Conceptualizing Embodied Automation to Increase Transfer of Tacit knowledge in the Learning Factory

This paper will discuss how cooperative agent-based systems, deployed with social skills and embodied automation features, can be used to interact with the operators in order to facilitate sharing of tacit knowledge and its later conversion into explicit knowledge. The proposal is to combine social software robots (softbots) with industrial collaborative robots (co-bots) to create a digital apprentice for experienced operators in human- robot collaboration workstations. This is to address the problem within industry that experienced operators have difficulties in explaining how they perform their tasks and later, how to turn this procedural knowledge (knowhow) into instructions to be shared among other operators. By using social softbots and co-bots, as cooperative agents with embodied automation features, we think we can facilitate the ‘externalization’ of procedural knowledge in human-robot interaction(s). This enabled by the capabilities of social cooperative agents with embodied automation features of continuously learning by looking over the shoulder of the operators, and documenting and collaborating with them in a non-intrusive way as they perform their daily tasks. 2018 Intelligent Systems: Theory, Research and Innovation in Applications, Madeira Island, Portugal 25-27 September 2018</p

Sistemas de informação na indústria 4.0 : mecanismos de apoio à transferência de dados para conhecimento em ambientes Lean

The paradigm that presently emerges in the organizational context, known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0) or Fourth Industrial Revolution, promises to bring principles of connectivity and flexibility to the companies that embrace it. Industry 4.0 enhances the efficiency in adapting in real time to the customers’ requirements, through the establishment of an intelligent shop floor capable of answering in a flexible and customized way to market changes. However, during the last three decades, it is known that the adoption of the Lean philosophy was absorbed by the industrial environment, with results that proved to be exuberant, considering the simplicity of the tools. In this way, the I4.0 implementation must be prepared to preserve the existing manufacturing systems, proceeding, whenever possible, to upgrade them on a Lean excellence basis. It is said that information systems will be decisive in the foundation of the I4.0 paradigm. Of these, MES systems, with greater connection to the shop floor, will tend to be aligned with existing practices, contributing, through their connectivity, to the introduction of knowledge management practices and data visualization mechanisms. In the specification and architecture phase of these systems, understanding the processes will be crucial. Thus, their documentation is an organizational pillar, with BPMN and UML being able to guide it. However, and in addition to its usefulness in the processes’ mapping, BPMN is also likely to be applied in capturing tacit knowledge, which can be a foundation for the constitution of knowledge repositories, impacting organizational excellence. It is in this context that the present work is implanted, aiming at the creation of guidelines and mechanisms that facilitate the implementation of I4.0 strategies in Lean industrial environments. The adopted methodology first went through an exhaustive literature review, in order to find possible bilateral effects between I4.0 technologies and lean tools. Then, the development of some applications aligned with the I4.0 paradigm, as a technological engine, and the Lean philosophy, as a tool for eliminating waste and / or creating value, was contemplated. From the various development experiences in an industrial context and considering the evidence reported in the literature, this study proposes a Lean 4.0 framework oriented to the shop floor.O paradigma que atualmente emerge no contexto organizacional, conhecido como Indústria 4.0 (I4.0) ou Quarta Revolução Industrial, promete trazer princípios de conectividade e flexibilidade às empresas que a adotam. A Indústria 4.0 potencia a eficácia no ajuste em tempo real aos requisitos dos clientes, através da constituição de um chão de fábrica inteligente e capaz de responder de forma flexível e customizada às mudanças do mercado. Contudo, durante as últimas três décadas, sabe-se que a adoção da filosofia Lean foi absorvida pelo meio industrial, com resultados que se demonstraram exuberantes, tendo em conta a simplicidade das ferramentas. Deste modo, a implementação I4.0 deve ser feita no sentido da preservação dos sistemas de manufatura já existentes, procedendo, desde que possível, ao seu upgrade numa base de excelência Lean. Conta-se que os sistemas de informação serão decisivos na fundação do paradigma I4.0. Destes, os sistemas MES, com maior conexão ao chão de fábrica, tenderão a ser alinhados com as práticas já existentes, contribuindo, através da sua conectividade, para a introdução de práticas de gestão do conhecimento e mecanismos de visualização de dados. Na fase de especificação e arquitetura destes sistemas, o entendimento dos processos será crucial. Assim, a documentação dos mesmos é um pilar organizacional, estando o BPMN e a UML capazes de a orientar. Porém, e a somar à sua utilidade na ilustração de processos, o BPMN está igualmente passível de ser aplicado na captação de conhecimento tácito, o que por si pode ser uma base para a constituição de repositórios de conhecimento, contribuindo para a excelência organizacional. É neste contexto que o presente trabalho se insere, tendo como objetivo a criação de linhas orientadoras e mecanismos que facilitem a implementação de estratégias I4.0 em ambientes industriais Lean. A metodologia adotada passou, primeiramente, por uma exaustiva revisão da literatura, por forma a encontrar possíveis efeitos bilaterais entre tecnologias I4.0 e ferramentas lean. De seguida, contemplou-se o desenvolvimento de alguns aplicativos alinhados ao paradigma I4.0, enquanto motor tecnológico, e à filosofia Lean, enquanto ferramenta de eliminação de desperdícios e/ou criação de valor. Das diversas experiências de desenvolvimento em contexto industrial e considerando as evidências reportadas na literatura o presente estudo propõe uma framework Lean 4.0 orientado ao chão de fábrica.Mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industria