By developing solutions to make the factory environment more flexible and adaptable, the Factory2Fit project will bring increased worker motivation, satisfaction and productivity.
It will help current and future workers to become knowledge workers in smart factories with fulfilling careers.
Prima Power is among the most prominent global specialists in sheet metal working technology, with a comprehensive product range in laser systems and sources, punching, shearing, bending and automation for the sheet metal industry. The company conducted pilots for 4 Factory2fit solutions:Learn more 1.Worker Feedback Dashboard The first pilot tested the Worker Feedback Dashboard in 3 Prima Power customer sites. Stera Oy, Elekmerk Oy and PRP Oy are all customers of Prima Power’s machinery, and agreed to test the solution in their factories. The dashboard allows workers to keep track of their production-related data and personal well-being indicators. The app was piloted in test cycles in spring 2018 and spring 2019. The evaluation results were very positive. The workers found the user experience and usability good. They were mainly interested in data related to sleep, heart rate and number of steps. 2.Off-site Training Solution The second pilot tested the Off-site Training Solution, which allows training in a realistic factory environment well before the actual machinery has been implemented at the customer site. This pre-training platform was piloted in spring 2019. The overall responses to the training solution were very positive. The different means for presenting the learning content (3D models, videos, animations, text, quizzes) were seen as very appropriate. The usability and user experience aspects will be developed further. 3.Social Media Platform The third solution that Prima Power piloted is the Social Media Platform for Contextual Knowledge Sharing. It aims to increase knowledge sharing and co learning between experienced and new workers through various social media technologies, such as forums, instant messaging, news feeds, and gamification. The platform allows for sharing of multimedia content, reaching out to service representatives and providing solutions to common problems. The piloting took the form of expert evaluation and testing with Prima Power trainers in winter 2019. The system interface was accepted by the users, and the knowledge sharing aspect was considered applicable as it allows instant contact with multiple people. The design features of the application revealed some restrictions in usability. 4.Decision Support System The final pilot consisted of an expert evaluation of the Task Distribution Engine (TDE) from the Decision Support System. This module is responsible for assigning tasks, responding to events and real-time occurrences in the shop floor, and making any necessary adaptations to the original work schedule. The feedback on the user experience was neutral at this stage, as it is too early to assess it properly. A detailed assessment will be carried out once the solution is more mature.
Continental is an international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer, and industrial partner. One of the major products of the Continental plant in Limbach-Oberfrohna is fuel injectors, which they produce using customised, highly automated machinery. Continental conducted two pilot studies in its factories:Learn more 1.Decision Support System The first pilot was deployed and evaluated in Continental’s measurement lab. It tested our Task Distribution Engine from the Decision Support System. This engine is used to improve the allocations of tasks by analysing the priority of each task as well as workers’ individual skills and preferences. The production processes at Continental have numerous steps and dependencies. The Task Distribution Engine aimed to ensure that both the automated machines and the human workers of the factory are assigned tasks efficiently and can quickly reassign tasks if there is a machine fault or some other error. In addition to this, workers were given input on the types of task they wish to work on. Approximately 20 workers participated in the pilot that was carried out in summer 2019. Due to the complexity of the industrial environment, organisational delays and legal restrictions, certain functionalities of the system could not be implemented or did not work in an optimal way. The system will benefit from being developed further. 2.Participatory Design Tool The second pilot tested our Participatory Design tool, and an evaluation of the solution’s impacts was carried out in order to optimise workplace and process designs. Continental used the tool for the evaluation of a new turbocharger assembly line, and to determine the most efficient allocation of resources. Using a Virtual Factory tool developed in the project, workers were able to use their expertise to actively participate in the design of their workplace. The feedback from the workers participating in the pilot workshops was very promising. The participants considered the design process easy and the impact of it on productivity and work satisfaction positive.
The United Technologies Research Centre (UTRC) delivers advanced technologies to the businesses of United Technologies Corporation (UTC) – a diversified company that provides a broad range of high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industries. UTRC conducted four pilot studies in the factory of HVAC-Culoz, one of their business units in France, over the spring and summer of 2019. Learn more 1.Decision Support System The Decision Support System was used to sequence assembly activities and match them to the preferences, competences and availability of the workers. By assigning manufacturing activities to the most suitable workers, as well as guiding them while performing specific jobs, our solutions aim to improve both worker satisfaction and manufacturing lead time within our pilot site. 2.Social Media Platform The Social Media Platform was used by all factory stakeholders to monitor the activities on the shop floor in real-time. This real-time communication between different work centres regarding the status of ongoing manufacturing orders provided additional knowledge and resources while facilitating a more robust manufacturing flow. 3.Augmented Reality Guided Assembly The Augmented Reality Supported Instruction tool was used by assembly workers to guide them through their tasks. The solution provides a real-time AR technical drawing, which is superimposed on the physical assembly task to show workers the next steps in their assignment. 4.On-site Training Tool The On-site Training Solution was used by assembly workers to retrieve any expert knowledge on a particular problem they might experience during an assembly task. As a manufacturing site producing highly customised air handling units, the first priority of the pilot factory is to make the expert workers’ knowledge available to all factory workers anytime and anywhere they need.
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The Factory2Fit project has received funding from Horizon 2020 (H2020/2014-2020), the European Union’s Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement n° 723277
