MANUWORK | Balancing Human and Automation Levels for the Manufacturing Workplaces of the Future

Summary

Future manufacturing will be characterized by the complementarity between humans and automation, especially regarding the production of highly customizable products. This requires new methods and tools for the design and operation of optimized manufacturing workplaces in terms of ergonomics, safety, efficiency, complexity management and work satisfaction.

MANUWORK aims to focus on the development of an integrated platform for the management of manufacturing workplaces of the future. This will be done through development, implementation and testing of the following technological components:

  1. A tool for determining optimal human-automation levels for load balancing, based on methods for the assessment of physical, sensorial and cognitive capabilities of humans, the prediction of evolution of human skills/capabilities using Petri Nets and the modeling of automation skills.
  2. A framework for the evaluation of worker satisfaction, safety and health, based on methods for evaluating psychometrics and socio-organizational parameters and the safe human-automation symbiosis.
  3. A framework for the adaptive shop-floor support and industrial social networking based on an Augmented Reality tool for the Human-Automation Interface, an industrial social networking platform and methods for knowledge capturing and social analytics.

A critical target will be the active and passive use of information from workers, without storing any personal data, in order to maintain the confidentiality of the person involved. This will be done through the direct use of data for the calculation of factors of workplace models for the dynamic assignment of workers based on the groups they belong to (e.g. age group).

Finally, MANUWORK will test and validate the research and technological developments in three industrial pilot demonstrators (aerospace, automotive and people with disabilities), following an industrial pre-pilot validation (machine tool sector).

More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: http://www.manuwork.eu
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/723711
Start date: 01-10-2016
End date: 31-03-2020
Total budget - Public funding: 4 813 250,00 Euro - 4 813 250,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

Future manufacturing will be characterized by the complementarity between humans and automation, especially regarding the production of highly customizable products. This requires new methods and tools for the design and operation of optimized manufacturing workplaces in terms of ergonomics, safety, efficiency, complexity management and work satisfaction. MANUWORK aims to focus on the development of an integrated platform for the management of manufacturing workplaces of the future. This will be done through development, implementation and testing of the following technological components:
1. A tool for determining optimal human-automation levels for load balancing, based on methods for the assessment of physical, sensorial and cognitive capabilities of humans, the prediction of evolution of human skills/capabilities using Petri Nets and the modeling of automation skills.
2. A framework for the evaluation of worker satisfaction, safety and health, based on methods for evaluating psychometrics and socio-organizational parameters and the safe human-automation symbiosis.
3. A framework for the adaptive shop-floor support and industrial social networking based on an Augmented Reality tool for the Human-Automation Interface, an industrial social networking platform and methods for knowledge capturing and social analytics.
A critical target will be the active and passive use of information from workers, without storing any personal data, in order to maintain the confidentiality of the person involved. This will be done through the direct use of data for the calculation of factors of workplace models for the dynamic assignment of workers based on the groups they belong to (e.g. age group). Finally, MANUWORK will test and validate the research and technological developments in three industrial pilot demonstrators (aerospace, automotive and people with disabilities), following an industrial pre-pilot validation (machine tool sector).

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

FOF-04-2016

Update Date

27-10-2022
Geographical location(s)
Structured mapping
Unfold all
/
Fold all
Result items:

With the provision of the right tools, every person can become part of a manufacturing system, including people with disabilities. These people are eager to work and feel productive which can affect global industry very positively. 

The developed tool, has been applied in VOLVO, utilizing an offline production line, similar to the actual one. The perception time of the model has been reduced. Notably, more aspects of the model have been taken into consideration compared to the conventional simulation representation currently used. Finally, collaborative design of the simulation model has been rendered feasible, as a team of production managers can group and discuss on the same 3D model by making annotations. 

Result items:

Project clusters are groups of projects that cooperate by organising events, generating joint papers, etc...

Comment:

MANUWORK Augmentede Reality based information distribution system will support the operators/workers with delivering work instructions at the working station. This will help operators coping with high product variance and customization