A Literature Review on Human Changeover Ability in High-Variety Production

The business strategy of Mass Customization, enabled by e.g. Reconfigurable Manufacturing and Changeable Manufacturing is based on the fundamental premise; to achieve high operational efficiency, while producing high-variety products in small batches and with short product-life cycle of the unique products. To efficiently achieve this premise in manufacturing systems, all levels of changeability must be addressed. This paper investigates a fundamental sub-set of this changeability, which has not been addressed comprehensively by academia; the human changeover ability on workstation level. Based on a literature review, this paper identifies seven human related challenges which must be addressed to be able to manage high-variety and low-volume efficiently on a changeover ability level. This leads to a subsequent literature review that aims at investigating possible approaches and solutions for the identified challenges. Overall seven approaches and solutions have been identified which address five of the seven identified challenges. This leaves two challenges open; the forgetting and learning curve. These two challenges are therefore proposed for further research to be at the cutting edge of an emerging challenge organizations striving for high-variety production will meet.