3 ANALYSIS OF THE INITIAL
SITUATION
As the assembly assistance platform is developed for
the application in real production environment, the
conditions and initial situation are analyzed
beforehand. The case is the assisted and ensured
rework on faulty automatic transmissions after the
final assembly and commissioning in production. As
an automotive supplier, the transmission
manufacturer faces high quality demands and is
obligated to secure and document its processes. Due
to the operational structure and economic reasons,
this is achieved in the final assembly but not in the
rework area.
An automatic transmission is made of a large
quantity of parts which are assembled through
complex processes. In the final assembly, (semi-
)automated assembly lines are installed which
provide a high degree of process validation as well as
an extensive process documentation. The process
validation results in high quality manufactured
products. To validate the processes, the assembly
lines are equipped with sensors and electronic
resources that ensure the correct assembly process
execution. In a testing bench, additional tests are
performed to validate the quality and functionality.
Faulty transmissions are sent together with an error
code to the rework stations in order to get repaired
and brought in a salable state.
In contrast to the final assembly lines, rework
stations are structured as single workplaces and are
dominated by a high degree of manual assembly
processes. This allows a required degree of flexibility
to repair all kinds of product variants and perform
different rework jobs and processes at one workplace.
But compared to the final assembly lines, the process
validation and documentation in the rework station
are insufficient, due to the lack of automated and
technical equipment. Hence, highly skilled workers
are needed which additionally undergo a special
training program to be able to handle the rework job.
Especially the lack of process validation can lead to
mistakes during the process. In the final assembly
line, the process validation ensures the correct and
scheduled performance of a process as well as process
documentation, which is necessary for traceability
purposes to customers.
Since rework jobs require highly qualified
workers with many years of experience, in case of
sudden absence personal replacement cannot be
found easily. Furthermore, experienced worker
undergo a capacity intensive training to be qualified
to work at the rework area. Thus, one objective of the
proposed assembly assistance platform is to reach a
similar degree of process validation as in final
assembly lines, but maintain the workers’ adaptivity
and ability to make situation based decisions. Another
objective is to cover worker qualification and training
on the job. Therefore, the assembly assistance
platform consists of four important modules:
▪ Assistance system for guiding and qualifying
workers
▪ Intelligent resources to validate and document the
processes
▪ A control system that distributes planning data to
resources and assistance system and connects all
systems with each other
▪ A planning environment for creating dynamic and
parametrized processes lists
The worker assistance system has to guide the worker
through the rework job and support him to avoid any
mistakes.
Following, the user profile is described. The
developed system addresses women and men alike
and there is no difference in the information/ content
provided by the system or how the content is
displayed. The user’s age varies from early 20s to 60.
Therefore, IT-affine and non-affine people alike are
confronted with the system in their daily work. To
address both types of users, users will be qualified
and trained for working with the system.
Furthermore, the user is involved in the design phase
of the system and has the opportunity to give
feedback concerning the design of the assistance
system. As mentioned before, the average user is a
skilled worker with at least three years of work
experience in a similar production department, where
similar but often “easier” tasks have to be performed.
Hence, the user is familiar with the basic
functionalities of the product (automatic
transmission). Because a lot of product variants and
different process have to be mastered, three skill
levels (beginner, advanced and expert) have to be
considered. Beginner starting in the rework area are
supported by experts and trained for about half a year.
He needs a higher grade of assistance e.g. of difficult
processes and resource because he is still in learning
phase and has to be trained. Users exceeding the
training phase are of course more experienced. On
this level, they don’t need small stepped assistance
and further explanation of processes, but additional
hints or information e.g. during a bolt tightening
process considering the tightening sequence or during
the rework on a variant, which they don’t handle /
repair very often. Experts on the other hand don’t
need any hints. On this level, assistance is seldomly
needed and detailed information is considered
Intelligent and Flexible Worker Assistance Systems - Assembly Assistance Platform for Planning Assisted Assembly and Rework as Well as
Execution of a Worker-Centered Assistance
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