, it provided clarity on the reasons behind each decision, ensuring alignment and consensus on which opportunities to move forward with.
The tool also acted as a ‘translator’ between technical teams and senior leadership. Its simple visual output allowed leaders to see the ‘why’ behind each priority, creating a shared language and building the confidence needed to fully invest in the long-term, scaled-up strategy. This shared language and alignment also enables local engineers to have the confidence to champion new and innovative ideas.
“The tool gives us a data-driven way to filter a high volume of potential projects, giving us much needed focus. It clearly shows us the key areas to pursue, but just as critically, it also highlights which projects to avoid, preventing us from investing resources in low value initiatives,” said Thomas.
Financial returns, stronger capability, smarter decisions
The Automation Assessment delivered significant, measurable impact across the organisation – from the factory floor to the boardroom. Financially, the process has been transformational. The 15 major projects identified and prioritised through the assessment are already projected to generate more than $2.5m in recurring annual earnings (EBIT), and when Wabtec extrapolates that value across the wider set of opportunities uncovered, the total potential rises to around $15m.
However, the story isn’t only about returns. A defining feature of the approach was the emphasis on capability building and knowledge transfer – designed to leave the organisation stronger and more self-sufficient at the end of the engagement than at the start.
Wabtec has since developed its own custom tool based on the IfM methodology, enabling teams to run the process independently. The ‘workout’ events also became a powerful internal mechanism for team building; they helped spread practical automation capability, raise confidence and create shared ownership across sites and functions.
Just as importantly, the assessment improved how decisions get made. The tool has bridged the knowledge gap between technical teams and senior leadership. It provides a shared, robust decision-making platform for the company’s automation strategy, and is now embedded to a point where any major automation project must be validated through a workout before it progresses.
“The IfM Engage team were great partners in this project. Their expert facilitation of ‘workout’ events was key to securing buy-in from day one. They provided critical support for our pilot workshops and have been a fantastic source of guidance in helping us build the internal capability to scale the solution ourselves,” concluded Thomas.
A model for manufacturers beginning their automation journey
For manufacturers earlier in their automation journey, Wabtec’s experience offers a practical blueprint. The partnership with IfM Engage has delivered not just a multi-million-dollar project pipeline, but a repeatable methodology – and the internal confidence to scale automation well into the future.
Ready to explore how this could work in your organisation?
Learn more about the IfM’s Automation Assessment and the wider support available from IfM Engage: www.engage.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk and/or watch the on-demand webinar.
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