The Production Mirror : How an interactive interface can boost motivation for industrial workers

Sammanfattning: This master thesis concerns industrial workers’motivation and if it can be influenced by informationdissemination through an interactive interface. Focus hasbeen to research human motivators in theory to seehow these can be applied in an industrial environmentwith the hope of giving the workers a deeperknowledge of the company’s product and / or processand thus increasing her motivation. The project is basedon the assumption that an increased understanding intomore than what is limited by the worker’s tasks canhave a positive effect and strengthen his or her sense oftheir role in a wider context.The master thesis shows how a design process can beapplied to an organizational problem in industries,where the different phases of the process includeconcerned people repetitively to seek knowledge, ideasand solutions together with those who may be affectedby the results of the work.In industries today, the workload is usually distributedacross departments where staff are divided into teams.There is some circulation within the department but lesscommonly across departmental boundaries. This canlimit the worker’s perception of the entire process andresult in a detailed understanding of only a limited partof the process.Industry 4.0 is expected to be the solution for retrievingand retaining companies in Europe by building smartfactories with technology that allows the machines tocommunicate. Industry 4.0 is also expected to reduce thenumber who have work in industries, human interactionsand responsibilities. Which may have the negative effect offurther reinforcing one of today’s problems, the workerbeing further isolated from the process. Which are factorsthat, in theory, contribute to a reduced level of motivationand will therefore have a negative impact on their workaspirations.The work has been carried out with RISE Interactive inPiteå as client. RISE is part of our Swedish researchinstitute and works with user-centered technologicaldevelopment in many different industries.The degree project resulted in a large amount of ideas forhow work in industries could benefit from an interactiveinterface for disseminating information and knowledge.The final solution is presented in a stop motion movieshowing the solution that was chosen by industrialworkers. The solution shows how coloured lamps can beused to visualize progress-related information during thecourse of the work at the same time as it enables easycommunication between employees.