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Smart Operations Assessment for Industrial Readiness · Fuse Advisory
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Manufacturing & Industrial Operations Readiness

How smart are your
operations, really?

A quick self-assessment designed for manufacturing and industrial operations leaders. Understand where your site stands across five critical dimensions — and what your realistic next step is.

Start the assessment 3 minutes · 15 questions
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Who this is for: Plant managers, production directors, operations leads, and engineering heads at manufacturing or industrial sites looking to automate and work smarter. Each question has four options — pick the one that best reflects your site today, not where you're heading. There are no right or wrong answers.
01
Dimension 1 of 5
Data & Systems Maturity
BRIDGE Phase: Baseline → Roadmap
Q1 — ERP & MES Integration How well do your production, planning, and inventory systems share data with each other in real time?
Systems are siloed — we check each one separately
Partial integration — some data flows between systems
Most systems are linked — we have a near-live view
Fully integrated — single pane of glass, updated in real time
Q2 — Data Quality & Accessibility When a planner or engineer needs a key figure (part status, OEE, stock level), how quickly and reliably can they get it?
It requires chasing people or checking multiple places
Data exists but isn't always trusted or consistently formatted
Key figures are available in a dashboard or report, updated daily
Any figure is queryable in seconds — accurate and timestamped
Q3 — Digital Systems Adoption What proportion of your shop-floor and production processes are captured digitally (vs. paper, whiteboard, or tribal knowledge)?
Most processes are still paper-based or in people's heads
Core production is digital; support areas still use paper
Majority of processes are digitised and in the system
Fully digital — including work instructions, quality records, and test data
02
Dimension 2 of 5
Process Visibility & Control
BRIDGE Phase: Integrate → Deploy
Q4 — Production Floor Visibility How clearly can operations leadership see the status of the production line at any given moment?
We rely on shift-handover briefings and walk-arounds
Daily reporting gives us a picture, with a lag of hours
We have live dashboards — but coverage has gaps
Comprehensive real-time visibility, with alerts on exceptions
Q5 — Equipment Monitoring Describe your approach to monitoring the status and health of your critical production equipment.
Operators report faults — we fix things when they break
Calendar-based preventive maintenance schedules in place
Some sensors or OEE tracking on key assets
Condition-based or predictive monitoring across critical assets
Q6 — Quality & Defect Management How does your site currently identify and respond to quality problems during production?
End-of-line inspection — defects found after the fact
Stage-gate inspections, but still largely manual
Digital quality records and trend analysis in place
In-process monitoring — quality issues caught and flagged automatically
03
Dimension 3 of 5
Workforce & Knowledge Management
BRIDGE Phase: Baseline → Grow
Q7 — Workforce Planning How does your site plan staffing levels and workforce capacity against the production schedule?
Decisions are experience-based — mainly reactive to demand signals
Spreadsheet models tied to the order book, reviewed periodically
A structured planning process with a rolling 3–6 month view
Scenario-based modelling with live order-backlog data feeding in
Q8 — Engineering Knowledge Retention How well does your site capture and make accessible the expertise of experienced engineers and technicians?
It lives in people's heads — we lose it when they leave
Some documentation exists, but it's inconsistent and hard to find
Work instructions and SOPs are maintained and digitally accessible
A structured knowledge base that new starters can access and search easily
Q9 — Digital Skills & Operational Awareness How would you describe the digital and operational technology literacy of your workforce?
Low — most staff are sceptical or unfamiliar with digital tools
Mixed — some champions but no formal development pathway
Growing — structured training in place for key roles
Strong — digital fluency is embedded across the organisation
04
Dimension 4 of 5
Supply Chain & Inventory Intelligence
BRIDGE Phase: Integrate → Deploy
Q10 — Inventory Visibility How clearly can your team see current stock levels, open orders, and upcoming shortfalls across your supply base?
We find out about shortfalls when they hit the line
Stock counts and purchase-order reports, reviewed weekly
Live ERP view of inventory and PO status — though some gaps remain
Real-time visibility across the full supply chain, with early-warning alerts
Q11 — Supplier Risk Awareness How does your site identify and manage risk from suppliers — particularly those with long lead times or single-source exposure?
Reactively — we manage issues when suppliers raise them
We track key suppliers manually and check in regularly
A structured supplier risk register — reviewed quarterly
Continuous monitoring — external signals tracked and flagged proactively
Q12 — Demand & Production Planning How does your site currently connect customer demand signals to production scheduling and materials planning?
Planning is manual and largely based on experience
Spreadsheet-based — linked to order books but updated manually
ERP-driven MRP with reasonable accuracy — reviewed regularly
Demand-driven, scenario-ready planning with real-time backlog input
05
Dimension 5 of 5
Leadership & Change Readiness
BRIDGE Phase: Grow → Elevate
Q13 — Leadership Buy-In How engaged is your site leadership team with digital transformation and smart automation as a strategic priority?
It's not yet on the agenda — the focus is operational delivery
Interest is growing — some leaders are advocates, others sceptical
Smarter operations is a named priority — there's a sponsor and a budget conversation
Fully committed — smart automation has executive ownership and allocated budget
Q14 — Previous Automation Experience Has your site already piloted, deployed, or adopted any smart automation, advanced analytics, or digital operations tools?
No — this would be our first move in this space
We've explored some tools but nothing has gone live at scale
Yes — we have live pilots and are building on early results
Yes — smart automation is already embedded in core operations
Q15 — Readiness to Act If a compelling automation pilot were proposed for your site today, what would realistically happen?
It would stall — no clear sponsor, budget, or process for this
It could move — but would take significant internal effort to mobilise
We have a path — a named person could take ownership and move it forward
Ready to go — sponsor, process, and budget to move quickly
Answer 15 more questions to see your results
Your Smart Operations Score
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Overall Smart Operations Score
L1
Getting Started
L2
Foundation Building
L3
Gaining Traction
L4
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This assessment is provided as a free resource by Fuse Advisory. Results are indicative and for guidance only.