Analysis of the effects of group size and learning on manual assembly performance

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openAccess

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Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

A4 Artikkeli konferenssijulkaisussa

Date

2019

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

10
964-973

Series

25th International Conference on Production Research Manufacturing Innovation: Cyber Physical Manufacturing, August 9-14, 2019, Chicago, Illinois (USA), Procedia Manufacturing, Volume 39

Abstract

On the basis of a prior experimental study, this paper performs a further analysis of the effects of group size (one to four workers) and learning (up to four repetitions per group) on manual assembly performance. More specifically, this paper aims to investigate the factors and the extent to which they affect reduced assembly time as a function of repetitions and reduced productivity per worker as a function of increasing group size. The ultimate aim of this study is to increase the understanding of how working in groups of different sizes develops through repetitions when workers are free to organize their work themselves. The results from the video-based analysis show that with a new, relatively complex product, instructions play a crucial role in learning and the losses caused by the inexperience of workers decrease rapidly through repetitions. Unequal temporal workloads between workers in larger groups increase idleness and cause a significant loss of productivity. The findings presented in this paper give insights for industrial managers when assigning workers to products in variable assembly production of highly customized products.

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Keywords

group size, learning, manual assembly, productivity, activity analysis

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Citation

Peltokorpi, J & Niemi, E 2019, Analysis of the effects of group size and learning on manual assembly performance . in 25th International Conference on Production Research Manufacturing Innovation: Cyber Physical Manufacturing, August 9-14, 2019, Chicago, Illinois (USA) . vol. 39, Procedia Manufacturing, vol. 39, Elsevier, pp. 964-973, International Conference on Production Research, Chicago, Illinois, United States, 09/08/2019 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.02.001