Improving hardware repair productivity
- Sep 10, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 12
Ocado operates many automated warehouses globally. From time to time, hardware faults occur and repairs are carried out. However, the IT systems used for the repairs were cumbersome and ill-suited to the needs of the business, which impacted the efficiency of the operation. Here I describe the improvements that led to higher operation efficiency.
The problem context
The first problem with hardware repair was wasted time. For tracking and reporting purposes, repair work were logged in an external IT system. However the system was slow and error prone, which impacted the engineers’ productivity. The cumbersome process involved many steps and screens. Sometimes it was difficult to select the correct option or input the correct data. Any parts that were used and replaced during the repair were also logged, and this took many steps too. Overall several minutes would be spent for every repair. With many repairs to complete each day, the total time spent on this admin task often exceeded an hour per engineer.
Because of the time burden, the work may not always be logged. Even if all the information was correctly input, the time taken to complete the work was estimated rather than precisely timed. This meant the data collected was likely incomplete or inaccurate, which would affect the company’s ability to plan ahead.
Furthermore, the design of the system made it difficult to log parts accurately. Without parts data, engineers may not be able to diagnose the root cause of a hardware problem. Repair success rate was affected as a result
The process
Having spoken to stakeholders and engineers to thoroughly understand these problems, we knew the solution could be found by creating our own app that streamlined the whole process.
To do this, we first conducted interviews to thoroughly understand the current situation. After carefully analysing the findings, we mapped out an optimal new process and designed a new application that eliminated the inefficiencies and drawbacks of the old system. Workshops were held with stakeholders to validate the new process and application designs. A prototype was then tested with engineers to find any usability issues.
The result
After launch, feedback for the new application was overwhelmingly positive. It was easy to find the hardware you should repair in the new application. Logging work was fast, simple and accurate. It required much less cognitive effort and much less steps to complete. The total time taken was more than halved. The new UI design also prevented incorrect data from being entered, while time tracking was much more accurate than before.
