=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2009/fmt-proceedings-2017-paper17
|storemode=property
|title=A Variable Low-cost Platform for Conducting Work Design Experiments
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2009/fmt-proceedings-2017-paper17.pdf
|volume=Vol-2009
|authors=Hendrik Stern,Till Becker
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/fmt/SternB17
}}
==A Variable Low-cost Platform for Conducting Work Design Experiments==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2009/fmt-proceedings-2017-paper17.pdf
A Variable Low-cost Platform for Conducting
Work Design Experiments
Hendrik Stern Till Becker
Faculty of Production Engineering Faculty of Production Engineering
University of Bremen, University of Bremen,
& &
BIBA - Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH BIBA - Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik GmbH
at the University of Bremen at the University of Bremen
Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany Hochschulring 20, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Email: ste@biba.uni-bremen.de Email: tbe@biba.uni-bremen.de
Abstract—Due to the change of manufacturing work caused manufacturing process requires us to keep the production
by the introduction of cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) process ongoing. This leads to preconditions for the experi-
further work design research is necessary. We propose to conduct ment setup which may influence the experiment outcome and
work design experiments in order to design the future work
places for the requirements of highly computational and cognitive subsequently biases the results. Second, running experiments
tasks. Thus, we developed a low-cost experiment platform for an in the actual manufacturing process are cost-intensive due to
easy setup of experiments. First, we present a brief overview of its disturbing effects on the previous production process and
work design research methods and recent experiments. Second, the incalculable outputs.
we present the experiment platform in detail and show how to
Therefore, a different way for conducting work design
setup work design experiments on it.
experiments is needed. We propose to use a variable, low-
I. M OTIVATION cost experiment platform to easily (pre)-test work design ideas
without the mentioned harmful effects on the production key
Many production resources and processes experience a figures. The experiment platform shall be applicable to a wide
change towards cyber-physical production systems. This range of work design starting points. Due to its separation
means a combination of physical entities with computational from the production process and its re-usability, researchers
elements in order to make them intelligent [1]. It leads to are enabled to gain insights on the effects of particular work
new products and processes, such as autonomous driving or design ideas in an easier way.
smart homes, and also to smart production systems [2] [3]. In this paper, we present such an experiment platform from
These smart factories will change the way of working as a technical point of view. Alongside, we focus on work design
well. There will be new work areas and a new task allocation research experiments and how to run them on the experiment
between humans and machines. Besides, that development platform.
goes along with a highly-increased computerisation. Hence,
for example, workers will have to deal with smart glasses, II. W ORK D ESIGN R ESEARCH
wearables, tablets, exo-skeletons, and more. To sum up, the
human work will get more cognitive, more digitalised and less What are the standard, classic approaches to design human
physical [4]. work? From a human-oriented point of view work design
In order to facilitate and support this development, we need deals with the creation of jobs, which enable a safe and
new work area design principles in order to enable a human- neither physical nor mental exhaustive way of working [6]. For
oriented work in the future factories. Therefore, our research example, the tasks should be feasible, reasonable or satisfying
deals with the primary research question: How do the work [7]. Besides, work area design is concerned with the creation
areas for human workers in the future factories have to be of varying and manifold tasks. Therefore, tasks should be
designed? as complete as possible. That means that tasks, for example,
A suitable method to answer this research question is to should have a clear objective, allow an autonomous decision
conduct work design experiments [5]. By experiments, work about the tools to be used, and should provide a result review
design researchers are able to test different work design setups [6] [8].
regarding their effects on key figures of interest, such as But what about work area design for the future factories?
work performance, percentage of errors, work load perception, We consider the standard work area design ideas as still
or motivation. In practice, when preparing experiments, a being important but not fully sufficient anymore. Therefore,
lot of preconditions and side effects have to be considered. we suggest to add new work area design ideas to the previous
First, implementing a work design experiment into the actual ones. These new criteria focus on the design of the interface
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A Variable Low-cost Platform for Conducting Work Design Experiments
between the humans and the machines, such as use of as- Classic job design starting points
sistance systems, illustration, robustness, or feedback [4]. In
Work environment Work equipment
order to gain insights on their influence on work performance
and perception further work design research is needed. Work tasks Work space
Work organisation and work place
A. Methods
Work design research is mostly carried out by empirical
methods. Two of the main options are observation and ques-
Additional job design starting points for CPPS
tioning. Observation can be distinguished by several criteria
[5] [9]: Usability User interface
1) Open or hidden observation: Open refers to a situation Interlinked and Man-machine-interaction
automated production
where the observed persons are aware of being observed
(due to the presence of an observer or a visible camera).
Fig. 1. Work design starting point in CPPS
Hidden refers to a situation, where the observed persons
are not aware of being observed.
2) Participating or non-participating observation: In case performance and mental work reception [10]. Another study
of a participating observation the researcher is working dealt with the workers acceptance of head-mounted displays.
with the test persons cooperatively. In case of a non- The authors described a relationship between technology ac-
participating observation, the researcher stays passive. ceptance and wearing comfort or view restrictions [11]. An
3) Systematic or non-systematic observation: A systematic experimental investigation by Ganßauge was concerned with
observation is performed following a fixed and stan- the light conditions for surveillance tasks. They showed the
dardized scheme and stays constant when repeated. A impact of different light conditions on human vigilance [12].
non-systematic observation is explorative and can vary More studies further investigated topics around the mental
if re-executed. stress related to cognitive tasks [13], on trust issues towards
4) Artificial or natural situation: In case of an artificial autonomous systems [14], or on the examination of mental
situation, the investigated work design setup has been stress in factories [15].
created for research purposes only. In case of a natural The topics of these studies show some work design starting
situation the investigation takes place on the job directly. points (i.e. aspects of work design, which are necessary for
5) Self- or external observation: A self-observation is human-oriented work design). As also discussed in [4], most
present, if the test person is observing him- or herself. contributions in work design research have been made prior
In an external situation, the researcher observes the test to the rise of modern, cyber-physical production systems.
person. Therefore, they are mainly dealing with partially obsolete
In human factors and work design research the mainly used understandings of manufacturing work. For example, highly
method is an open, non-participating external observation [5]. physical-related work design actions such as the consideration
For our experiment platform we therefore decided to stay with of required brawn, which is necessary for executing specific
this proven setup. Further, we chose to perform the obser- tasks, are mentioned. However, since the majority of physical
vations in a systematic way, which increases the reliability work tasks will be automated in cyber-physical systems, this
and usability of the results [5]. Finally, the observations shall topic might not be as important for the major part of future
take place within an artificial situation. As outlined earlier, work places as it was before. Thus, additional work design ac-
that way we can separate the experiments from the ongoing tions, which fit the new situation of cyber-physical production
manufacturing process. systems, have to be considered. Figure 1 shows a summary on
Besides, we combined the observation part with the other work design actions for future production systems.
main research method, the questioning. The experiment plat-
form offers the possibility of including one or more question- III. E XPERIMENT PLATFORM
naires into the experiments at any time.
A. Technical and functional description
B. Experiments The experiment platform is mainly based on a Raspberry
Conducting experiments as a way of applying observations Pi 2 B microcontroller in combination which a 7 inch touch
and questioning is a common research method in human display. The experiment software is a self-developed Python
factors and ergonomics science. Their topics and research program, running on a regular Linux operating system for
goals cover numerous different aspects. In the following, we Raspberry Pi. The test person is able to communicate with
provide a brief overview of topics of interest and experiments the system via the touch display. Prior to the experiment, the
conducted recently: investigator sets up the work task or the work setup to be
Jeske et al. did a study on the influence of different task investigated. During the experiment, the system automatically
descriptions on the learning process of workers. They showed collects data about the test person’s performance (observation)
a relationship between the design of task descriptions and work and records answers in the questionnaires (questioning). After
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A Variable Low-cost Platform for Conducting Work Design Experiments
(2) Touch Display
(3) Display Case
(1) Raspberry Pi
(9) USB WiFi Stick
(8) USB Power Port
(7) LED Strip
(4) Cubical box
(5) Powerbank
(6) XBee Unit
Fig. 4. Cross section of the experiment platform
an LED strip, and wires are stored. We use a standard USB
powerbank (5) for power supply of the whole system. The
XBee unit (6) is a radio module for a reliable data transfer
and meant to be used for an optional communication between
Fig. 2. Experiment platform two or more experiment systems. Additionally, the LED strip
(7) is used for illuminating the experiment system and can
be used as a part of the experiments, e.g. as a supporting
the experiment, a results file is provided to the investigator. visible effect. All components can be controlled by the Python
Figures 2 and 3 show the system and its functional diagram. program. Besides, we installed an USB power port (8) outside
The Raspberry Pi (1) is mounted to the touch display (2) and of the box to have an easily reachable charging option. A
to a display case (3). Further, that component is mounted on USB WiFi stick (9) is used for setting up the experiment and
a cubical box (4). In order to fit the budget, we used a plastic for data exchange with the investigator’s computer. Figure 4
lottery box as a basis and a case for the experiment platform. It shows a cross section of the system.
came with a prefabricated horizontal slot (which is meant to be Due to the use of popular electronic components, such as the
used as an opening for lots or sheets), which we use for cable raspberry pi or a USB powerbank, the total price (234 euros)
feedthrough. Inside of the cubical box a battery, an XBee unit, of the experiment platform is very affordable. It is within the
range to standard tablet computers, which could be seen as
an alternative solution. But, based on its modular design, the
Test person Raspberry pi based platform can be modified and extended
input and work tasks and
TABLE I
answers questionnaires
M ATERIAL LIST
Component approx. Price in e
Experiment
Raspberry Pi 2 B 40
platform
7 Inch Touch Display 75
SD Card 12
WiFi USB Stick 8
key setup and Display case 22
figures configuration
Cubical box 30
USB Powerbank 20
USB cables 10
Investigator
Jumper cable 2
LED Strip 15
Fig. 3. Functional diagram of the system Total 234
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A Variable Low-cost Platform for Conducting Work Design Experiments
more easily. Therefore it increases the fit of the system to the
1 Skills questionnaire 2 Work pages
desired experiment. Table 1 gives an overview on the used
parts and estimated retail prices. • ----------------
• ----------------
B. Setup of experiments • ----------------
One of the main goals while creating the experiment plat-
form was to include the option to easily change the experiment task execution
setup. This way, the subject of the experiment can be varied
task description
in order to test the effects of these variations. Further, main
task illustration
parts of the software can be re-used for another investigation
with a different subject of the experiment.
Therefore, an experiment process follows a sequence of ------------------------- • ----------------
pages, which are shown on the touch display. A sequence ------------------------- • ----------------
------------------------- • ----------------
consists of questionnaire pages, text and information pages,
and task pages. They can be arranged in any order. The test
person faces these pages step by step and can move back 4 Feedback 3 Reception
and forth along these pages (with restrictions). Depending on questionnaire
the page type, the test person receives instructions, is asked
to answer questions, or is asked to fulfil a task or solve a Fig. 5. Exemplary sequence of pages
problem. These answers, results, and solutions are recorded
by the experiment system. Further, several key figures such
as the time spent on every page or the number of touches on
every page are measured. All data is stored in a results file.
Exemplary, an experimental investigation on the influence
of work design elements in cyber-physical production systems
shall be presented. The investigation will be conducted using
the experiment platform. First, the test persons fill out a
general skills questionnaire. This information is used for a
general classification of the test persons. Second, test persons
get to the task description and the task illustration. Further they
are asked to perform the task execution, i.e. to solve a given
scheduling problem. Third, the test persons answer a second
questionnaire. The questions deal with their reception of the
tasks regarding motivation, task complexity, or task difficulty.
Fourth, the test persons get to a results page. Here they see
a comparison of their solution and the optimal solution. Via
the experiment setup, particular work design elements can Fig. 6. Experiment platforms in use
be switched on or off in order to test their impact. Figure
5 illustrates this process. Finally, figure 6 shows a situation
during the experiment execution.
several experiment platform can be combined by using the
IV. P OSSIBILITIES AND O UTLOOK radio module function and arranged as a group work exercise.
Besides the exemplary experiment setup presented earlier, Thus, skills in collaborative work can be enhanced. Besides,
the experiment platform can be used for other experiments job-related training can be carried out by using the experiment
or purposes as well. Here, both the work design elements of platform. Instead of introducing changes in the manufacturing
interest and the tasks to work on can be varied. For example, work on the job, the platform enables a decoupled test envi-
alternatives to the scheduling tasks could be the creation of ronment.
batches. Via the touch display the test person could be asked As already outlined earlier, the experiment platform contains
to pool orders or production resources in order to optimize a xBee unit to enable communication among two or more
the material flow and subsequently the logistical key figures. platforms. This component has not been integrated into the
Moreover, one or more experiment platforms could be used software yet. We plan to include this function in the next
to model picking tasks. Then, for instance, a touch display research steps in order to make experiments and training
represents a shelf compartment. In this case, the test person is with multiple test persons or platforms available. Additionally,
asked to mark the requested items of a bill of materials. after finalization of experiment platform, we plan to provide
Further, the experiment platform is suitable for non- the software under an open source license for interested
investigative purposes such as training of workers. Here, the researchers and practitioners.
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A Variable Low-cost Platform for Conducting Work Design Experiments
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The work of Hendrik Stern and Till Becker has been
supported by the Institutional Strategy of the University
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