Digitalization and automation in industry can have both positive and negative effects on social sustainability. On one hand it can be a basis for monotonous, uncreative, and even dangerous workplaces and in some cases might even result in people losing their work. On the other hand, it can be a base for ergonomically sound and inclusive work, engaging everyone in improvements. This project aims for moving the focus on positive effects for social sustainability while still staying cost efficient and effective in economic and ecologic sustainability for digitalization and automation of work instructions and training in manual operations like assembly, machine operation & setup, maintenance, and material handling. The Industry 4.0 paradigm offers radically increased opportunities for doing just that. For example, increased digitization can create efficiency improvements through shorter lead times and reduced disruptions to production. New generations of technology and software as well as information dissemination can be accelerated and the traceability of products and materials in the industrial systems can be greatly increased. Digitization also provides opportunities to increase industrial resilience to challenges coming from elsewhere, such as demographic change and climate threats. Advanced application of digitization is seen by industries and decision-makers as the most important enabler for achieving the strategic sustainability goals and Agenda2030. A crucial factor for competitiveness is the human contribution. Here too, digitalisation is radically changing the conditions. In the last 20 years, work instructions have been transformed from printed text on paper into an increasingly digital representation. As knowledge increases about how work instructions for the manufacturing industry should be designed, they are rarely designed according to user conditions. At best, this results in a missed opportunity for performance improvements and at worst, it could potentially result in quality deficiencies, efficiency deficiencies and a lower degree of inclusion of staff groups. Digitization and automation permeate both society and industry more and more and there are many different technologies on the market. These can contribute to both increased efficiency and flexibility for the industry. However, there are a lot of challenges to both implement, design, and use instructions. Studies conducted in industry 2014–2018 show that operators and assembly workers only use instructions in 20–25% of cases in the operational phase when they are perceived as inefficient (Fast-Berglund & Stahre, 2013; Mattsson et al., 2018). Of course, this also increases the risks of, for example, assembly errors by not using instructions to the extent that they should be used. The corporate culture and standards are also an important part of how instructions are created and used. Depending on the structure and condition of the company and the production unit, for example, an assembly instruction at one company may include information about the product, process, and work environment, while an assembly instruction at another company includes completely different or only parts of this information. Of course, this is a natural consequence of sometimes far-inherited corporate cultures and traditions, but experience has also shown that it is to a very large extent the nature of work that defines the type of support system needed. In line with increased automation and increasing product variation as a result of increased customisation, operators’ tasks will require more creative work than before where the aim is to enable and handle the results of individual workers' creative thoughts about improvements in their own work situation, increasing cognitive load (Taylor et al., 2020). The development of digitalisation has created new opportunities for improved communication among employees in the manufacturing industry (Oesterreich & Teuteberg, 2016). Therefore, this technological development can and should support operators cognitively (Kaasinen et al., 2020; Mattsson et al., 2016). Although many new digital technologies are being developed and are available (Romero et al., 2016), it is still difficult to implement these so that people's cognitive work is supported. This is often due to the fact that the implementation does not take place in a way that people are comfortable with (Parasuraman & Riley, 1997). In many cases, humans are expected to adapt to technology and not the other way around (Thorvald et al., 2021). To implement better support for their operators, companies should focus on identifying the information needs that exist (Haghi et al., 2018) and then visualize it in a way that is useful to operators. The central aim for the project is to demonstrate how knowledge and systematic development of cognitive support and information design can increase quality and flexibility in future production and how this can be considered in the implementation of digital work instructions. In the industrial case studies, current state-of-practice in information presentation will be investigated and analysed together with state-of-the art knowledge and technology to map successful efforts in industry, identify what it is that makes them successful, or how a particularly challenging situation can be further improved through our knowledge of cognitive work in production.

Industry 5.0 emphasises how technology may benefit humans and marks a move towards a socio-technical paradigm. This study looks at how Augmented Reality (AR) can be integrated into human-centered smart manufacturing systems to improve operator performance, especially when it comes to assembly and disassembly work. Relevant AR applications in manufacturing are found through a methodical assessment of the literature, emphasising the necessity of human-centered design methodologies. The paper then offers basic recommendations for integrating AR systems into manual workstations in an efficient manner with the goal of enhancing operator productivity and welfare. The background, motivation and methods are discussed. The main findings include specific considerations for supporting the AR design in assembly, discussing the relevance of targeting group of users, choicing the suitable devices according to the usability and developing effective instructions. 

This study studies the challenges of effective communication and collaboration in remote design review meetings (DRMs) and explores the potential of Extended Reality (XR) technologies to address these challenges. The research focuses on identifying recurring communication issues and the preferences of companies within the context of remote DRMs. The study involves qualitative content analysis and industry workshops to uncover the current problems with conventional approaches and the aspirations of companies regarding improved collaboration in the DRM process. Drawing upon the insights gathered from both the workshop and design review observations, this paper highlights the features that are critical for collaborative software to handle online design reviews. XR technologies offer immersive and interactive experiences that can transform communication and collaboration in the context of DRMs. By identifying the specific challenges faced in remote DRMs and understanding the desires of companies, this study sets the stage for a more efficient and effective collaborative process. It emphasizes the adaptability of XR technologies to meet industry needs and integrate seamlessly into existing workflows. The study concludes by highlighting the potential for XR technologies to enhance collaboration in DRMs, making them a valuable tool for various industries. 

This paper explores what skills and information are needed to meet the challenges of emergency production. In the near future, Operator 5.0 will operate within Industry 5.0, a sector focused on fostering innovation for all stakeholders, including the environment. One of the core pillars of Operator 5.0 is resilience which means being able to manage emergencies and uncertainties. Achieving this poses a challenge, as the industry struggles to acquire the necessary skills recommended. A framework for skills and information needed for Operator 5.0 to perform emergency production was suggested and used in a case study for face mask production. The results are as follows: 1) skills needed for emergency production are the cognitive/physical ability to perform a task and basic overall digital skills, and 2) the information needs are standards, instructions, and training materials. To create information the following demands on the system were suggested: Universal design, minimize unexpected events, productivity and product quality and safety. The framework could be used with existing contingency planning and preparatory emergency production to plan for better management of emergencies in Sweden or Europe. 

Assembly is crucial in the automotive industry, and regulations aimed to increase circularity impact the production systems. From this perspective different strategies are emerging related to sustainability and to the End-of-life Vehicles directive, perspectives often captured by “R-words” like Reuse, Recycle, Rethink etc. This paper is based on a literature search inspired by different R-words related to circularity and assembly in the automotive industry in combination with industrial workshops on the same theme. The results explore what challenges to manage during the ongoing green transition in the context of assembly in automotive. Recover, Repair, Reuse and Recycle are the most common terms found in the literature. Furthermore, Remanufacturing stands out as of particular interest to the automotive industry. However, based on the industrial workshops, Rethink as a collective word is an important perspective as well. The conclusions indicate that digitalization can be an enabler but also that there is a need for developing a common understanding about definitions and utilization of engineering tools supporting circularity. 

The aim of this paper is to propose a framework for universal design of manual assembly workplaces. Workplaces that are adapted to different individuals, regardless of gender, language, background and functional variations, also support the fundamental goals of the Industry 5.0 concept and an accessible, safer, productive and error-proof work environment. The study included: 1) a qualitative study on key factors for universal design and comparison with universal design theory; 2) improvement suggestions to the company based on observations, interviews and theory; 3) a framework for universal design. The framework included the following areas: personalisation and context, activities/tasks and output, and methods/standards and factors were suggested so that companies could start their analysis work for the design. The study resulted in new insights and empirics regarding universal workplace design.

Technology education has traditionally been male dominated, and many educator providers struggle to both attract and keep females related to education. Gamification, the use of game elements in a nongame context, has been shown to increase student engagement and inclusion in the learning environment. However, the gamification design and development process has been declared resource-demanding, which has reduced the more tailored approaches resulting in more generic ones. This is contradictory to the findings that gamification designs, especially in instruction, are context dependent. Therefore, this chapter displays an analogue gamification approach that is applied in a real-life environment, a technology vocational school, supporting the teachers’ combat of gender inequality and expediting diversity and inclusion. 

Industry 4.0 is believed to introduce new smart digital tools which transform manufacturing processes but affect production personnel’s work practice. Operators and maintenance personnel running the everyday operations need to learn and handle new routines and systems while maintaining production efficiency. Operators today are challenged when they must handle unexpected stops caused by machine failures and the following error recovery process of automated production systems. With complex digital tools and integrated production systems the error recovery process becomes complex because there is no one-size-fits-all solution and a lack of intelligent and automated restart systems. Even if there are defined routines for industrial work and structures for managing digital technologies, it is not adapted to the individuals’ cognitive processes neither to their workplace learning. Altogether it puts high pressure on operators’ knowledge and skills of restarting machines and systems caused by errors. The aim is to explore operators and maintenance personnel cognition and skills and how their roles vary in relevant aspects of situational awareness and workplace learning. In an on-going case we studied two industrial companies that produce similar components but are working differently with production and maintenance. Through nine interviews we investigate the differences between the companies, their current work practices, and future changes. With application of a situation awarenessmodel, we capture cognition and learning including task/system factors, perception and decision making, and individual factors. Perspectives of workplace learning and knowledge sharing between personnel and relations to the systems use are applied. Results indicate that rule-based behaviours are key for both operators and maintenance personnel. These behaviours are supported by the systems and routines, but complicated errors make the systems and routines prove inadequate. In conclusion, to design appropriate digital support tools both operators and maintenance personnel behaviour need to be supported, however they need to be supported differently since their function behaviours such as routines, system use and communication vary. In addition, future skills and competences needed forsupporting complex system tasks include knowledge of computational models and simulation, knowledge of the machines and how they interrelate with systems, and logic reasoning and robotic programming of automated production systems.

To form an inclusive and sustainable society, workplace design that can be used by different individuals, regardless of sex, language, background, and body function variations is needed. Such workplaces can also give economic benefits to companies if they provide a more accessible, safer, more productive and error proofed working environment. This aim of this paper is to evaluate a universal design concept developed at a company aiming at providing an 'easy job'-workplace design for manual industrial operations. The study investigated key factors from 8 interviews and compared it to theoretical constructs such as WHO's ICIDH-2. A synthesis was formed that included the following factors: personal factors, environmental factors and outcomes of universal work. The study has resulted in new insights regarding universal workplace design and the vision is that the synthesis can be used by other production companies that want to increase the universal design in assembly work. © 2022 The authors

This report presents how universal design of manual assembly was supported through digital support in a project called Universal design of workplaces - manual assembly (UUAAMM). In the project we have followed a company Husmuttern AB and evaluated their approach to universal design. The aim of the project was to increase universal design in industry and show how other companies can use it and why. The approach focused on four areas: sustainable work, standard operational procedures, digital support and culture.