| 1. |
- Bergman, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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A Library Based Tool to Assist the Generative Activity in Workstation Design
- 2014
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Ingår i: Advances in Ergonomics in Design, Usability & Special Populations. - : AHFE Conference. - 9781495121074 ; , s. 206-214
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Workstation design processes are seldom as rigorous as product design processes. Instead, workstations are often “just built”. This commonly results in workstations that suffer from problems related to ergonomics, flexibility, logistics, productivity etc., in turn leading to reductions in human wellbeing and/or economics. The problem is seldom a lack of information, about ergonomics or other relevant areas, in itself. The problem is rather knowledge of how to find, interpret and use the information proactively in the design of workstations, e.g. in the definition of a complete set of goals for a successful design, or in the generation of design solutions that fulfil these goals. Moreover, the evaluation of a workstation design is typically performed on actual workstations, or physical mock-ups representing near-completed proposals. This paper argues that workstation design processes could gain from utilizing product design methodologies. In line with this, a novel and structured way of establishing a library of verified design solutions that fulfil certain requirements is presented in this paper. This would help the designer to select and generate solutions for the design task at hand, thus speeding up the design process and reducing the risk of redesign and rebuild, due to not fulfilling set requirements.
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| 2. |
- Bergman, Christian, et al.
(författare)
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A tool to assist and evalute workstation design
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of NES 2013, 45th Nordic Ergonomics & Human Factors Society conference, Iceland, August 2013. - 9789979723974
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- It can be argued that it is common that industrial workstations are “built” rather than purposefully designed with user and task requirements in mind. Afterwards, built-in problems typically need to be corrected, causing undesired costs and efforts. With the objective to assist workstation designers in avoiding most problems already in the design phase, a design support tool is being developed. The paper argues the need for such a tool and presents the fundamental tool functionality. Expected advantages are more efficient and ergonomic workstations and a more efficient design process with built-in learning and documentation.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Brolin, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Kitting as an information source in manual assembly
- 2012
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Ingår i: Advances in Ergonomics in Manufacturing. - : CRC Press. - 9781439870396 - 9780429107603 - 143987039X ; , s. 346-353
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In manual assembly, a strategy to meet the goal of efficient production is the increased use of kitting as a material supply principle. Even though kitting is already implemented in industry, there are still uncertainties regarding the effects of introducing kits, particularly from a human factors perspective.This paper presents initial steps in the development of a method to be used for the evaluation of kitting. This from an information source point of view and for studying effects related to productivity and quality. The methodology is projected to act as a foundation for how to carry out a subsequent comprehensive case study. The purpose of the case study is to explore how kitting affects the cognitive workload compared to the ordinary material rack combined with part numbers used in the current manufacturing industry. This is done by measuring productivity; time spent on assembling a product, and quality; number of assembly errors. One step in the methodology development process, which is described in this paper, was to conduct a pilot study, primarily to test the methodology related to the selection of measurement parameters, as well as for getting experiences from running the methodology with real test subjects.
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| 5. |
- Brolin, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Use of kitting to ease assemblers' cognitive workload
- 2011
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Ingår i: Proceedings of NES2011 September 18—21, 2011 Oulu, Finland. - : University of Oulu. - 9789514295416 ; , s. 77-82
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The higher level of product variation in the automotive industry leads to an increasing workload for the assembler that has to search, fetch and assemble all the variants. This puts high demands on the information that is given to the assembler to fulfil the assembly task. This paper describes the impact of information overload and sources, and their influence on the assembler. Through observations conducted in the Swedish automotive industry, the study has shown that the assembly personnel perceive the kit as structured information and that structured kits are able to present distinct information at a certain place to the assembler, which in turn reduces the searching, resulting in decreased cognitive workload.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Attention, Interpreting, Decision-Making and Acting in Manual Assembly
- 2006
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 23rd International Manufacturing Conference: IMC 23. - : University of Ulster. ; , s. 165-172
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a modern manufacturing environment, data and information are a vital part of the manufacturing process and in particular for supporting the value adding activities. Modern manufacturing information systems allow fast distribution of, and access to, data and information. However, the technical improvements of manufacturing information systems do not always create the benefits that were expected from them. This paper discusses this problem in the context of manual assembly tasks. Attention, interpretation and decision-making are important drivers for how well the assembly tasks are performed - the acting. In other words, the acting is governed by how and when the attention of the assembly operator is caught, how easily the information can be interpreted, and to what extent the information is useful for decision making. The aim with the work is to find and present why data and information provided on the shop floor often fails to prevent quality problems; not seldom this data and information actually causes the problems. This paper focuses on one of the core issues related to assembly data and information, namely “active attention” and how this is triggered. If active information seeking behaviour is not present on the assembly shop floor, then the probability for a quality problem increases.
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| 8. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Ergonomics analysis in a virtual environment
- 2007
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Ingår i: International Journal of Manufacturing Research. - : InderScience Publishers. - 1750-0591. ; 2:2, s. 198-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Simulation can support the design of an ergonomic workplace by enabling early assessment of ergonomic conditions in a virtual environment. An important feature is the possibility to study alternative solutions or the effect of improvements from an ergonomics perspective. To be able to conduct an efficient and reliable evaluation in a virtual environment, an objective analysis method is essential. Such an analysis method should be integrated in the simulation software, and support a company's everyday ergonomics work process. In order to gain from existing ergonomics knowledge within a company, the possibility to implement such wisdom in the current simulation software becomes important. This paper presents an implementation work done with the purpose of integrating an established ergonomics work process into a virtual environment. It describes the benefits of an ergonomics work process where simulation and evaluation at early stages of a design process are key factors. The paper will also describe the integration process, i.e., the technical issues as well as the change in work methods.
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| 9. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Ergonomics Analysis in a Virtual Environment
- 2006
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 23rd International Manufacturing Conference: IMC 23. - : University of Ulster. ; , s. 543-550
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Simulation can support the design of an ergonomic workplace by enabling early assessment of ergonomic conditions in a virtual environment. An important feature is the possibility to study alternative solutions or the effect of improvements from an ergonomics perspective. To be able to conduct an efficient and reliable evaluation in a virtual environment, an objective analysis method is essential. Such an analysis method should be integrated in the simulation software, and support a company’s everyday ergonomics work process. In order to gain from existing ergonomics knowledge within accompany, the possibility to implement such wisdom in the current simulation software becomes important.This paper presents an implementation work done with the purpose of integrating an established ergonomics work process into a virtual environment. It describes the benefits of an ergonomics work process where simulation and evaluation at early stages of a design process are key factors. The paper will also describe the integration process, i.e. the technical issues as well as the change in work methods.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar
(författare)
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Information Flow and Product Quality in Human Based Assembly
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Information is an important part of the manual assembly process. Information provides the user with the means to fulfil assembly tasks so that the right quality as well as high productivity are accomplished. This thesis addresses issues connected to information and information use in a modern manual assembly environment, and how these issues affect human operators, quality and productivity. The overall objectives of the research were to gain further knowledge on how attention affects the internal reject rate, to investigate these phenomena in industrial and laboratory environments and finally to propose a suitable evaluation method to be utilised at the design stage of an information system.Studies were performed with the purpose of investigating how the assembly personnel were affected by the information and how it affected quality and productivity. The studies were performed in an assembly plant and in the laboratory. Quantitative data collection included 10 days and nights of production where the information impact on quality was investigated. Connected to this study was a qualitative survey performed among 171 persons from the assembly personnel. The laboratory study took place during three days, approximately eight hours each day. It involved 30 persons, all experienced assembly workers from the reference assembly plant. The focus of this study was how information affected the personnel and thereby the productivity.The findings revealed that information affected the quality rates and productivity and that this can be linked to how the information is presented as well as when the information is presented. It was possible to link these findings to the outcome of a successful information search process, and to conclude that a use of an evaluation method or work process during the product lifecycle could have made it possible to avoid some of the problems connected to the information presentation. This is the basis for a proposed pragmatic evaluation method. The method was tested as a support system during the design of a prototype user interface to be used at the pilot plant.The major contribution of this research is the connection between attention and quality as well as the connection between attention and productivity. Knowledge regarding the importance of presenting the information at the right time must also be regarded as an important and proven contribution.
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| 12. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar
(författare)
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Intuitiv montering
- 2012
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Ingår i: Teknik och tillväxt. - : Swerea IVF. ; :2, s. 24-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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| 13. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Lean and its impact on workplace design
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of NES 2013, 45th Nordic Ergonomics & Human Factors Society conference, Iceland, August 2013. - 9789979723974
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lean analyses and following corrections of workstations are typically performed reactively, i.e. solving problems that already exist. However, there are benefits of enhanced proactivity related to the consideration of lean and human factors, as this would reduce the need for updating workstations. The approach presented here utilises a company specific, reactive lean evaluation methodology, but applied proactively, in the workstation design phase. Results gave that many assessment items in fact can be proactively addressed. This way, ergonomic and lean workstations that support quality, performance and wellbeing for a diversity of workers, can be built right the first time.
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| 14. |
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| 15. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Reduce of ergonomics design flaws through virtual methods.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 39th annual Nordic Ergonomic Society Conference, Lysekil, Sweden, October 1-3, CD-ROM.. - : Nordic Ergonomics Society.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A work method for product and production system development that includes virtual methods for ergonomics analysis is presented and argued.The proposed work method is described and illustrated with an example,which the authors believe shows how a virtual work method can contributeto a better workplace design, and thereby, if utilised, would have prevented some of the design flaws that existed in the actual final product design in the example. This paper will also present the outcome, gain, and setbacks thatare connected to the use of virtual work analysis methods within a design process.
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| 16. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Supporting Attention in Manual Assembly and its Influence on Quality
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 3rd Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE) International Conference. - Louisville : AHFE International. - 9780979643545 ; , s. 460-469
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Modern manufacturing information systems allow fast distribution of, and access to, information. One of the main purposes with an information system within manual assembly is to improve product quality, i.e. to ensure that assembly errors are as few as possible. Not only must an information system contain the right information, it must also provide it at the right time and in the right place. The paper highlights some of the concerns related to the design and use of information systems in manual assembly. The paper describes a study that focuses on the correlation between active information seeking behaviour and assembly errors. The results are founded on both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study indicates that by using simplified information carriers, with certain characteristics, the assembly personnel more easily could interpret the information, could to a higher degree be prompted (triggered) about product variants and could also be able to prepare physically and mentally for approaching products arriving along the assembly line. These conditions had positive influence on quality, i.e. gave a reduction of assembly errors.
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| 17. |
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| 18. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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The impact of information presentation on work environment and product quality : a case study
- 2008
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 40th annual Nordic Ergonomic Society Conference. - Reykjavik : NES.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In manufacturing, it is vital that production personnel have the right information at the right time and place. The main purpose of information delivered to a workplace is to support the worker in a way that contributes to the quality of the product as well as productivity. However, when information processing becomes a large part of the workload, the time for core workplace activities is reduced. A study was conducted at a heavy diesel engine assembly line with the aim of finding how the assembly personnel interact with the information presented to them in their work context and how this affected quality and productivity. The study focused on four assembly stations and involved 70 assembly workers over a period of ten days and nights during which 2600 standard and customised variant engines were assembled. The main feature of the study was a change in the information system that reduced the amount of data and information provided, changed the location of the information, and modified the timing of information presentation. Results from the study show that the information presented at an assembly workstation influences the quality as well as the assembly process itself. The number of internal rejects decreased by 40% on two of the stations and on the other two stations no errors occurred during the study. This influence on the assembly process is of great importance from a quality perspective; by changing the information system and thereby the workers’ behaviour, the errors were reduced significantly. Whilst errors are few and detected internally, redressing these errors is a waste. Furthermore, an adequate information system boosts operator confidence and reduces cognitive stress levels. The information system used in this study was relatively simple (simpler than the regular system) and based on colour coded cards. Nevertheless, the impact was major and this indicates that when designing an information system for mass-customised assembly, a wide range of solutions needs to be considered. A study in final assembly of heavy trucks is planned for the future where the ultimate goal is to arrive at worker and task tailored presentation of information in customised assembly.
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| 19. |
- Bäckstrand, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Variants = Customer value?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Standards News Magazine. - : Volvo Group. ; :2, s. 17-19
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Tidskriftsartikel (populärvet., debatt m.m.)
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| 20. |
- Case, Keith, et al.
(författare)
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An assembly line information system study
- 2008
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Ingår i: Advances in Manufacturing Technology – XXII. - Uxbridge : Brunel University. - 9781902316604 ; , s. 181-188
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)
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| 21. |
- Harlin, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
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Flexible balancing of assembly systems and its impact on performance and human factors – a scenario-based analysis
- 2013
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Ingår i: Proceedings of NES 2013, 45th Nordic Ergonomics & Human Factors Society conference, Iceland, August 2013. - 9789979723974
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased production complexity challenges traditional methods for planning and preparation of assembly. This paper addresses alternative approaches for assembly line balancing and an assembly plant area was studied in a cross-disciplinary scenario-based analysis. Results show that the complexity in products, operations, flow, and organisation increases setting new demands on developing line balancing methods, including meeting the requirements and understanding the impact, e.g. competences, organization, support functions. Further research is suggested for increase knowledge of what impact different line balancing concepts has on performance, human work and working conditions as well as development of strategies and guiding principles for dynamic planning.
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| 22. |
- Högberg, Dan, et al.
(författare)
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Industrial customisation of digital human modelling tools
- 2008
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Ingår i: International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics. - : InderScience Publishers. - 1741-539X .- 1741-5403. ; 3:1, s. 53-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Computer aided visualisation and simulation enables earlyevaluation of important design parameters of future products and productionsystems. Typically, humans affect the system performance, and in order toachieve the expected system efficiency ergonomics needs to be considered inthe design process in addition to the more technical or logistical matters.Hence, there is a call for ergonomics to be a natural part of the product andproduction development process, also at virtual stages. Three examples of thedevelopment of Digital Human Modelling-(DHM)-based company-specific
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| 23. |
- Högberg, Dan, et al.
(författare)
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Industrial customisation of digital human modelling tools
- 2008
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Ingår i: International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics. - 1741-5403 .- 1741-539X. ; 3:1, s. 53-70
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Computer aided visualization and simulation enables early evaluation of important design parameters of future products and production systems. Typically, humans affect the system performance, and in order to achieve the expected system efficiency ergonomics needs to beconsidered in the design process in addition to the more technical or logistical matters. Hence, there is a call for ergonomics to be a natural part of the product and production development process,also at virtual stages. Three examples of the development of DHM (digital human modelling) based company-specific ergonomics evaluation methods and work processes are portrayed, argued anddiscussed. These illustrate the use of DHM tools for performing static work and occupantpackaging analyses, as well as customizing activities made for the implementation of the tools in companies’ work processes. This is followed by a discussion of future needs of DHM tools including the call for ergonomics methods for evaluating full work cycles.
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Högberg, Dan, et al.
(författare)
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Towards Dynamic Ergonomics Analysis of Work Sequences in Virtual Environments
- 2007
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (2007 FAIM), Philadelphia, USA, June 2007. - 9781427620927 - 142762092X ; , s. 581-588
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Computer aided visualization and simulation enables early assessment of important design parameters of future products and production systems. Typically, humans affect the system performance, and in order to achieve the expected system efficiency ergonomics needs to be considered in the design process in addition to the more technical or logistical matters. Hence, there is a call for ergonomics to be a natural part of the product and production system design process, also at virtual stages. This paper portrays and discusses two cases where company-specific ergonomics guidelines were implemented into digital human modeling systems for performing static work analyses. Albeit useful, the approach of evaluating static postures gives a reduced picture of the actual situation since the work usually involves a series of movements and tasks. A recently commenced research project aims to enhance knowledge on how to estimate accumulated ergonomic load over time. This knowledge is eventually to be implemented in DHM tools to support objective ergonomics analysis of complete work sequences in virtual environments.
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| 26. |
- Mattsson, Sandra, 1984, et al.
(författare)
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Testing Complexity Index – a Method for Measuring Perceived Production Complexity
- 2012
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Ingår i: Procedia CIRP. - : Elsevier BV. - 2212-8271. ; 3:1, s. 394-399, s. 394-399
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Complexcity Index (CXI) is a method developed to help manufacturing companies to describe complexity as experienced and to assist in reducing the effects it has on operator performance. The method is targeting the perceived complexity and was tested at Volvo Cars Corporation. Reproducibility of the method could be seen between respondents and was considered a valuable tool for visualizing problem-areas at the stations. It is suggested that objective data could be one way to identify which stations should be tested in-depth with the CXI method, and that CXI could be used for suggesting improvements or appropriate support tools.
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
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| 29. |
- Thorvald, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Information Presentation in Manual Assembly – A Cognitive Ergonomics Analysis
- 2008
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Ingår i: Ergonomics is a lifestyle = Vinnuvistfræði er lífstíll. - Kópavogur : Vinnuvistfræðifélag Íslands. - 9789979704713
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In current practice, information is often presented to the operators under the false belief that more information leads to better quality. However, one must consider the cognitive capacity limitations of the human operator and design information systems based on these constraints. Important questions include what medium to use; audio, visual, paper based or computer screen systems? Also the syntax in terms of symbols and text, together with information content and the formatting of the system are important factors that will require much focus to result in a good information system. The paper describes a case where paper-based assembly instructions of a major automotive company have been studied, focusing on information design and cognitive ergonomics in information seeking behaviour. Within the case study, the paper-based information system has been evaluated with two focuses: automatic information behaviour (automatism) and consistency of information presentation in the operator graphical user interface (GUI). It is suggested that systems that do not offer clear and easy-to-find entry points to information will eventually cause quality issues in production.
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| 30. |
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| 31. |
- Thorvald, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Syntax and Sequencing of Assembly Instructions
- 2012
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Ingår i: Advances in Usability Evaluation. - : CRC Press. - 9781466560543 - 9781466560550 ; , s. 266-275
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Minimalism of design is a concept often found in Human-computer interaction (HCI). It is a concept that emphasizes the presentation of as little information as possible to reduce the perceptual strain and visual search of the subject. However, in a manufacturing context, such as in manual assembly, state of the art information presentation is rarely minimalistic. Rather, organizations tend to push out as much information as possible without necessarily concerning themselves with how this information is presented to, or perceived by, the worker. This leads to a situation that is far from ideal from an HCI perspective, likely to reduce human performance and wellbeing, in turn negatively affecting overall production system performance. Obviously, there are several potential ways of addressing this issue. Perhaps the most evident way is to simply reduce the amount of information that is presented and only present the essentials. This paper will investigate and discuss how information presentation can be minimized without reducing the information content through information syntax and layout.
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| 32. |
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