Choosing the second robot line: a decision tree for mid-cap plants

The first robot line is a proof of courage; the second is a proof of arithmetic. This playbook walks through the assumptions that decide it: the product mix the line will actually see, staffing across shifts, maintenance hours per thousand cycles, and the changeover the sales team has not promised yet.

It ends with a payback model you can run in an afternoon. Every assumption sits on one page, so when the board asks what breaks the case, you can point to the row.