Assessment Based Information Needs in Manual Assembly

Abstract

To handle the complex and flexible manufacturing of today it is vital to have well functional information systems for the operators so that they know when, what and where to assemble. The current designs of assembly work instructions differ much between companies, but also between plants within the same company. The digitalization trends and initiatives such as Industry 4.0 show the manufacturing industry the advantages to incorporate new methods and tools into their businesses. Even though manufacturing IT systems are designed to be adaptive to product and volume changes, they are still widely characterized by their rigid structures. Making large changes to manufacturing IT systems with comprehensive structures is complex and requires large amounts of resources. Therefore, it is important for the manufacturing companies to make the correct investments. In previous studies, two current state analyses have been conducted with the aim to map manufacturing engineering processes and IT systems producing assembly work instructions in a mass customization context. This paper presents results from the third part of a longitudinal study which focuses on identifying operators' information needs in manual assembly of heavy vehicles. This third study aims to identify the information gap between the current state and the wanted state by assessing information needs at 13 assembly stations in three plants belonging to a global production network. The purpose is to identify design requirements for future assembly information systems enabling the practical use of the digitalization.

Lean Manual Assembly 4.0: A Systematic Review

“…Industry 4.0 digital technologies bring additional tools for developing an assembly system able to cope with resequencing the production process [24]. Identifying information and data needs is a key step in the design of smart assembly factories to ensure that the increased complexity associated with addressing mass customization production can be managed by human operators [57]. Additionally, strategies for improving the use of IT/IS systems in assembly need to consider the whole digital strategy of the organization [52].…”

“…Industrial IoT is another technology that can be used for capturing human and machinery data for understanding human impact on Industry 4.0 assembly systems [65]. Understanding the operator's information needs is vital for the design of smart assembly factories [57].…”

“…Digital technologies' progressive presence in factories will change the role of human operators, which will shift from work-focused activities towards dispositive tasks, supervision and decision activities [235]. Operators will, therefore, need more information than ever before, and these requirements need to be carefully assessed [57]. Considering the operator at the center, human activities with Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) have been modeled, and new KPIs proposed to make visible how business and operational decisions affect operators [113].…”

Design for assembly meaning: a framework for designers to design products that support operator cognition during the assembly process

“…The information system described in this scenario is also in line with the systems described by Schuh et al (2017) for Industry 4.0 (i.e., in their 6th maturity stage in which self-learning information processing based on automated data analysis and the delivery of contextualized information through task-specific user interfaces are made possible). This accommodates operators' desire to acquire the appropriate amount of information when they need it (Johansson et al 2017b). These new technologies also open up opportunities for more operator-centred approaches, and stimulate us to reconsider the way assembly information is transferred.…”

“…Firstly, operators often do not use instructions, but instead rely on their own experience, or that of other operators (Johansson et al 2017b). Indeed, in some case, more than 60% of all tasks are performed based solely on own experience (Fast-Berglund et al 2013).…”