The human performance impact on oee in the adoption of new production technologies

Featured Application This research work proposes a framework for the evaluation of the initial adoption phase of new production technologies and its application to the introduction of a semi-automatic packaging machine in a relevant logistics company. The case study allowed the assessment of the machine ramp-up phase and provided valuable insights for reducing the length of this period by achieving a stable target production output. Moreover, it shows how the framework can be adopted, applied and interpreted for obtaining useful insights. Manufacturing systems in digital and interconnected industrial settings where human worker activity is required represents further potential applications of this paper. The initial adoption phase of new production technologies is the period between the first production run or technology reconfiguration and the achievement of a stable target output. This time frame is generally characterized by productivity unsteadiness, quality performance variability, and unexpected machine failures together with increasing production volumes due to the process setup and instability, which inevitably affects production output. In this context, human performance represents an additional source of variability and process instability that is dependent on the workers' productivity, learning curve and related training activities. Hence, to effectively assess the ramp-up phase of new production technologies, an appropriate evaluation of human performance is required. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework and criteria to perform a consistent assessment of the initial adoption phase of new production technologies by introducing two OEE measurement methodologies that distinguish between human performance, process configuration and technical features of the production technology. The proposed framework is then applied to and validated by a case study concerning the introduction of a semi-automatic packaging machine in a primary multinational company in the logistics industry. This case study shows the difference between the two OEE measures, along with the values interpretation and useful insights for achieving a stable production output.