Devising a Training Method for Assembly Work by Employing Disassembly

Abstract

Efficiency in work training is a perennial issue due to high-diversity low-volume production, particularly for manufacturers producing office machines which are manually assembled by workers. To reduce the training cost, parts used in training are usually reused; a trainer disassembles a product assembled by a worker in training. This paper proposes a training method that employs disassembly usually performed by a trainer. This method assigns both assembly and disassembly to a worker in training, in contrast to the conventional method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is experimentally discussed in terms of learning assembly motions and work procedure at each learning stage, namely, "undergoing learning," "immediately after learning," and "seven days after learning." The effectiveness of the training method is confirmed. The method improves the stability of work procedure recollection immediately after training. Furthermore, at seven days after training, it improves retention of the assembly motions and work procedure, and also promotes and maintains memory related to product structure.