Comparing Approaches for Evaluating Digital Interventions on the Shop Floor

Abstract

The introduction of innovative digital tools for supporting manufacturing processes has far-reaching effects at an organizational and individual level due to the development of Industry 4.0. The FACTS4WORKERS project funded by H2020, i.e., Worker-Centric Workplaces in Smart Factories, aims to develop user-centered assistance systems in order to demonstrate their impact and applicability at the shop floor. To achieve this, understanding how to develop such tools is as important as assessing if advantages can be derived from the ICT system created. This study introduces the technology of a workplace solution linked to the industrial challenge of self-learning manufacturing workplaces. Subsequently, a two-step approach to evaluate the presented system is discussed, consisting of the one used in FACTS4WORKERS and the one used in the “Heuristics for Industry 4.0” project. Both approaches and the use case are introduced as a base for presenting the comparison of the results collected in this paper. The comparison of the results for the presented use case is extended with the results for the rest of the FACTS4WORKERS use cases and with future work in the framework.

Development and implementation processes of digitalization in engineer-to-order manufacturing: enablers and barriers

“…The industrial relations in the case company follows the Norwegian industrial relations principles of high trust, low conflict, predictability, and it extends dialogue and the strength of the local level within both the multi-level collective bargaining system and the single-level system of unions representing workers on all organizational levels (Ravn and Øyum 2018). More specifically, the finding of shared trust is also supported by previous research demonstrating the importance of exchange of information between different participants, both horizontally (on the shop floor, across the entire process) and vertically (between different hierarchy levels) (Gröger et al 2013), of honesty about the aim of a digital intervention, and of providing workers with correct information (Lacueva-Pérez et al 2018).…”

“…Other enablers are considerable effort and commitment at both the corporate and shop-floor levels, a thorough understanding of the information and communication technology infrastructure and corporate policy restrictions, and acceptance of solutions from team leaders and operators (Alexopoulos et al 2018). It seems crucial that the aim of a digital intervention is well communicated with correct information and that there is a focus on continuous evaluation during the process (Lacueva-Pérez et al 2018).…”

Determinants of union strategies towards the twin digital and green transitions in the German and Belgian automotive industry

“…Other studies point to the importance of employee representation in shaping adaptation to new technologies within companies (Krzywdzinski, 2017; Totterdill, 2015), with shop-floor interventions helping overcome challenges related to Industry 4.0 implementation (Lacueva-Perez et al, 2018; Leyer et al, 2019; Totterdill, 2015). This is particularly the case in the automotive industry where new technologies are viewed as fields open to employee influence and agency (Edwards and Ramirez, 2016) and where production engineers and managers in both automakers and supply chains rely on such employee voice (McKinsey and Company, 2019).…”