Engaging human-centered design to maintain part manufacturing under reduced workforce restrictions

Abstract

A central element of industrial production is the manufacturing of finished parts from raw material. Even in highly automated environments, processes like milling still rely on human intervention. On-site human operators play a crucial role in ensuring the continuous operation and quality of parts through tasks such as setup and maintenance. This reliance on human involvement makes part manufacturing vulnerable to workforce reductions, whether due to unforeseen circumstances like pandemics or staff shortages. However, new modes of telework collaboration based on interactive systems that comprise visualization and communication technologies, collaborative robots, fast internet, and remote control of machine tools bear potential to overcome these challenges. In consequence, a conceptual framework is proposed that investigates how such modes and systems need to be designed to share the respective tasks between teleworking and on-site employees. As the interactions and systems show a high complexity and since reduced workforce situations often occur suddenly, a high degree of usability must be ensured to enable quick ramp-up and reliable operation. Therefore, an interdisciplinary approach between manufacturing engineering, ergonomics/human factors and human–computer interaction investigates how the concept of human-centered design (HCD) needs to be adapted to ensure this usability. While the initial study focuses on how to integrate human workers in the design of such a system, it also highlights the need to examine different collaboration modes and application scenarios.