Digitally-Enhanced Shu-Ha-Ri Learning Cycle for Assembly Procedures in Smart-Lean Workstations Chapter in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • The impact of Digital/Smart Technologies on Lean Manufacturing has brought significant improvements in terms of both performance and working conditions for assembly operators. To this matter, one of the aspects that have been most positively affected by this Digital Transformation concerns ¿Human-Workstation Interaction (HWI)¿. Whereas before the Digital Transformation of assembly processes, workstations were mostly characterised by entirely manual (human-intensive) operations, the advent of modern Digital/Smart Technologies has provided the blue-collar worker with fundamental assisting tools in the execution of job tasks, both from a physical and cognitive point-of-view. Such assisting tools are aimed not only at supporting the quality of work but also the ¿on-the-job¿ training and development of the workforce in real-time. Hence, when it comes to workforce ¿on-the-job¿ training and development, the Lean philosophy offers a unique learning model, known as the ¿Shu-Ha-Ri¿ cycle, consisting of three phases: (i) ¿learning the rule¿, (ii) ¿mastering it¿, and (iii) ¿breaking it down to make it better¿. However, modern workstations, whether enhanced with Digital/Smart and/or Lean tools, are not always able to support all phases of this learning cycle. In this regard, this paper proposes a ¿Digitally-Enhanced Shu-Ha-Ri Learning Cycle¿ model that can support in the definition of which Digital/Smart Technologies are necessary to ensure that assembly operators are properly trained and developed in the emerging Digital Lean Manufacturing World. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2024.

publication date

  • January 1, 2024