Documenting the "Before" State and defining quantifiable metrics for the Implementation Roadmap.
This section details findings from targeted interviews with the Admin Staff and Drafting Manager. The data below establishes the verifiable **Baseline Metrics** used to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) and monitor the success of the Performance Retention clause in Phase 4.
| Metric | Baseline (Before Automation) | Target (Phase 4 Goal) | Capacity Wasted | Verifying Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document Volume | 350 invoices per month | N/A | N/A | Finance / Admin Lead |
| Time Per Document | 4.0 minutes (Manual entry into Xero) | 1.4 minutes (HITL review only) | 4.0 minutes | Admin Staff |
| Monthly Manual Hours | 23.3 hours per month | 8.2 hours per month (HITL) | 15.1 hours | Process Owner |
| Wasted Cost/Month (Fully Burdened) | $\$\text{15.1 hours} \times \$\text{300}/\text{hr}$ | $\$\text{8.2 hours} \times \$\text{300}/\text{hr}$ | N/A | CFO / Finance Team |
| Key Pain Point | High volume, repetitive, non-billable task prone to transcription errors. | Low volume, specialized error check. | N/A | Admin Staff |
| **P4 Target Metric** | N/A | **65% Reduction in manual time** | N/A | Process Owner |
| Metric | Baseline (Before Automation) | Target (Phase 4 Goal) | Liability Focus | Verifying Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document Volume | 120 drawing revisions per month | N/A | N/A | Drafting Manager |
| Error Rate (Manual) | 5% (Avg. 6 errors per month, primarily in steel grade/placement notes). | 1% (Avg. 1.2 errors per month, caught by HITL). | High | Drafting Manager |
| Time Per Correction | 60 minutes (Discovery, RFI, correction, resubmit) | 5 minutes (HITL immediate correction) | N/A | Risk Manager |
| Risk Type | Design/Structural Liability; Potential project delays. | Mitigated via $\mathbf{95\%}$ Data Integrity SLA. | Very High | Engineering Partner |
| **P4 Target Metric** | N/A | **80% Reduction in manual error rate** on critical fields. | N/A | Risk Manager |
The analysis confirms that the total capacity wasted on **Tier 1 tasks (Invoices)** and the exposure to **Tier 2 Risk (Beam Schedules)** significantly exceeds the firm's approved financial hurdle.
The implementation of Wave 1 is therefore financially justified and necessary to meet the firm's strategic liability goals, leading directly to the recommended deployment phase.