Reconfigurable manufacturing: how shop floor digitalisation supports operators in enhancing diagnosability

Manufacturing companies are currently struggling with the need to deal with ever changing marker requirements and technological advances. They can develop the reconfigurability capability in their factories in order to deal with such context. Moreover, companies can implement shop floor digitalisation to enhance their reconfigurability. This paper sustains two arguments: (i) the possibility to enhance diagnosability as a critical reconfigurability characteristic through shop floor digitalisation; and (ii) the relevance of the human role in reaching diagnosability in a digitalised shop floor. The paper first presents a literature review and based on this, aspects of shop floor digitalisation supporting operators in enhancing the diagnosability are identified and synthesized in a 3-e model (error reduction, ergonomics, and easiness). Secondly, insights from a case study are interpreted through the literature-based model in order to both consolidate the theoretical results and emphasize the implications for practitioners. The findings of this paper indicate that the proposed model can support practitioners in taking specific actions in regard to shop floor digitalisation in order to improve operator-dependent diagnosability and, in turn, the reconfigurability capability.