Knowledge and Skill Driven Manufacturing of High Value Added Products: Human Aspects

Production systems are getting more complex. Introduction of new technologies, new products and production paradigms have an effect also on system design and how human operators collaborate with these complex intelligent systems. At the same time global competition, customer demand for personalised products, and shorter life cycles of products make profitable automation and information management on the factory floor demanding. The challenges are most important in labour intensive small series production, where old-fashioned ways of production are no longer competitive in the West. There is a need for a new Smart Manufacturing Paradigm to fulfil needs and create new ways of working. The authors are searching for methods to create smart manufacturing systems and enabling technologies in order to meet the need, focusing on the role of the human operator. This paper is based on the authors' experience of industrial collaboration, a literature study, and ongoing feasibility studies at VTT.