Concept and Evaluation of a Method for the Integration of Human Factors into Human-Oriented Work Design in Cyber-Physical Production Systems
by
Hendrik Stern 1,2,*,†,‡ and Till Becker 3,‡
Hendrik Stern 1,2,*,†,‡ and Till Becker 3,‡
1
BIBA—Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH at the University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
2
Faculty of Production Engineering, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
3
Faculty of Business Studies, University of Applied Sciences Emden/Leer, 26723 Emden, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Current address: Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany.
‡
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Sustainability 2019, 11(16), 4508; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164508
Received: 21 July 2019 / Revised: 16 August 2019 / Accepted: 16 August 2019 / Published: 20 August 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industry 4.0 for SMEs - Smart Manufacturing and Logistics for SMEs)
Due to the shift from mainly manual labor to an increased portion of cognitive tasks in manufacturing caused by the introduction of cyber-physical systems, there is a need for an updated collection of adequate design principles for user interfaces between humans and machines. Thus, we developed a method for the determination and evaluation of such design principles. It is based on human factors methods and facilitates the assessment of specific work design elements which are supposed to have a significant effect on work performance and the perception of work in cyber-physical production systems (CPPS). Within the application of the developed method, we derived an overview of key design elements in CPPS, developed an experimental platform, and conducted two empirical studies with a total of n = 68 participants. This way, three design elements were investigated, and the findings transferred into preliminary design principles. We can state that the method can be used both for a better understanding of the mechanisms between human factors and work in CPPS. Besides, it helps to provide a catalogue of design principles applicable to SMEs to promote more efficient and successful integration of workers into CPPS.
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Keywords:
human factors; Industry 4.0; cyber-physical systems; cyber-physical production systems; anthropocentric design; Operator 4.0; human–machine interaction
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MDPI and ACS Style
Stern, H.; Becker, T. Concept and Evaluation of a Method for the Integration of Human Factors into Human-Oriented Work Design in Cyber-Physical Production Systems. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4508.
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