Mamede Henrique S, Gonçalves Martins Carina Maria, Mira da Silva Miguel
INESC TEC, Porto, Portugal.
Department of Science and Technology, Universidade Aberta, Rua da Escola Politécnica, No. 147, 1269-001, Lisbon, Portugal.
Heliyon. 2023 Jul 15;9(7):e18041. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18041. eCollection 2023 Jul.
Automation is a concept that has been previously introduced in organizations as a means to improve their processes. However, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an emerging method to automate processes with software, which the industry calls robots. These robots perform repetitive and low-complexity tasks previously performed by humans in front of a computer which as is known is the most commonly used feature in a company nowadays. Using the Design Science Research methodology to build up this article, it is argued that RPA is being used idly compared to its full potential which would entail using process improvement techniques before applying the automation itself. Thus, this article proposes a new approach to RPA through the use of Lean techniques. This article assesses two market leaders in RPA. It suggests a framework of activities for organizations that are investing in RPA and that want to take advantage of the capabilities currently offered by this technology. The majority of the demonstration proposal was carried out in a Portuguese private bank in three processes. Depending on the different cases, it had an overall positive evaluation in the field or simulations. Comparing RPA and Lean RPA projects in the number of resources (time, FTE) needed to carry out business processes, the latter approach presented values that were significantly lower and, consequently, satisfactory.
自动化是一个此前已在组织中引入的概念，作为改进其流程的一种手段。然而，机器人流程自动化（RPA）是一种利用软件实现流程自动化的新兴方法，该行业将这些软件称为机器人。这些机器人执行以前由人类在计算机前执行的重复性和低复杂性任务，众所周知，计算机是当今公司中最常用的工具。运用设计科学研究方法来撰写本文，我们认为与RPA的全部潜力相比，它目前未得到充分利用，而充分发挥其潜力需要在应用自动化之前运用流程改进技术。因此，本文提出了一种通过运用精益技术来实施RPA的新方法。本文评估了RPA领域的两家市场领先企业。它为正在投资RPA并希望利用该技术当前所提供能力的组织提出了一个活动框架。大部分示范提案是在一家葡萄牙私人银行的三个流程中进行的。根据不同案例，在实际应用或模拟中都得到了总体积极的评价。在比较开展业务流程所需资源（时间、全时当量）数量方面的RPA项目和精益RPA项目时，后一种方法所需资源显著更少，结果令人满意。
