Predicting and preventing mistakes in human-robot collaborative assembly

The human-robot collaboration (HRC) in industrial assembly cells leads to great benefits by combining the flexibility of human worker with the accuracy and strength of robot. On the other hand, collaborative works between such different operators can generate risks and faults unknown in current industrial processes, either manual or automatic. To fully exploit the new collaborative paradigm, it is therefore essential to identify these risks before the collaborative robots are introduced in industry and start working together with humans. In the present study the authors analyze a benchmark set of general assembly tasks performed by HRC in a laboratory environment. The analyses are executed with the use of an adapted Process Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (PFMEA) to identify potential mistakes which can be made by human operator and robot. The outcomes are employed to define proper mistake proofing methods to be applied in the HRC assembly work cell

Human factor in industry of the future - Knowledge acquisition and motivation

Industry of the future bases on people knowledge, creativeness and motivations. Although, the number of workers needed in factories of the future decreases, the requiremenets concerning employees skills have been increasing. The knowledge of employees determines the factory system quality and efficiency. The motivation of people determines continuous improvement and development realized by problems identification and elimination. Hence, adequate learning methods are required to be implemented to achieve the following goals: empower and motivate people. This paper presents chosen methods such as learning by doing, computer simulations and virtual reality which support knowledge acquisition by people being prepared for work in factories of the future. The presented methods also increase employee awareness concerning possibilities of improvements

In ovo injection of prebiotics and synbiotics affects the digestive potency of the pancreas in growing chickens

Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of 2 prebiotics and 2 synbiotics on the digestive potency of pancreas in 1-, 3-, 7-, 14-, 21-, and 34-day-old cockerels. Prebiotics (inulin and Bi2 tos) and synbiotics (inulin + Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Bi2 tos + Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris) were injected in ovo into the air cell on the 12th d embryonic development. Their application increased the activity of amylase, lipase, and trypsin in the pancreas. The most pronounced changes were observed at the end of the investigated rearing period (d 34). The strongest stimulative effects on amylase were shown by both synbiotics, on lipase synbiotic Bi2 tos + Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, and on trypsin all the used prebiotics and synbiotics. Simultaneously, neither the absolute nor the relative mass of the pancreas in comparison to control group were changed. Also, the injected in ovo compounds did not cause a deterioration in the posthatching condition of the chicken liver, as determined by measurement of the activity of marker enzymes in the blood (alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase). Treatment with the prebiotics and synbiotics did not change the feed conversion ratio but Bi2 tos (galacto-oligosaccharide) and inulin (fructan) + Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis significantly increased final BW

Pharmaceutical Metabolism in Fish: Using a 3-D Hepatic In Vitro Model to Assess Clearance

At high internal doses, pharmaceuticals have the potential for inducing biological/pharmacological effects in fish. One particular concern for the environment is their potential to bioaccumulate and reach pharmacological levels; the study of these implications for environmental risk assessment has therefore gained increasing attention. To avoid unnecessary testing on animals, in vitro methods for assessment of xenobiotic metabolism could aid in the ecotoxicological evaluation. Here we report the use of a 3-D in vitro liver organoid culture system (spheroids) derived from rainbow trout to measure the metabolism of seven pharmaceuticals using a substrate depletion assay. Of the pharmaceuticals tested, propranolol, diclofenac and phenylbutazone were metabolised by trout liver spheroids; atenolol, metoprolol, diazepam and carbamazepine were not. Substrate depletion kinetics data was used to estimate intrinsic hepatic clearance by this spheroid model, which was similar for diclofenac and approximately 5 fold higher for propranolol when compared to trout liver microsomal fraction (S9) data. These results suggest that liver spheroids could be used as a relevant and metabolically competent in vitro model with which to measure the biotransformation of pharmaceuticals in fish; and propranolol acts as a reproducible positive control

Predicting Concentrations of Organic Chemicals in Fish by Using Toxicokinetic Models

Quantification of chemical toxicity continues to be generally based on measured external concentrations. Yet, internal chemical concentrations have been suggested to be a more suitable parameter. To better understand the relationship between the external and internal concentrations of chemicals in fish, and to quantify internal concentrations we compared three. toxicokinetic (TK) models with each other and with literature data of measured concentrations of 39 chemicals. Two one, compartment models, together with the physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model, in which we improved the treatment of lipids, were used to predict concentrations of organic chemicals in two fish species: rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). All models predicted the measured internal concentrations in fish within I order of magnitude for at least 68% of the chemicals. Furthermore, the PBTK model outperformed the one-compartment models with respect to simulating chemical concentrations in the whole body (at least 88% of internal concentrations were predicted within 1 order of magnitude using the PBTK model). All the models can be used to predict concentrations in different fish species without additional experiments. However, further development of TK models is required for polar, ionizable, and easily biotransformed compounds

Modelling survival : exposure pattern, species sensitivity and uncertainty

The General Unified Threshold model for Survival (GUTS) integrates previously published toxicokinetic-toxicodynamic models and estimates survival with explicitly defined assumptions. Importantly, GUTS accounts for time-variable exposure to the stressor. We performed three studies to test the ability of GUTS to predict survival of aquatic organisms across different pesticide exposure patterns, time scales and species. Firstly, using synthetic data, we identified experimental data requirements which allow for the estimation of all parameters of the GUTS proper model. Secondly, we assessed how well GUTS, calibrated with short-term survival data of Gammarus pulex exposed to four pesticides, can forecast effects of longer-term pulsed exposures. Thirdly, we tested the ability of GUTS to estimate 14-day median effect concentrations of malathion for a range of species and use these estimates to build species sensitivity distributions for different exposure patterns. We find that GUTS adequately predicts survival across exposure patterns that vary over time. When toxicity is assessed for time-variable concentrations species may differ in their responses depending on the exposure profile. This can result in different species sensitivity rankings and safe levels. The interplay of exposure pattern and species sensitivity deserves systematic investigation in order to better understand how organisms respond to stress, including humans

Mierniki oceny efektywności funkcjonowania maszyn w dużych przedsiębiorstwach: wyniki badań

Maintaining a proper productivity and efficiency level of a technical infrastructure of an enterprise requires, above all, the use of appropriate managing methods and tools as well as an appropriate organization of services responsible for their management. Using a variety of measures is indispensable to evaluate the effectiveness of these practices as well as of the machine performance in any enterprise. The data obtained from measuring particular indicators are a primary source of information on the necessity of taking particular actions. Large companies are particularly willing to implement appropriate indicators of effectiveness evaluation because of a large number of machines and a vast range of their technical maintenance. Different indicators presented in the references are said to be efficient and willingly used by enterprises. The aim of the study, of which the results are presented in this article, was to identify the real actions taken by the surveyed enterprises concerning the use of the machine effectiveness evaluation metrics. Apart from that, the study also intended to obtain the information on which indicators are actually applied by enterprises. The study was carried out in large production enterprises of different industries on a specified area.Utrzymanie infrastruktury technicznej przedsiębiorstwa na odpowiednim poziomie produktywności i wydajności wymaga przede wszystkim stosowania właściwych metod i narzędzi zarządzania oraz właściwej organizacji służb odpowiedzialnych za jego realizację. Nieodłącznym elementem oceny efektywności tych działań oraz funkcjonowania maszyn w przedsiębiorstwie jest stosowanie różnorodnych mierników. Dane uzyskiwane z pomiarów określonych wskaźników są podstawowym źródłem informacji o konieczności podejmowania działań określonego rodzaju. Szczególnie duże firmy są chętne, aby wdrożyć odpowiednie wskaźniki oceny efektywności maszyn ze względu na dużą liczbę maszyn i duży zakres prac związanych z ich obsługą techniczną. W literaturze przedmiotu prezentowane są różne wskaźniki wskazywane, jako skuteczne i chętnie stosowane przez przedsiębiorstwa. Celem badań, których wyniki przedstawiono w niniejszej pracy, było zidentyfikowanie rzeczywistych działań realizowanych przez badane przedsiębiorstwa w zakresie stosowania mierników oceny skuteczności maszyn oraz pozyskanie informacji o tym, jakie wskaźniki są przez firmy stosowane w praktyce. Badania przeprowadzono w dużych przedsiębiorstwach produkcyjnych funkcjonujących w różnych branżach przemysłu na określonym obszarze

Wyniki badań dotyczących identyfikacji działań realizowanych w zarządzaniu infrastrukturą techniczną w dużych przedsiębiorstwach

Działania realizowane w zakresie nadzoru nad infrastrukturą techniczną są szczególnie istotne dla dużych przedsiębiorstw. Powszechnie panuje przekonanie, że w dużych przedsiębiorstwach istnieje duży zakres zadań realizowanych w ramach nadzoru nad infrastrukturą techniczną. Dotychczas przeprowadzone badania wskazują jedynie na stosowane w przedsiębiorstwach strategie nadzoru nad maszynami, jednakże nie wskazuje się, jakie działania są konkretnie realizowane. W rzeczywistości mimo zasad przyjętych dla każdej strategii w praktyce nie są one tak do końca stosowane. Celem badań, których wyniki przedstawiono w niniejszej pracy, było zidentyfikowanie rzeczywistych działań, które są prowadzone w przedsiębiorstwach w zakresie nadzoru nad infrastrukturą techniczną w dużych przedsiębiorstwach. Badania dotyczyły przedsiębiorstw produkcyjnych funkcjonujących w różnych branżach przemysłu na określonym obszarze. Wyniki badań opracowano i przedstawiono w postaci graficznej. Wyniki badań wskazują zarówno na te działania, które są powszechnie realizowane, jak i na te, które rzadko występują w tej grupie przedsiębiorstw.The activities realized within the technical infrastructure supervision are particularly important for large enterprises. It’s commonly believed that in large enterprises there is a wide range of tasks realized within the technical infrastructure supervision. The studies done so far indicate only the machine supervision strategies used in enterprises, yet it doesn’t indicate what activities are specifically realized. In fact, in spite of the rules adopted for each strategy, they are not used entirely in practice. The aim of the survey, of which the results are presented in this paper, was to identify the real activities conducted in enterprises within the technical infrastructure supervision in large enterprises. The survey concerned production enterprises functioning in different industries on a specified area. The results were drawn up and presented graphically. The results indicate both the activities which are commonly realized and those which are rare in this group of enterprises