User Evaluation of Industry 4.0 Concepts for Worker Engagement

Industry is undergoing a digital transition that will change the design and setup of human-machine systems. One part of this change is increasing possibilities of workers to influence their work. In this paper, we present four components of the Factory2Fit project that contribute to this change by engaging workers: (1) knowledge sharing and collaboration via a discussion platform; (2) visualisation of information via augmented reality (AR) glasses; (3) participatory design of workplaces and tasks by means of a 3D simulation software programme, and (4) an on-site training tool utilising a training platform. The demonstrators were evaluated with workers to identify foreseen benefits, challenges and impact on their work. Most of the concepts seem to be well accepted and they have high potential to improve work well-being and work performance. The results of this study are encouraging, but long-term field studies with actual prototypes will be needed to evolve the concepts.