IT on the shop floor - challenges of the digitalization of manufacturing companies

Abstract

A new generation of information technology (IT), promises significant benefits for manufacturing companies in their daily work. However, the companies are rather slow in taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the current wave of digitalization. This paper starts with an overview of emerging sociotechnical trends in manufacturing. We discuss technology as catalyser of this transformation process and its impact on individual and organisational levels. The intense collaboration with six manufacturing companies in a European project allowed us to identify and further specify four digital challenges: 1) Digitally augmented human work, 2) Worker-centric knowledge sharing, 3) Self-learning manufacturing workplaces, and 4) In-situ mobile learning. The four digital challenges illustrate how companies (can) embrace emerging sociotechnical trends in manufacturing and thus contribute to a better understanding of the changing role of IT on the Shop Floor.