Högskolan i Skövde

In this paper, we report the findings from an extensive case study in a manufacturing SME. We have followed their strategic work and organizational development since Autumn 2022 and we are continuously monitoring and investigating their digital transformation endeavour, with a particular interest in the importance of a digital strategy and how the management group is executing the digital strategy. In addition, we also account for the development activities they have initiated and how they use the strategy as a beacon for e.g., prioritizations activities and resource, as well as subsequent fundamental changes they implemented in their value creating and supportive processes. The case study includes a rich empirical material, originating from many site visits, where more than 25 interviews have been conducted alongside many meetings/workshops with the board and management group, detailed studies of strategic documents, product portfolios and Gemba walks. The paper also relates our findings and contextualizes findings from our case study to a set of important strategic management capabilities being identified as part of the work process. Finally, we also discuss some lessons learned in relation to the actual implementation of the digital strategy and their strategic management capabilities as well as propose some ideas for future work, including the importance of considering the internal tensions caused by the digital transformation endeavour and manifested via the digital strategy.

When searching for information and gaining more knowledge about AI, smart industry, Industry 4.0 or other similar emerging technology areas, one may easily be overwhelmed by the vast amount. It is important not to forget that these emerging technologies, their possible implementations and abilities, cannot be fully understood, used and applied without context, i.e. a broader perspective, not only technology focused, is needed. Such broadened perspective could be understood as digitalization or digital transformation (DT) covering not only the technology itself but a broad scope of the business and organization.  But even with a solid understanding of the technology, domain, processes and value chain, it is not easy to move forward with digital solutions transforming the business. Not least, this challenge is a reality for many small- and medium sized manufacturing companies (SME) who often have limited resources both in terms of financial strength, and in number of employees. To keep competitiveness, SMEs need to continuously adopt and implement such emerging technologies and methods in their business. Though most research on DT do not focus processes and implementation at SMEs. In this paper, we present our work on developing a DT framework. Our work is aiming SMEs in manufacturing and our primary target has been family-owned businesses studying practical implementations of digitalisation initiatives. The paper describes how the framework has developed from the initial versions, mainly based in literature, and how implementations at SMEs, along with contemporary publications, iteratively have developed and validated it.

Human–robot collaboration solutions have gradually become popular, in which some tasks are performed by robots and others by humans. Designing such a production cell requires simultaneous consideration of human-centered factors, machine-focused mechanical design, and system engineering in the early planning stages. However, different objectives often conflict (e.g., speeding up a robot can improve productivity while compromising energy efficiency), and the same variables can affect multiple models and simulations simultaneously (e.g., a machine where humans and robots collaborate can influence both the operator’s working posture and the robot’s cycle time). Therefore, multidisciplinary tools and multi-level optimization are needed to model, simulate, and optimize elements such as production flows, robotics, and human operators to balance objectives related to cycle time, energy consumption, and worker well-being. In this paper, we formulate an approach that integrates different simulation tools and a bi-level optimization framework to balance worker well-being, cycle time, and energy consumption. We demonstrate this approach through a real industrial case of designing a work cell for elevator pipe assembly in a grain conveying system, where ABB RobotStudio is used for robotic simulation and IPS IMMA for human simulation. IBM ILOG CPLEX Optimization Studio is employed for the top-level task allocation optimization, and a set of results is presented based on data extracted from the lower-level robot-centered optimization. The results show that our approach can effectively balance different objectives by incorporating detailed information from different levels of the work cell design.

Vi berättar här om våra erfarenheter gällande utformning av examinationer från fyra distanskurser riktade till yrkesverksamma. Den utmaning som adresseras gäller hur examinationerna kan utformas också som en läraktivitet, inte endast som kunskapskontroll.

Examinationen kan vara ett kursmoment som endast kontrollerar studentens kunskaper mot uppsatta kursmål, men det kan också vara, och bör vara, en möjlighet att höja och stärka elevernas kunskaper och uppfyllande av kursmål. För att examinationsuppgifterna inte bara ska utgöra kunskapskontroller utan också syfta till mot en högre Bloom-nivå har vi utformat dessa så att studenterna med hjälp av reflektion resonerar kring i kursen presenterad teori samt egna erfarenheter från nuvarande eller tidigare arbetsplatser. Studenterna reflekterar över hur deras arbetsplatser skulle kunna utvecklas utifrån de målbilder som diskuterats under kursen. Alla fyra kurserna har två examinationsuppgifter, en skriftlig rapport om 2 hp och ett onlineseminarium om 1 hp.

Examination – skriftlig rapport

Den skriftliga rapporten består av relativt öppna/ostrukturerade frågeställningar, där studenten utifrån självvalda upplevda situationer analyserar och reflekterar över frågorna. För att kunna göra detta krävs att de kombinerar tidigare erfarenheter med de teorier och metoder som behandlas i kursen. Examinationsuppgiften består av 4-6 frågor som lämnas in som en skriftlig rapport.

Examination - seminarium

Kurserna avslutas med ett onlineseminarium som är den avslutande examensuppgiften. Under varje seminarium deltar tre studenter som var och en presenterar ett case från sin arbetsplats och hur individerna och/eller arbetsplatsen skulle kunna utvecklas utifrån vad som diskuterats under kursen. Den som presenterar argumenterar om och hur de teorier och annat som diskuterats under kursen skulle kunna ligga till grund för vidareutveckling av både individer och arbetsplatsen som helhet. Efter att ha lyssnat på en presentation på 8-10 minuter diskuterar de tre studenterna sedan tillsammans. De brainstormar och reflekterar över identifierade möjligheter och utmaningar. När den första diskussionen avslutas presenterar nästa student sitt case och så vidare.

Avslutning

Dessa examinationer har skattats högt av studenterna där de lyfter fram vikten av att få diskutera både sina egna tankar och möjligheten att få insyn i andras reflektioner. Reflektionerna i rapporterna och utbytet under samtalen i seminarierna har visat sig utgöra både en god avstämningspunkt gällande uppnådda kursmålen samtidigt som både vår egen erfarenhet och studenternas utvärderingar indikerar ett tydligt lärande.

Ergonomics evaluation methods are typically used for assessing risks of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and the physical well-being of workers. Traditionally, these methods rely on assessors observing workers performing tasks and assessing potential risks based on observational ergonomics evaluation methods like the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) and the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA). While observational methods provide a structured risk assessment framework, they often depend on subjective evaluations, leading to inconsistent assessments between different ergonomists.

This study examines the application of motion capture technology to enhance the objectivity and efficiency of ergonomics evaluations and to enable the use of direct measurement ergonomics evaluation methods. The study was conducted at a medium-sized enterprise assembly station, where a worker’s tasks were recorded using motion capture technology. The captured motions were input into the Digital Human Modelling (DHM) tool IPS IMMA, and ergonomic assessments were performed using RULA, REBA, and the Arm Force Field (AFF) method.

The study followed a process comprising three main stages: data collection, data processing, and ergonomics evaluation. The recorded data were processed into XML format, imported into IPS IMMA, and exported to the Ergonomics in Production Platform (EPP) for RULA and REBA evaluations and to a script for AFF evaluations. The integration of these methods improved the precision and reliability of ergonomics assessments by replacing subjective estimates with direct measurements. The findings demonstrate the potential of combining motion capture with DHM tools to enhance ergonomics evaluation and support decisionmaking in workstation design and automation.

Inledning

Vi berättar här om våra erfarenheter gällande utformning av kursupplägg från fyra distanskurser inom det livslånga lärandet. Den utmaning som adresseras gäller hur kurserna tillgängliggörs för men samtidigt stöttar yrkesverksamma som kombinerar sina studier med heltidsarbete.

Designa och genomföra kurser för att möjliggöra deltagande

Onlinestudenternas engagemang är avgörande för deras studier liksom interaktionen med och möjligheten att få stöd från lärarna (Rajabalee & Santally, 2021; Simons et al., 2020). Detta betonas också av Lapitan Jr et al. (2021) som hävdar tre förutsättningar för engagerande och välfungerande onlineundervisning:

(1) Att göra kursmaterial tillgängligt så att studenterna kan ta del av det upprepade gånger när det passar den enskilde,

(2) Att kursstrukturen, till exempel via veckomoduler, stödjer studenten i att "hålla studietakten" samt

(3) Att det finns flera möjliga tidpunkter för examination.

Med utgångspunkt i dessa punkter har vi skapat ett kursupplägg som visat sig ge goda möjligheter för yrkesverksamma att delta i kurserna. Dessa kurser har ett asynkront tillvägagångssätt för den flexibilitet det skapar för studenterna. Värdet av flexibilitet har också bekräftats av studenterna på kurserna, där en majoritet uttryckt att just flexibiliteten är en förutsättning för att ens överväga att söka till kursen. Studier av Islam et al. (2020) samt Zeng och Luo (2023) undersöker effektiviteten och läranderesultatet från asynkrona och synkrona kursupplägg. Deras resultat indikerar att asynkrona kan anses vara mer effektiva men skillnaden är lite. De visar också att inspelade föreläsningar föredrogs av studenter där den främsta anledningen var att de skapar möjligheter att pausa, spola tillbaka och åter ta del av vissa delar av föreläsningen.

Kurserna är uppdelade i moduler, vanligtvis en modul per vecka. I modulerna finns kursmaterialet, till exempel i Introduktionsmodulen: allmän kursinformation och "bra att veta" innan kursstart. Dessutom ingår en kort, inspelad introduktionsföreläsning förutom några inledande artiklar att läsa. Varje kurs består vanligtvis av 6-8 veckomoduler där varje har ett tema.

Examinationsuppgifterna består bland annat av onlineseminarier och för dessa finns ett flertal olika tider som den enskilde studenten kan boka.

Avslutning

Studenterna har i kursutvärderingar lyft fram vikten av kursmaterialets tillgänglighet, att tider för examinationsmoment kan bokas utifrån arbetsbelastning men också det stöd för egen studieplanering som veckomodulerna innebär. Vi har dock också sett att det är av vikt att ge studenterna möjlighet att under kurserna få möjlighet att träffas för diskution och reflektion om kursinnehåll och eget lärande.

Referenser

Islam, M., Kim, D.-A., & Kwon, M. (2020). A comparison of two forms of instruction: Pre-recorded video lectures vs. live ZOOM lectures for education in the business management field. Sustainability, 12(19), 8149.

Lapitan Jr, L. D., Tiangco, C. E., Sumalinog, D. A. G., Sabarillo, N. S., & Diaz, J. M. (2021). An effective blended online teaching and learning strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education for Chemical Engineers, 35, 116-131.

Rajabalee, Y. B., & Santally, M. I. (2021). Learner satisfaction, engagement and performances in an online module: Implications for institutional e-learning policy. Education and information technologies, 26(3), 2623-2656.

Simons, J., Leverett, S., & Beaumont, K. (2020). Success of distance learning graduates and the role of intrinsic motivation. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 35(3), 277-293.

In recent years Mixed Reality technology has been widely used to enhance operators in manual assembly operations. This paper introduces a Mixed Reality environment for assembly operations and describes how the process can be supported by virtual sensors. The structure of the environment allows seamless adaption from a fully virtual training scenario, only using virtual assets, to a full production scenario supporting operators in assembling physical products in actual production. The training system which has been developed together with the company Skandia Elevator in Sweden enables the operators to train with much less disturbance to the real production line compared to training using the actual production equipment. In fact, the training can be done only using virtual assets.

In this paper we discuss the results of two extensive case studies targeted towards Swedish SMMEs, partly aimed at investigating the current state of practice regarding the strategic work in the companies and its alignment to digitalization initiatives. The case studies were conducted during 2022 and 2023 and includes a vast empirical material, including several site visits, more than 30 interviews, several meetings with the managerial boards of the two companies and workshops, as well as studies of strategic document, product portfolios and Gemba walks. The paper presents a suggestion for how to formulate a one-page digital strategy, which aligns the digitalization initiative with the overall strategy of the company, as well as a vision for the digital transformation initiative. In addition, the one-pager also includes prioritized stakeholder groups, expected effects and prioritized activities. Moreover, we also motivate the reasons behind a one-pager, as well as the topics included therein. Finally, we give some ideas for future work, including the importance of implementing the one-pager in more companies, as a way to further validate its applicability and long-term influence on and relevance for the strategic work in SMMEs. 

This paper presents a Mixed reality (MR) environment to support industrial cobots programming for welding purposes. Several intuitive menus allow a user to program the path, which can be configured and simulated in the virtual environment with reachability checking. A guide can be activated to show recommended steps and allows validation of the created program on the virtual robot to aid the learning process. The MR application is integrated with a robot programming platform and a robot controller, that allows the user to test paths on a real robot. Moreover, results from spatial accuracy and user experience evaluations are presented.

In this paper, the 206 papers published at the Swedish Production Symposium (SPS) conferences in 2018, 2020, and 2022 have been analyzed, primarily focusing their relationship to the six industrial challenges identified by Produktion2030. Based on the analysis, ten in-depth interviews with representatives from the Swedish Production Academy (SPA) and industry have been done. These interviews have reflected on the analysis of the papers from the SPS conferences as well as progress during the years of the SPS conferences. The emergence and implementation of the SPS conferences have a similar time span as the Vinnova program Produktion2030. The analysed papers indicate that the focus and development directions of the two have been similar, but not completely overlapping. The close collaboration between academia and industry in Swedish production research is clearly shown by the papers and indicated through an alignment with the industrial challenges indicated by Produktion2030. Of all the papers, 2/3 clearly state such collaboration, and the interviews indicate that the extent of the collaboration is even more extensive than that. The findings from the analysis also include the distribution of research funders involved, gender distribution among authors, and where they are from. Two findings that stand out are the need to more clearly state funding bodies for the published research and to also state more clearly in the papers how, in what way, and with whom the researchers collaborated.