- Modeled runs
- 54
- Best matched saving
- 85.1%
- Small fleet penalty
- 811.2%
Across automation, scale, change volume and criticality
Full automation · 1,000 devices
Higher cost with partial automation · 10 devices
All modeled runs
How scenario cost changes with scale
Each dot is one modeled scenario. Dots in a row differ in change volume and criticality as well as approach, so only the matched pairs below support a saving percentage.
Each value is the annual modeled operating cost of the whole fleet in that scenario (the five-year total divided by 5), so larger fleets sit further right. Tooling costs and change volumes are synthetic assumptions, not observed Acme spend.
View all 54 runs
10 devices
- Manual operations$1,568
United Kingdom · Low change · Low criticality
- Manual operations$8,328
United Kingdom · Typical change · High criticality
- Full automation$64,369
United States · High change · High criticality
- Manual operations$2,341
United States · Low change · Low criticality
- Manual operations$2,597
United States · Low change · Normal criticality
- Manual operations$12,439
United States · Typical change · High criticality
- Full automation$63,907
United States · High change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$21,334
United States · Low change · Low criticality
- Full automation$64,061
United States · High change · Normal criticality
- Manual operations$3,110
United States · Low change · High criticality
100 devices
- Partial automation$127,137
United Kingdom · High change · Low criticality
- Full automation$62,180
United Kingdom · Low change · Low criticality
- Full automation$89,251
United Kingdom · High change · High criticality
- Full automation$103,689
United States · High change · High criticality
- Full automation$74,563
United States · Typical change · High criticality
- Partial automation$89,475
United States · Typical change · High criticality
- Full automation$63,256
United States · Low change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$180,020
United States · High change · Low criticality
- Full automation$73,025
United States · Typical change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$37,369
United States · Low change · High criticality
1,000 devices
- Manual operations$2,086,877
United Kingdom · High change · Normal criticality
- Partial automation$377,123
United Kingdom · Typical change · Low criticality
- Full automation$82,659
United Kingdom · Low change · Normal criticality
- Full automation$147,202
United Kingdom · Typical change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$553,401
United States · Typical change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$714,747
United States · Typical change · High criticality
- Full automation$190,246
United States · Typical change · Low criticality
- Manual operations$310,966
United States · Low change · High criticality
- Full automation$93,844
United States · Low change · Normal criticality
- Full automation$466,122
United States · High change · Normal criticality
- Manual operations$3,116,975
United States · High change · Normal criticality
- Full automation$496,890
United States · High change · High criticality
5,000 devices
- Manual operations$869,532
United Kingdom · Low change · Normal criticality
- Manual operations$3,478,128
United Kingdom · Typical change · Normal criticality
- Partial automation$466,403
United Kingdom · Low change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$8,827,742
United States · High change · Normal criticality
- Manual operations$5,194,958
United States · Typical change · Normal criticality
- Partial automation$686,751
United States · Low change · Low criticality
- Manual operations$6,219,316
United States · Typical change · High criticality
- Partial automation$888,433
United States · Low change · High criticality
- Manual operations$1,298,739
United States · Low change · Normal criticality
10,000 devices
- Manual operations$18,811,284
United Kingdom · High change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$1,002,827
United Kingdom · Low change · Normal criticality
- Partial automation$3,951,306
United Kingdom · Typical change · Normal criticality
- Partial automation$11,813,919
United Kingdom · High change · Normal criticality
- Full automation$932,023
United Kingdom · Typical change · Low criticality
- Full automation$2,779,069
United Kingdom · High change · Normal criticality
- Partial automation$17,635,484
United States · High change · Normal criticality
- Manual operations$28,096,674
United States · High change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$5,891,828
United States · Typical change · Normal criticality
- Partial automation$1,487,957
United States · Low change · Normal criticality
- Full automation$4,121,222
United States · High change · Normal criticality
- Full automation$1,362,460
United States · Typical change · Low criticality
- Partial automation$5,354,009
United States · Typical change · Low criticality
The comparison
Automation pays differently by fleet size
Saving against manual operations at the same change volume, criticality, country and fleet size. Only exact matches have a defensible saving percentage.
10 devices · Partial
811.2% higher cost
United States · Low change · Low criticality · Saving against manual: -811.2%
1,000 devices · Full
85.1% saving
United States · High change · Normal criticality · Saving against manual: 85.1%
Chart note: the left marker is clipped at −100.0%; the break shows the full -811.2% saving result without compressing the useful scale.
Tooling costs and change volumes are synthetic assumptions; labor rates are sourced from US BLS and UK ONS.
Scenario grid
Scenarios assessed
Run counts by fleet size and operating approach. Each count combines the modeled United States and United Kingdom scenarios across change volume and criticality.
10 devices
- Manual operations
- 6 modeled
- Partial automation
- 1 modeled
- Full automation
- 3 modeled
100 devices
- Manual operations
- Not modeled
- Partial automation
- 4 modeled
- Full automation
- 6 modeled
1,000 devices
- Manual operations
- 3 modeled
- Partial automation
- 3 modeled
- Full automation
- 6 modeled
5,000 devices
- Manual operations
- 5 modeled
- Partial automation
- 4 modeled
- Full automation
- Not modeled
10,000 devices
- Manual operations
- 2 modeled
- Partial automation
- 7 modeled
- Full automation
- 4 modeled
| Fleet size | Manual operations | Partial automation | Full automation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 devices | 6 modeled | 1 modeled | 3 modeled |
| 100 devices | Not modeled* | 4 modeled | 6 modeled |
| 1,000 devices | 3 modeled | 3 modeled | 6 modeled |
| 5,000 devices | 5 modeled | 4 modeled | Not modeled* |
| 10,000 devices | 2 modeled | 7 modeled | 4 modeled |
* Not modeled: no run was planned for this combination. All planned runs were modeled; none were omitted. This grid shows coverage, not a comparable saving for every run.
Primary driver
The operating approach changes the result most
Across the modeled scenarios, the spread between approaches is 896.2 percentage points. It spans the small-fleet partial automation penalty and the large-fleet full automation saving. The choice needs to match the volume of work it can absorb.
Practical levers
Match tooling to the work
Fleet size and change volume determine how widely tooling costs are spread. Criticality changes the value of time saved. Start with the changes teams repeat most often, then test the automation level against a manual scenario with the same operating conditions.
What was not measured
All planned scenarios were modeled. A saving percentage needs a manual run with the same country, fleet size, change volume and criticality. The chart shows only those exact pairs. Other scenarios were modeled without a matching manual comparison.
Method and inputs
The model compares manual, partial and full automation across the scenario grid. 36 runs use US labor rates and 18 runs use UK labor rates. The fleet sizes are standard scenarios rather than Acme’s own estate. The percentage baseline is manual operations under matching conditions. The cases describe separate decisions and are never added together.
Sourced
- US BLS and UK ONS labor rates
Synthetic
- Automation tooling costs, change volume and criticality