Perceived production complexity – understanding more than parts of a system

Mattsson, Sandra; Tarrar, Malin; Fast-Berglund, Åsa

doi:10.1080/00207543.2016.1154210

Cited by 48 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In manual assembly, complexity of assembly process is one of the core factors affecting both the usability of equipment, dynamic skill acquisition, operation safety, and human performance, therefore, should be accounted during early process planning stages [7]. Complexity, in fact, is a function of several factors including: rapidly changing information, high intensity of decisions and time pressure, and affects the physiology and mentality of human workers [30]. As the mental and physical capabilities of workers are limited, assembly complexity, if not managed properly, may result in an increase in assembly time and errors and reduce assembly quality [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental investigation on the relationship between perceived assembly complexity and product design complexity

Alkan

2019

Int J Interact Des Manuf

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Complexity is one of the main drivers inducing increased assembly cost, operational issues and increased lead time for product realisation, and continues to pose challenges to manual assembly operations. In the literature, assembly complexity is widely viewed from both objective and subjective perspectives. The objective perspective relates complexity directly to the characteristics of a process without accounting the characteristics of performers, whereas, subjective perspective considers complexity as a conjunction between process and performer characteristics. This article aims to investigate the link between perceived assembly complexity and product complexity by providing a prediction model relying on a series of natural experiments. In these experiments, the participants were asked to assemble a series of ball-and-stick models with varying degree of product complexity based on a clear 2D assembly work instruction. Complexity of each model was objectively estimated by considering structural properties associated with handling and insertion of assembly parts and their connectivity pattern. Moreover, perceived complexity is approached based on the subjective interpretations of the participants on the difficulty associated with the assembly operation of each model. The results showed that product complexity and assembly time is super-linearly correlated; an increase in the product complexity is accompanied with an increase in assembly time, rework rate and human errors. Moreover, a sigmoid curve is proposed for the relationship between perceived assembly complexity and product complexity indicating that human workers start to perceive assembly operation of a particular product as complex if the product complexity reaches a critical threshold which can vary among WMG, University of Warwick, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK ( ) individuals with different skill sets, experience, training levels and assembly preferences.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An experimental investigation on the relationship between perceived assembly complexity and product design complexity

Alkan

2019

Int J Interact Des Manuf

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“…The work is similar to [25] and [26] with respect to the analysis for the types of complexity, but differs on the identification and the holistic yet universally applicable approach for measuring complexity.…”

Section: Fig 3: Kmp Methodology To Measure Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A majority of the authors define and interpret complexity differently i.e. either as a mathematical function [22], [23], [24], subjective [25] and perceived [26] type to name a few. Furthermore the drivers of complexity are determined using a number of methodologies namely mathematical models [22], operations research models [23] or an indigenous case specific approach [24], [25], [27].…”

Section: Fig 1: Motivation For Complexity Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity Thinking and Cyber-Physical Systems

Brinzer¹,

Banerjee²,

Hauth³

2017

IJIE

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Cyber-physical systems are currently seen as a panacea to global competitiveness in developed economies. This work formulates the concept of complexity thinking and discusses practical implication of complexity in cyber-physical systems. Avoidance, prevention and reduction are the existing strategies for managing complexity in production. There is lack of clear consensus in literature and practice with regards to definition, modeling and measurement of complexity in production. In addition to the prevailing confusion related to the types of complexity, there is an acute scarcity of methods to empirically measure production complexity. The following work analyzes the existing complexity management literature and provides a framework to manage production complexity. For further use to the industry partners, the importance of complexity management in extending the lean management framework is discussed.

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“…In the related literature, individual perspectives about manufacturing system complexity are analysed and captured using surveys (i.e., structured and semi-structured questionnaires and interviews) (Calinescu et al, 1998;Calinescu, 2002;Guimaraes et al, 1999;Kim, 1999;Mattsson et al, 2011;Mattson, 2013;Mattsson et al, 2012Mattsson et al, , 2014Mattsson et al, , 2016Thomé and Sousa, 2016).…”

Section: Symptoms Observed From Human Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity in manufacturing systems and its measures: a literature review

Alkan

Vera

Ahmad

et al. 2018

EJIE

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Complexity in manufacturing systems still remains a challenge and leads to operational issues and increased production cost. In this paper, drivers of complexity and typical symptoms of complex manufacturing systems are identified. A comprehensive review of studies published within the last two decades to assess manufacturing system complexity are presented. The key contributions of this review are: 1) a classification of complexity assessment methods based on perceived complexity symptoms; 2) a comprehensive review of assessment methods with cross-evaluation to identify appropriate use based on available data; 3) recommendations for the wider academic and industrial community, based on research trends identified in the literature, as to how complexity assessment should be addressed in the future. It is concluded that the assessment of complexity is necessary so that it can be controlled effectively, however the industry suffers from a lack of practical tools to support in this endeavour. [

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Perceived production complexity – understanding more than parts of a system

Cited by 48 publications

References 21 publications

An experimental investigation on the relationship between perceived assembly complexity and product design complexity

An experimental investigation on the relationship between perceived assembly complexity and product design complexity

Complexity Thinking and Cyber-Physical Systems

Complexity in manufacturing systems and its measures: a literature review

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