Advances in The Ergonomics in Manufacturing: Managing the Enterprise of the Future

AHFE International

Accelerating Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Centered Computing

Advances in The Ergonomics in Manufacturing: Managing the Enterprise of the Future

book-cover

Editors: Stefan Trzcielinski, Waldemar Karwowski

Topics: Advanced Manufacturing

Publication Date: 2020

ISBN: 978-1-4951-2103-6

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100426

Articles

The Role of Ergonomics in Knowledge-Based Enterprises

The purpose of the paper is to call attention to the importance of human factors in the activities of knowledge-based enterprises. The role of ergonomics in enterprise success is also presented. This is based on the thesis which states companies that consider their human capital as their most important asset are successful companies.One may consider that in knowledge-based enterprises different ergonomic activities are important. Due to the form of industrial relations and organization, such elements are important: development and testing of integrated management systems according to ergonomic requirements, methods of personnel selection and consideration of stress in work conditions assessment criteria. Due to the form of cooperation in groups and human relations, such elements are important: problems of legal, economic and social responsibilities of team members and autonomy of the employees.

Krzysztof Hankiewicz

Conference Proceedings

Methods of Staffing Process in Agile Enterprises

Management theorists and practitioners search for new methods which enable to establish competitive advantage for international and domestic enterprises by reacting rapidly and flexibly to changes occurring in the business environment of the company; by being agile. Agility is an ability to continuously monitor changes in customer needs and creating and delivering products and services that satisfy those needs better and faster than the competition does (Takla et al., 1999). One of the necessary conditions of enterprise agility is the implementation of new human resource management methods. The article is about one of a key phases of HRM - staffing process. The aim of the paper is to present newest perspective in employees selection in agile organization, which bases on multilevel fit and includes factors, that haven’t been taken into consideration so far. In the article selected results of empirical, statistical research on factors influencing agility will be presented. The research was conducted among R&D teams members in one of the Polish, manufacturing enterprises. Respondents shared opinions on hierarchization of factors which HR workers need to take into consideration during staffing process.

Agata Branowska

Conference Proceedings

Understanding and Supporting Decision Makers in Quality Management of Production Networks

Quality management is an important aspect of viable manufacturing processes. In order to qualify decision makers to understand the fundamental principles of quality management in production networks, we developed a game-based simulation and learning environment that can furthermore be used to understand how human factors influence the quality of decisions in complex production networks. Previous studies have shown that underlying human factors must exist, that predict the players’ performance, but it is currently unexplored which factors contribute to high performance. To investigate these human factors in more depth and to further refine the quality management serious game, we conducted a series of studies. As expected, expertise had a great impact on performance. However, contrary to our expectations, cognitive skills had no influence. The refined decision dashboard with seamlessly integrated self-adapting visualizations on key performance indicators had a significant positive impact on game performance. Most importantly, the studies suggest that the developed game is a valuable contribution to the vocational training of quality managers as the quality of their decisions is increased.

Ralf Philipsena, Philipp Braunera, Sebastian Stillerb, Simone Runge c, Robert Schmittb, Martina Zieflea

Conference Proceedings

Evaluating ICT-Tools for Knowledge Sharing and Assembly Support

This paper will through three industrial cases show the possibility to use ICT-tools in terms of QR-codes and movies for knowledge sharing and assembly support. Over 90 percent of industrial instructions are paper based with text and images showing instructions. New technologies make it possible to extend the instruction to a more easy to understand instructions, especially when I comes to complex tasks that are hard to explain in words or pictures. This paper will show how QR-codes could be used in order to solve this problem. Results shows that all the test persons thought that the movie instructions were better than the text and picture based ones, even though there were a lot of problems with Wi-Fi connections at the companies.

Åsa Fast-Berglund a, Erica Blom b

Conference Proceedings

Designing and Producing Services in Knowledge Enterprises

This paper describes the challenges of designing and producing services in knowledge enterprises, and presents approaches and methods that can be used for these purposes. There are cognitive as well as conceptual challenges in designing and producing services due to increasing complexity and dynamics in the work and business environment. Services should be able to meet these challenges. Therefore it is not possible to operate only in technical domains using technological modules when designing and producing services. Knowledge enterprises are really based on knowledge in human minds and therefore cognitive and conceptual domains and modules must also be taken into account in service design and production. Principles of design and Axiomatic Design theory by Nam Suh in design and production of services enable us to create productive, profitable, adaptive and dynamic services. The challenge is also to develop and maintain human and other organizational resources that are capable of designing and producing services in knowledge enterprises. Sustainability of such services is also crucial. This paper proceeds from theory to practice. The paper starts with theoretical considerations of design and its implications and then shows methods and tools that can be used to develop and maintain organizational resources to provide services in knowledge enterprises in a sustainable manner. Finally, a case of service design resources development is presented.

Jussi Kantola, Hannu Vanharanta, Waldemar Karwowski

Conference Proceedings

The Changes of Information Technology Structure in Condition of Adaptation the Enterprises’ Management System to the Knowledge-Based Economy Requirements

The accepted conception of the knowledge-based economy development supported by capital achieved from the European Union is a great background for enterprises’ development. The direct and indirect opportunities which are created by the knowledge development economy is a sign for adaptation the enterprises’ development strategy to the new economy conditions as well as to proper selection and development of information technologies which are one of the basis of adaptation to the new reality. According to this, it seems to be observed a kind of growing trend of ICT importance in Poland. Also, the global or European development of ICT affects the use of ICT in Poland what directly influence on the Polish enterprises competitiveness. According to this, also the importance of different e-services as well as IT outsourcing will be increasing. The paper is focused on selected research results concerning the changes in usage of ICT technologies in selected Polish enterprises in a process of adopting into knowledge-based economy requirements. Presented researches of ICT technologies are a part of broaden research concerning adaptation the enterprises management systems into knowledge based economy requirements which are carried out since 2010 at the Faculty of Engineering Management, Poznan University of Technology.

Joanna Kałkowska

Conference Proceedings

Human Aspect and Risk in Quality Management Systems

The fundamental aspect of enterprise activates concentrate on creating the value to the owner of the business. The organization is able to fulfill the requirements of the stakeholders by creating management system. One of the most popular management systems occurring in the organizations all over the world based on ISO requirements. Such model consists from different elements which also include human resources. The paper presents managerial aspect of human activity and risk according to the most popular Quality Management Systems. The first part of the paper concentrate on transfer knowledge from the management part to the operation filed of the organization. The second part of the article constitutes connection between chosen ISO management standards and the meaning of the human aspect in manufacturing. The last part of the paper deal with new proposal of the system which could be introduced in the turbulent environment of the enterprise. Article describes theoretical and practical aspects of the ISO systems implementation in small, medium and large organizations according to the human aspect and risk. It also presents the basic idea to the new system which concentrates on opportunities which occurs in changing environment of the enterprise.

Paweł Królas

Conference Proceedings

Size of an Enterprise and Organizational Innovations

In the literature two opposite theoretical concepts on the innovation of enterprises can be found. The assets concept, known as the “Schumpeterian hypothesis”, assumes that large enterprises have more assets and greater ability to introduce innovations, not only in the technological but also in the organizational sphere. The other concept is the “Inertia theory”, which shows that the growth of the firm’s size causes the increase of standardization and formalization of its procedures and relations inside the organization. Structures seem to be stable, non-flexible and they resist organizational changes. Empirical examinations based on EUROSTAT statistics, as well as other, independent research confirm the assets concept. Author’s own research on the innovation of Polish enterprises has been conducted in the context of the development of the knowledge-based economy. The survey was conducted in 2012 on the group of 150 companies. Results of this study have also confirmed the assets concept. Large enterprises are more active in the area of innovation than medium or small firms. Presented dependency has been confirmed both in organizational and structural innovations.

Edmund Pawlowski

Conference Proceedings

The Market Conditions Based Taxonomy of Modern Manufacturing Practices

The subject of research is the taxonomy of modern methods and techniques of management. Management methods and their classification have always been the subject of research in both theoretical aspect (defining logical relationships in an organized set of methods) and empirical aspect (verifying their practical application). Empirical studies have been conducted multiple times in various countries. The objective of research was most frequently: the goals (reasons) for implementation, and the actual extent and results of the implementation. The purpose of this article is to present the results of research on the taxonomy of modern management methods in the context of situational determinants of enterprises in the process of implementing these methods. Such formulated problem is a result of a belief that the selection of modern methods of management in companies is subjected to both internal and external situational determinants. In my research I intend to test the hypothesis that an important factor for the company situational determinants is that company’s market orientation. The research process is divided into two phases: 1. Phase of the literature study and preparation of methodology for empirical research, 2 Empirical research and development of results. This article summarizes the results of the literature study and the main assumptions of the model of empirical research, which will be carried out at the beginning of 2014. The scope of the research includes 39 methods and techniques of management.

Krystian Pawłowski

Conference Proceedings

Entrepreneurship in SMEs

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make about 98% of total population of businesses and create about 50% of GDP. Every day in Poland about 1500 new enterprises is registered and from 1400 to 1600 of them liquidate their activities. Such dynamics in SMEs existence is caused by many factors but one of them is the changeable business environment including both the macroenvironment and the industry environment. The SMEs significance to the country’s economy brings to mind a question how their cycle of life can be extended. The problem can be categorized as a problem of the SMEs ability to perceive and use of the market opportunities. A systematic approach to the problem consists of three stages: segmentation of the environment, analysis of events and changes in the segments and associating of the events into favourite situations that is into opportunities. Each of the stage can be supported by different methods. Example giving in the first stage the PEST analysis as well as structural analysis of sector can be used. In the second stage the following methods of strategic analysis can be used: trends extrapolation, strategic groups mapping, sectors attractiveness analysis, structural analysis of the sector, etc. In the last stage mostly the cross-impact method can be used. The use of the above methods of strategic analysis can be easily evidenced mostly in big and some medium enterprises. That is because these enterprises posses in their organizational structures functional units that are focused on particular segments of the environment. Example giving the R&D department analysis the changes in the technological segment, the financial department analysis what happens in the economic segment and the procurement department analysis the processes in the segment of suppliers. However small enterprises and a number of the medium once have very simple structure and there do not exist the organizational unit that are specialized in dealing with particular macroenvironment and the industry environment segments. Does it mean that SMEs do not observe and not analyse the changes in the business environment and do not search it to identify the opportunities? The practice and the pilot research that has been done by the author leads to negative answer for the question. The conjecture is that SMEs search for the opportunities using the entrepreneurship abilities of the management as well as the whole organization. To verify the conjecture an investigation has been undertaken in Polish SMEs. The investigation concerns the entrepreneurship features of the owners/managers of the businesses and the entrepreneurship marketing as well as the methods of strategic analysis. In this paper the results of the research are presented.

Jowita Trzcielińska

Conference Proceedings

Strategic Focus on Agility

There are two current paradigms of organizational strategies of enterprises - lean enterprises and agile enterprises. The lean enterprise is such one that eliminates or reduces the wastes. Wastes (muda) can be categorized according to how easy or difficult they can be reduced. They are connected with the efficiency and productivity of use of the resources that the enterprise possesses. We can presume and this is confirmed in practice, that more resources are possessed by the enterprise bigger risk that they will not be utilized efficiently. This leads to conclusion that for big enterprises lean is very important strategy. The second strategy is agile enterprise. Agility is meant as the ability to use the opportunities. It is necessary to notice that opportunities appeared in changeable environment. Usually the environment is divided into such segments like: political and legal, economic, social and demographic, technological, customers, suppliers, new entrants and the competitors. The combination of events and situations that exists in the environment creates opportunities that are the situations which are favorable to the enterprise. As the current business environment is strongly changeable, unpredictable and turbulent, thus a huge number of events take place. That, if they are recognized as favorable, depends on the objectives and resources of the enterprise. These situations which are positively correlated with the objectives and create the demand for the resources are favorable i.e. are recognized as opportunities. There is a question what features and abilities must characterize the enterprise to be agile? There are four features constituting the agile enterprise: brightness, flexibility, intelligence and shrewdness. Brightness is the ability of the enterprise to perceive the opportunities, flexibility refers to the repertoire of products that can be manufactured with use of the disposal resources, intelligence is the ability to learn and adapt to the changing environment and shrewdness is the ability to achieve the goals in practical mode. Each of the features is based on the enterprise knowledge which is considered to be the most important resource. Knowledge is that what results in creativity and innovations and allows the enterprise to achieve the competitive advantage. More changeable is the environment more important is the knowledge. From that view point it is interesting if the enterprises became knowledge based firms and move towards agility. To get an answer for this question the research have been undertaken if the enterprises including SMEs form their opportunities oriented strategies and shape their brightness, flexibility, intelligence and shrewdness. In this paper the results of the research are presented. The research was done on a sample of 150 enterprises including 45 big, 60 medium and 45 small firms.

Stefan Trzcieliński

Conference Proceedings

The Changes of Human Capital Structure in Condition of Adaptation the Enterprises’ Management Systems to the Knowledge-Based Economy Requirements

The purpose of the article is to present the research findings in the area of adapting the human capital of Polish enterprises in the context of changes tendencies of the status and structure of the human capital in the Polish social and economic reality. The Polish access to the European Union initiated activities leading to adjust our country to the directions of changes and of development of European countries in accordance to principles of the knowledge-based economy. The knowledge domination as a fundamental resource creating the social and economic reality determines the internal changes of organization basic resources in relation to the changes of the key areas of its environment. The article presents results of the study concerning the human capital in Polish enterprises, in which it has been examined from the point of view of changes of its statute and structure in the context of its turbulent environment. The research on the human capital presented in the paper is a fragment of a broaden research on the adaptation of enterprises’ management systems to the knowledge-based economy requirements, which were carried out at the Faculty of Engineering Management of the Poznan University of Technology in 2010.

Hanna Włodarkiewicz-Klimek

Conference Proceedings

A Comparison of the Usability of Locally-Produced and Commercially-Acquired Telemedicine Device for Filipino Health Workers

With the advancement of technology today, various industries have benefitted from innovation of systems that have been and are being developed, with the healthcare sector being one of them. Usability evaluation of medical devices is essential to ensure its effectiveness and to increase acceptability of the technology. In the Philippines, there has been a project on development of a locally-produced medical device. Similar to any other health care applications, there is a need to ensure that this is usable for Filipino health workers. A usability evaluation was conducted on the prototype of this telemedicine device, focusing on maternal monitoring, with user testing and interviews. Another similar device (commercially-acquired) was evaluated and compared to the existing design. Results of the evaluation indicate that there were usability problems in terms of the hardware and interface for both the locally-produced and commercially-acquired device designs. The former has a lot to improve in terms of its interface. Both still needs further improvement to make it easier for users to use the device. Usability evaluation has been very useful in identifying the areas for improvement in the design of the medical device and is seen as an essential part of its development.

Lorelie C. Grepo, Benette P. Custodio

Conference Proceedings

Quantitative Techniques Integration For Allocation of Workers

In this work are combined several techniques of quantitative type, to determine the number of people to use and the moments of the day in that should begin their work, in services of attention to the client via phone (that is to say to program the schedule of agents in a company of contact center), in such a way that the indicators of monetary utility and occupation (use of the resource) are increased. In the first phase, are used technical of optimization like the mixed integer programming - using GAMS software -, starting from the results of the first phase a second phase is generated in which implicit functions of non-lineal type are introduced in the system, the quantities of agents are conceived that they begin in each interval of half hour and the recommendations are analyzed for the strategic area of the organization.

Diego José Gómez Montoya

Conference Proceedings

Designing an Arm Support Model to Minimize UECTD Risk Among Filipino Electronic Technicians Using QFD, KANO Model, TRIZ and Anthropometry

Electronics technicians are prone to develop Upper Extremity Cumulative Trauma Disorder (UECTD) owing to the awkward posture, repetitive motion and static loading associated with the routine tasks of multi-testing, soldering and desoldering. In the Philippines, validation using Rapid Upper-Limb Assessment (RULA) yielded a score of 5.774 requiring intervention as a result of an Action Level 3 classification. A two-phase study approach, Quality Functional Deployment (QFD), KANO model, Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) and Anthropometry results were used as inputs in the design stage. QFD revealed 168 relationships between engineering and customer requirements, and 48 correlations with technical requirements. Six “attractive”, five “one-dimensional” and three “indifferent” engineering attributes were generated from the Kano Model analysis. Meanwhile, the determined contradictions during the designing stage were resolved using TRIZ. The resulting engineering attributes based on QFD, KANO and TRIZ were matched with the 5th to 95th percentile upper extremity anthropometric dimensions to determine the best fit and the ensuing optimal attributes were used to construct the design model. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of combining TRIZ, QFD principles, KANO Model Analysis, and Anthropometry in achieving the target ergonomic and functional design objectives tailored after user requirements to mitigate a real-world occupational hazard.

Abdulah P. Indardaya, Aura C. Matias

Conference Proceedings

Development and Assessment of Work Systems for Elder Employees in Industrial Manufacturing

The following article presents a software tool for the development and assessment of age-differentiated work systems for elder employees in industrial manufacturing. The main objectives of the introduced software system are the maintenance and support of elder employees’ health and abilities, the extension of working lifetime and the perpetuation of productivity with an aging workforce. The system structure, consisting of a generator for sufficient mapping of work systems, a simulator for discrete representation of manufacturing and an analyzer for detailed investigations, is delineated. The simulation of aging employees and calculation of overall stress of work systems are emphasized. Concluding, achieved results and intended development are discussed.

Nico Feller, Ulf Müller

Conference Proceedings

Yet Another Platform? Motivational Factors for Using Online Communities in Business Contexts

As a consequence of ongoing globalization processes and demographic change, many small and medium-sized companies face the problem of knowledge loss. To counteract this, companies are adopting Web 2.0 applications to accumulate and store the knowledge of their employees. However, little is known about the circumstances under which employees are willing to invest time in social media as a part of their work routine. Thus, this paper introduces an exploratory case study focusing the motivational factors that influence the use of an online expert community in business context. The results of the performed focus groups and interviews show that particularly intrinsic motivational factors are considered to be relevant. The attitude towards extrinsic motivational factors and related tangible motivational factors is highly controversial, whereas intangible motivational factors such as social and organizational motivational factors seem to have a positive impact on the motivation to use an intra-organizational online communities (OC). Supplementary motivational factors mentioned by the interviewees refer to the platform itself. Overall, the results indicate that the implementation of Web 2.0 applications in business contexts requires a tailored incentive system that suits to the company-specific requirements and takes into account the employees’ needs.

Ann-Kathrin Löcker, Denise Eraßme, Eva-Maria Jakobs, Anne Kathrin Schaar, André Calero Valdez, Martina Ziefle

Conference Proceedings

Analysis of Shift Work System Influence on Visual Inspection Effectiveness

In paper influence of shift work preferences on quality control effectiveness is examined. Shift work indicated as one of key work organizational parameters that decrease visual control [Kujawińska, Vogt 2013]. Adjustment to work hours rotation in weekdays results in problems with regards to day and night activation cycle (day and night disturbances - sleep) as according to environmental interview also private, social disturbances and medical problems. In paper research results based on experiment performed in company manufacturing electronics for automotive industry. Shift work impact on visual inspections that placed sequentially in chosen technological process was examined. Single operator day and night cycle effectiveness was analyzed. Correlation strength between preferences indicated by operators to work on particular production shifts, and in particular days and real control effectiveness.

Agnieszka Kujawińska, Katarzyna Vogt, Adam Hamrol

Conference Proceedings

Demographic Factors Affecting Perceived Fatigue Levels among CNC Lathe Operators

Fatigue in industrial workers is a multifactorial phenomenon. There are demographic factors that may have a significant influence on the perception of fatigue, but they remain almost unexplored to date.. The present study addresses this issue. A survey to assess fatigue was conducted among CNC lathe operators in three industrial concerns where automotive parts are manufactured. Homokinetic joints in site 1 (121 workers); camshafts in site 2 (121 workers); pistons in site 3 (21 workers). The subjects completed a survey instrument that included two questionnaires to assess fatigue: SOFI−S and OFER−S. There was also a section asking for demographic information. The MANOVA procedure was used to explore the influence of the demographic factors on fatigue. Factors affecting the fatigue dimensions (SOFI−S) were gender, body weight, stature, total length of sleep during a day, and age. Factors affecting the fatigue states (OFER-S) were weight of load being handled, gender, total length of sleep during a day, length of stay in the firm. Non-influential factors were educational status and whether the worker has a second paid job.

Juan Luis Hernandez Arellanoa, J Nieves Serratos Perezb

Conference Proceedings

A Study on the Human Factors for an Advanced Picking Station

Picking activities are usually repetitive and backbreaking physically. Awkward postures can result in muscle fatigue and injuries. For these reasons, Goods to Destination System(GDS) was developed in order to improve traditional picking devices. But there have been almost no researches on the design of picking station considering human factors. Thus we performed picking tests in-person and did descriptive survey with 30 people to study the impact of picking station design on the worker’s human factors. Among 30 people, 10 people participated Electromyograph(EMG) test for proving subjective results. As a result, in case of the LED indicator location of DPS 66% of participants felt comfortable when the LED was located between the waist level and the eye level while in case of button location of DPS, 70% of participants felt comfortable when the button was located at waist level. Moreover, the higher the angle of picking station was, the more participants felt comfortable. Lastly, most participants felt comfortable when tote was placed 5-10cm higher than general work station. This study shows various options for designing picking station. We believe that this research will provide a good guideline for picking station design which could lead to increase in productivity and workers’ convenience.

Eun Young Lee, Min Kyu Kim, Min Young Yang, Yoon Seok Chang*

Conference Proceedings

Human Aspects of the Measurement System Analysis

Quality control in manufacturing process means checking the consistency of the process or product with the internal or external customer requirements. Most often it is done by direct measurement or observation. The main objective of the quality control is to increase the chance that the product (process) is free from defects when passing it on further stages of the production process or on to use. It is difficult to find the type of industry, which is not performed by the demands resulting from quality control. In many industries, quality control plays a special role, especially where the manufacturing outcome is important for the client. The pharmaceutical and medical industries are examples of a situation in which quality status of manufacturing process has a direct impact on the patients health and even – in some cases – their lives. Alternative control is a special case of quality control. It can be performed by measuring or checking and classifying the object (product) into one of a number of states (in the specific case – into one of two, for example: good/bad or OK/No OK). Alternative quality control may be carried out with – for example – use of specialized equipment that automatically classify the items (for example, with use of machine with pattern recognition module to verify circuit boards or machine for printing color evaluation) or with the use of human senses (as visual control, control), man knowledge and his experience (know-how). To assure that quality control of manufacturing is a reliable process and its outcomes are on accepted level, measurement system must be evaluated (variation of the measurement system should be known and accepted). There are many procedures to assess the capability and reliability of measurement system. The most common and widely used procedure to assess alternative measurement system is – on the base of authors experience – KAPPA method. It allows to assess the impact of factors such as: human factors, instrument/gauge, environment etc. on the reliability of the control.The paper presents some possible directions of development of attribute measurement systems procedures. These challenges derive from need to assess the impact of factors related to the determinants of human psychophysical on the results of the statistical evaluation of measurement systems.

Magdalena Diering, Agnieszka Kujawińska

Conference Proceedings

Capability, Profit or Waste? Organizational and Economic Dilemma Criteria for Measuring the Effectiveness of Enterprises

The paper presents a literature review on enterprise efficiency. It is argued that the economic efficiency perspective needs to be broadened with organizational dimensions of evaluation. The paper presents an evolution of economic criteria from the market-based to the organizational and resources-related ones. The relations between organizational and economic criteria are discussed. In the final part of the paper, praxeological criteria for enterprise effectiveness are presented. The Author taps into the research output of Polish researchers such as: Adamiecki (organization and management), Lange (economics) and Kotarbiński (praxeology).

Janusz Rymaniak

Conference Proceedings

Usability Study of Auditory CAPTCHA

CAPTCHA is a security system to distinguish whether a user is a human being or an automated program by asking questions that are hard for artificial intelligence yet relatively easy for human to answer. Two most popular forms of CAPTCHAs are text and audio; this study attempts to explore the latter one, which is common in situation where visual interaction is not applicable, such as in voice-based interaction or for visually challenged users. Auditory CAPTCHAs can be breached by content analysis and guessing through Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), it is then necessary to blend certain level of interference to counterattack. However, by doing so, auditory CAPTCHAs have became too hard to human being to solve. Solving auditory CAPTCHAs is akin to Cocktail Party Effect, which refers to our ability to process main audio signals preferentially and ignore other irrelevant ones in noisy environments. This study explores the current designs of auditory CAPTCHAs to see how well our “cocktail party ability” performs when interacting with different CAPTCHA designs. An experiment with repeated measurement factorial design is conducted; thirty-six participants take part. The main signals, or the signals to be processed, are pronounced either by random male speaker (RMS), random female speaker (RFS), or mixed speaker (MS); while the interference signals, or the signals to be ignored, are pronounced either by random male (RMN), random female (RFN), or mixed noise (MN). Fifty percent of the interference contents sound similar to the main contents, while the other fifty percent are normal conversation noises. Error rates and subjective preferences are collected during the experiments. Results show that sound similarity is problematic; the error rates are significantly higher than its counterpart. The combination of RMS and RFN has significantly lower error rate due to greatest pitch difference; our participants also prefer this one for its relative easiness. On the other hand, for combination of RMS and RMN, the error rates are significantly higher and the preference scores lower. The results have important implications for auditory CAPTCHA design.

Chia-Hung Lee, Ying-Lien Lee

Conference Proceedings

The Effect of Auditory Feedback on Websites Users Perception

In this investigation, we design a website named UN.com that has three scenes and with different numbers of auditory feedback. An experiment was designed to explore the application of auditory feedback. The better situation to use auditory feedback has been found out. We found a significant correlation between auditory feedback and website usability. Too many auditory feedbacks may cause negative effect. The result may provide web designer some suggestion on auditory feedback to prevent negative effects.

Sheng-Hann, Li, Sheue-Ling Hwang

Conference Proceedings

A Latent Human Error Model in Aviation Maintenance Tasks

In this study, an analysis model has been developed by taking Root Cause Analysis (RCA) method as the basic logic, Human Factor Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) as the factor source to find out the most important latent human error factor in aviation maintenance tasks. The research team dismantled the maintenance process and classified the error factors to design questionnaire, surveyed experienced staffs to rate factors according to their working experience, and finally established the model. Here are some conclusions of this study: First, the combination of RCA and HFACS is an easy use mode to investigate the causal inference and build the factor connection of collected data. Second, the developed model can successfully find some relative important / unimportant factors and provide a direction to design improvement plans. Third, the weighted average scores from the analysis outcome can be regarded as a weight to use in continuous research. And finally, this model may be modified to fit other similar maintenance tasks such as vehicles or precision electronic equipment maintenance, and may be changed to explore other types of human operating works, such as monitoring tasks.

Jiong-Yu Tu, Jen-Loong Yong, Sheue-Ling Hwang

Conference Proceedings

A Modified Failure Mode and Effects Analysis for In-Vehicle Speech Interaction Systems

The purpose of this study was to identify the potential problems of an in-vehicle speech interaction system named Talking Car by using the techniques of risk assessment. In this study, there were 16 participants asked to complete the assigned tasks by controlling the Talking Car system while driving. By conducting the driving simulation experiment, the failure modes, the incorrect operations, the failure causes and the effects were observed and collected. Then, a modified Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) method which took human operation into account was used to determine and analyze these failure modes and incorrect operations. After completing the analysis, the Risk Priority Number (RPN) is computed to detect which failure made a significant effect on driving safety. As a result, RPN and subjective questionnaire indicated that “System Sentences with Elicitation”, “Control Button on Steering Wheel” and “Partial System Interface” should be improved urgently to ensure driving safety.

Hung-Chun Chen, Sheue-Ling Hwang

Conference Proceedings

Effects of Display Technique, Image Content, and Environment on User Performance of Auto-stereoscopic Mobile Phones

With the evolution of the technology, mobile devices have gradually become an indispensable part of life. Meanwhile, the display technology is converted from 2D display to 3D display. In this study, we investigated the effects of display technique, image content, and dynamic & static environments on user performance of a auto-stereoscopic mobile phone. Eighteen subjects were recruited in this study. A three way full factorial design was used to investigate the effect of display technique (2D and 3D), environment (a controlled laboratory, and a carriage of a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), and a car), and image content (picture, video and game) on usability and the change of critical fusion frequency (CFF). The ANOVA results indicated that display technique was significant on usability and the change of CFF, where viewing the 3D display induces more fatigue than viewing the 2D display. The results also showed that environment was significant on usability and the change of CFF, while the performance in a laboratory is better than that in a carriage of MRT and a car. Finally, the results indicated that image content was significant on the change of CFF, while highest visual fatigue was found in game playing.

Po-Hung Lin, Hao-Sian Jhang

Conference Proceedings

The Learning Effect of Hand Dexterity between Old and Young People

When Taiwan moved towards an aging society, there are very rich studies for the elderly in academic. The past, many studies focus on physical function decline, but less study focused on the age influence on hand function learning effect. The purpose of this study is use of a learning curve model to explore the difference between elder and youth in the handedness dexterity. Twenty youth and 20 elder were recruited. A Purdue pegboard was used to measure the dominant hand dexterity for 15 times, and a 20-second rest was given between successive trials. A learning curve in power function was modeled for each participant, and the associated theoretical time to complete the first trial () and learning rate () were calculated. The ANOVA result indicated that the learning rate between youth and elder was not significantly different, but elder had significantly longer . That is, for pure motor skill, degeneration in hand dexterity due to aging only slows the moving speed, but does not shift the learning rate. Therefore, to reach a present industrial standard elder need more practice, otherwise, we should reduce the standard to match the physical capabilities of elders.

Yuh-Chuan Shih, I-Lin Cheng

Conference Proceedings

Auditory Interface Improvement of In-Vehicle Speech Interaction System

According to a previous study, current Talking Car system has some defects on control button and guiding sentence for beginners. Therefore, the purpose of this study aimed to improve and analyze the usability of the Talking Car system. For the first part, control button data from five brands which are the most popular cars in the market were gathered and analyzed. Then, cooperated with expert advices the control button was redesigned. In the guiding sentence part, an experiment was conducted to realize the misunderstood and annoying degree of current guiding sentences, and to modify the guiding sentences. After all improvement, another driving simulation experiment was conducted. Based on the objective statistic data, the result indicated that task finished time has been decreased significantly. The shorter task finished time proved the system is more convenient and easier to use. With regard to evaluation of safety, react on times of emergency brake were decreased. Times of unsafe driving behavior like exceeding the speed and lane departure were decreased. In consequence, the system is more suitable using in driving. And in the subjective part, subjects are more satisfied with guiding sentence of beginner and control button. After improvement, Talking Car is easier to use and more fit to the beginners.

Hui-Ning Hu, Sheue-Ling Hwang

Conference Proceedings

Anthropomorphic Design of Human-Robot Interaction in Assembly Cells

The objective of ergonomic systems design is to design the interaction between humans and machines in such a way that productivity, efficiency and humanity would not contradict each other. Hence, the human has to be considered as an integral part of the system. To use the full potential of this concept the system has to be accepted as a co-worker by the human. Anthropomorphism is an approach that is used in different areas to improve the acceptance of non-human entities as team-partners. The study within this work focuses on the effects of anthropomorphism in industrial environments. A virtual environment consisting of a robotized assembly cell was developed to conduct the experimental study. In order to simulate anthropomorphic movements, human pick and place movements were acquired using an infrared motion capture system. The data were used to drive the model of a virtual assembly robot. Within the experiment both anthropomorphic and constant speed profiles were compared. The main task of the participants was to predict the movement’s destination as accurately and quickly as possible. The reaction time and the prediction accuracy were analyzed to investigate the influence of anthropomorphic robot movements on human prediction in industrial environments. The results show that anthropomorphic movements lead to faster reaction times without more prediction errors.

Sinem Kuz, Marco Faber, Jennifer Bützler, Marcel Ph. Mayer, Christopher M. Schlick

Conference Proceedings

Ergonomic Design of Working Time Models

Enterprises in high-wage countries are facing an increasing shortage of skilled workers due to demographic change. In coping with this problem, companies are forced to provide incentives that help them recruit and retain qualified staff. As a result, enterprises have to deal with increasing wages, which means that the employment of staff must be highly efficient in order to avoid idle times of the personnel. At the same time, the working conditions have to be designed ergonomically in order to preserve the work ability of the employees. Altogether, the enterprise is forced to create good working conditions in order to find employees and bind them to the enterprise. The design of employee-oriented and ergonomic working time models is an important prerequisite for mastering this challenge. Commercial software usually compares a working time model with the existing legal regulations as well with ergonomic recommendations in order to provide an ergonomic evaluation. Capacity requirements are taken into account only statically. However, capacity requirements usually are subject to several dynamic influences resulting from stochastic operation times, stochastic intermediate arrival times of orders or customers. This makes it more difficult to adjust the available capacity to stochastic capacity requirements. With the help of a discrete-event simulation, various working time models can be compared in a specific case of application and assessed in quantitative terms. This paper discusses the situation of enterprises in high-wage countries and the resulting need for the ergonomic design of working times. Then, the paper presents the OSim-GAM simulator developed by the Institute of Human and Industrial Engineering (ifab) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology for the ergonomic design of working time models. The OSim-GAM assessment concept for working time models is presented and its use is illustrated within the framework of a case study.

Patricia Stock, Barbara Deml

Conference Proceedings

Application of Performance Measurement in the Context of Ergonomic Work Design

While enhancing productivity, performance measurement in the context of ergonomic work design becomes more relevant. Based on the theoretical and conceptual background of performance measurement systems as well as the stressstrain concept and the man-at-work system we generated a cause-and-effect model as a framework for a performance measurement system in the context of ergonomic work design. No investigation has indicated so far the importance, current and planned application, expected functions, relevant perspectives, potential performances indicators and the possible success of performance measurement in the ergonomic context. Data from 73 industrial engineering experts of an international company working in small-sized to large-sized production facilities support the development of an ergonomic performance measurement system. Our findings show that such a system is relevant to industrial engineering work and that performance indicators are already being used. Furthermore there are some interesting relations between monitoring performance indicators and successful processes as well as overall outcomes. Our results challenge the view that performance measurement in the context of ergonomic work design is a prerequisite for being more efficient to fulfill the outcomes performance and well-being.

Ralf Heller a, Michael Sauter a, Ralph Bruder b

Conference Proceedings

Human Centered Assistance Applications for Production

The term human centered assistance applications for production is formed by three researchers within the connected human modelling group at the Institute of Ergonomics of Technische Univeristät München (TUM). The common research objective is to facilitate work while increasing the efficiency of the process in production environments and logistics. The three approaches Lifting Aid, Cobot and Assembly Glove treat the topic in different perspectives and crafts. While Lifting Aid addresses logistics, Cobot deals with material handling in automotive assembly and Assembly Glove sets its focus on the assembly process in the narrow sense. This paper will give an impression about the Institute of Ergonomics` fields of research in the production context and how ergonomic design of future production systems should be implemented.

Jonas Schmidtler, Christin Hölzel, Verena Knott, Klaus Bengler

Conference Proceedings

Influence of Instructional Methods on Learning Sensorimotor Tasks

Against the background of demographic change, stress-optimized deployment scheduling can help to achieve the ability of employees to work in assembly areas over an extended working lifetime. However, realizing an optimal assignment of personnel from an ergonomic point of view often requires qualifying employees to process new tasks. When employees are for the first time confronted with unfamiliar sensorimotor tasks they have to learn task-specific skills. This includes being provided with an introduction to the new task as well as subsequent practice until achieving a reference performance. For introduction purposes a variety of work instructions can be used; each of them is assumed to have a different effect on learning. To assess this influence quantitatively, a laboratory study was conducted. The study focused on the repeated assembly of a carburetor which was executed by participants which received either a previous interactive filmbased instruction as well as a graphical task description or received only the graphical task description. The results show the instruction’s influence on execution times as well as on assembly errors to be significant.

Francoise Meyer, Tim Jeske, Sönke Duckwitz, Christopher M. Schlick

Conference Proceedings

Flexible and Adaptive Planning forHuman-Robot Interaction inSelf-Optimizing Assembly Cells

Due to an increasing diversity of products in product space production systems have to react more flexible and dynamic. Thereby, the human operator must be seen as an integral part of the production process because on the one hand he/she has to supervise the machines and robots and on the other hand he/she has to take over individual operations that cannot be automated. For establishing a flexible planning process of assembly operations that satisfies also the ergonomic requirements of human-robot interaction a comprehensive Cognitive Simulation Model is presented consisting of a formerly developed Cognitive Control Unit (CCU) and a newly developed graph-based planner. The CCU is based on the popular architecture of human cognition Soar. The additional planner enables the CCU to consider more complex planning criteria regarding the whole assembly sequence. Therefore, the final product is decomposed to obtain all valid assembly sequences and transferred into a state graph. The edges are rated at runtime according to the activated procedural knowledge. A modified version of the search algorithm A*Prune is finally applied to find the best continuations for the current assembly sequence. The presented approach is validated by means of a simulation study. The results show that the human-robot cooperation can be improved significantly, for example, by reducing the number of strenuous manual interventions of the human operator.

Marco Faber, Henning Petruck, Sinem Kuz, Jennifer Bützler, Marcel Ph. Mayer

Conference Proceedings

Human-oriented Design of a Cognitive Control Unit for Self-Optimizing Robotic Assembly Cells

This paper presents the human-oriented design of cognitive control unit (CCU) for a self-optimizing robotic assembly cell. The CCU is designed to simulate human cognition, and on the base of prior knowledge, to adapt to the changing conditions in the product structure and material supply. To improve the conformity of the human operator expectations with the technical systems, two experiments focusing on different models of robot behaviour based on the different number of human-oriented production rules in the knowledge base are carried out. The results show that the most-human oriented model leads to the highest performance of the human operator in terms of prediction time, task load and predictive accuracy.

Novie Susanto, Marcel Mayer, Raymond Djaloeis, Jennifer Bützler, Christopher Schlick

Conference Proceedings

Younger Beginners, Older Retirees:Head-mounted Displaysand Demographic Change

Demographic change and its consequences are tremendous challenges for industry and service enterprises (Dul et al., 2012). That implies the development of future working systems and technologies, which have to consider aspects of demographic change. Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs) may serve as intelligent solutions for multiple manufacturing scenarios by providing process knowledge already during fabrication and manufacturing. Since the early days, HMD-manufacturers have striven to improve technical and ergonomic characteristics of HMDs. Generic ergonomic aspects have already been investigated but the extent to which age influences workload and performance when using an HMD is merely known. Additionally, little is known about the acceptance of HMDs within different age groups. In this paper, we address these issues and present an empirical study (n = 40) analyzing the effect of HMDs on task execution time and workload (NASA Task Load Index). Two different age groups (18-39, 40-60 years) performed a manufacturing task supported by instructions displayed on an HMD. It is shown that elderly perform as good as young participants while there are significant differences concerning subjective effort. Young participants rate manufacturing tasks performed with an HMD to be more effortful as elderly. Regarding the acceptance of the HMD, we found that older participants are more likely to reject the HMD than younger ones.

Sabine Theisa, Thomas Alexandera, Matthias Willeb, Alexander Mertensc, Christopher M. Schlickc

Conference Proceedings

Database for Capability-Appropriate Workplace Design in Manufacturing Industry

Due to demographic change, less younger workers are available and the amount of workers in general will decrease. In addition the average age of the working population will increase in western countries in the near future. With higher age absenteeism, especially due to musculoskeletal disorders, rises. Also the range of performance between individuals grows wider. But this is not true for all capabilities and not only for elderly workers. Therefore, a capability-appropriate workplace design is necessary to meet physical workplace demands in manufacturing industry and in order to preserve the workability of the workforce.A large variety of capabilities is challenging in the context of workplace design in manufacturing industry. This high number of capabilities with a wide range of individual performance can be best captured and represented in a database. Therefore a suitable database will be developed, where relevant physical manufacturing capabilities are collected and processed for workplace designers. These work-related capabilities represent individual performance in different sections e.g. static working postures, manual materials handling and action forces. Based on this information, design solutions for a prospective capability-appropriate workplace design can be derived relative to the age structure of the manufacturing plant.

Dorothee Müglich, Andrea Sinn-Behrendt, Karlheinz Schaub, Ralph Bruder

Conference Proceedings

Evaluation of Different Feedback Conditions on Worker’s Performance in an Augmented Reality-based Support System for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic Manufacturing

Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) are materials with excellent mechanical properties. However, slight variations in the manufacturing process lead to substantially decreasing mechanical stability and additional production costs for assuring the product’s quality. For large lot sizes a high process quality can be achieved through automation. However, for small lot sizes manual processes are required, which introduce variances in process quality. To support workers in the manual production however, there is little support to guide them and to reduce the variance in product quality. Augmented Reality (AR) applications are successfully used to offer guidance in other manufacturing processes. Yet, no empirical studies of the applicability of AR to support CFRP processing have been carried out. Therefore we present an AR based prototypic worker support system for CFRP manufacturing. Empirically, the impact of different feedback modalities (none, auditory, visual, auditory+visual) as well as individual factors on effectivity, efficiency and user satisfaction was investigated. Key findings show that combined feedback worked best for accuracy, however no feedback was fastest. Regarding user preferences, auditory followed by auditory+visual feedback was rated best. Taking user preferences and performance into account will provide useful guidelines for the development of a support system.

Philipp Brauner a, Luisa Bremen a, Linus Atorf b, Malte Rast b, Martina Ziefle a, Jürgen Rossmann b

Conference Proceedings

Interactive Analysis and Evaluation of Production Control

Today most markets are extremely competitive. Thus, a high adherence to delivery dates represents a key factor for companies’ success. Companies try to keep delivery dates by an adequate production planning and control (PPC) but often not succeed due to a lack of knowledge concerning the quality of their production control. The key objective of this paper is to introduce a quick and simple possibility to analyze and evaluate the quality of companies’ production control in an interactive way. Therefore, the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL) has developed a web based solution called “Performance Check”. Based on feedback data of ERP-systems (enterprise resource planning systems), the tool visualizes defined key indicators of production control.

Guenther Schuh, Till Potente, Christina Thomas, Melanie Luckert

Conference Proceedings

Ergotyping®-Tools providing Computer-Based Support for Ergonomic Evaluation Processes of Human-Machine-Interfaces

Ergonomic analysis and assessments help to reveal potential risks for either planned or established working conditions to determine the necessity for further measures. In order to effectively identify the parameters with the biggest impact(s) on improvements in designing or redesigning working environments, it is necessary to extract adequate indicators with major influences on working conditions (Bürkle et al. 2013). This can be done effectively by using computer-based ergonomic tools. Different effects on work related strain become apparent by changing parameters within certain indicators. Alternative workplace designs aiming at changing these parameters can be developed and tested with focus on complying with set requirements. As this procedure is often carried out iteratively, it is obvious that Ergotyping® can help facilitating this process extensively.

Edgar Scherstjanoi, Christiane Kamusella, Daniel Gröllich, Kai Bürkle

Conference Proceedings

Design and Technical Construction of Virtual-Reality-Supported Learning Elements for Manual Assembly

This paper presents a primarily methodical and technical orientated insight into the designing and building of learning scenarios in Virtual Reality (VR). An important focus of the paper forms the overview of the technical procedure in terms of the design of learning scenarios using the VR software solution Visual Decision Platform (VDP) available at the Mittweida University of Applied Sciences. By means of the modular configuration of this software, the clear allocation of functions for the individual areas of application and cases is possible. Case-specific usable elements of one such VR based learning scenario related to the available software solution are presented as well as its design procedure. Thus generates a largely standardised procedure which can be adapted to the relevant application case by means of the targeted call-up or exclusion of individual scene elements within the overall scene. Apart from that, several variants for the animation of objects in the VDP will be examined. In the course of this, selected software functions and procedures will be detailed and described in depth and also elucidated by means of suitable examples.

Leif Goldhahn, Christian Thümer

Conference Proceedings