EDP Brasil creates Automation Excellence Center
The first electric company to use RPA (Robotic Process Automation) to streamline processes, EDP has reduced its tax execution time by 80%
A process automation pioneer in the electric power sector, EDP Brasil has already noticed, in the first few months of automated operations, a significant decrease in the amount of time required to perform certain administrative tasks. This is an efficiency boost that the company wants to extend to all its business units. To this end, EDP has created the Automation Excellence Center (CER).
The Center will be responsible for handling the entire automation process. It will function as a training hub where company workers will learn to identify which processes are feasible for automation. Workers have been invited to attend an intensive training program where they will learn how RPA technology works. After the training, they will know how to improve operational efficiency in their everyday work.
The monitoring of each unit focal points by the CER will be extremely important to maintain the quality of the developments and the security of the data to be handled by the robot.
"Expanding the robot to other units will allow us to improve process efficiency, making it possible to grow while keeping the current structure," says EDP CEO Miguel Setas. "It is the beginning of a new digital approach in the company, which is focused on the search for innovation while fostering the development of its workers."
Overall, the Company plans to automate more than 40 processes before the end of the year. 120 internal activities are expected to be automated by December 2018.
Automation will also bring a more balanced staff profile. Today, management activities account for 70% of the staff workforce time. Automating these activities should reverse this situation, channeling 80% of the time for analytical tasks.
An industry pioneer
EDP Brasil was the first electric company in Brazil to successfully implement automated processes in order to streamline and hone internal activities. The Group launched its administrative automation program in January this year with the implementation of R1SP (Shared Services Robot 1), thus absorbing the efficiency and quality gains generated by technological innovation.
The system was initially used by the company Shared Services Center (CSP) to complete tax forms and bank reconciliation statements.
