Development of a Training Module for Virtual Workplace Design and Evaluation in the LEAD Factory

Work processes must be designed in such a way that they are both economical and human-oriented. The concept of Industry 5.0 emerges in addition to Industry 4.0 as the major role of ergonomic factors for worker well-being and productivity has been&;considered too little in the past. For future work system design the placement of the worker at the center of considerations already in early planning is considered as a key to success. This can be achieved with the help of process simulation systems, where work processes can be virtually mapped in the early planning phase, designed and evaluated according to ergonomic,safety and economic criteria. Besides positive effects on the human performance and well-being, this can also result in considerable cost and time savings, e.g., by eliminating cardboard workshops; or expensive corrective product and process changes. The 3D visualization and its potential extension to motion capture and VR-features can support the communication and increase the acceptance of the planned measures. However, as such tools and the interpretation of simulation results require a special skillset, that can best be trained in real work settings, learning factories offer a suitable learning and teaching environment. In this paper a training module for virtual workplace design and evaluation is developed. Therefore, the different production states of a learning factory (LEAD Factory) at Graz University of Technology were modelled in the software ema Work Designer by including the factory and human models with different abilities (anthropometry, aging groups, flexibility) to analyze and improve the assembly of a scooter with human and process simulation. Based on the changes in the real world and the ongoing comparison with the simulation students learn challenges in analyzing and improving work systems and experience the interaction between both worlds. The focus is not on the application of the software, but on teaching benefits and limitations of methods and procedures for the digital evaluation and improvement of industrial human work e.g., under consideration of an age- and ability-based work design. Results show that the simple operation, direct evaluation of the measures and 3D visualization support the communication of the learning content and promote interaction between the participants.