TOWARDS EFFICIENT AUTOMATION IMPLEMENTATION

New technology may contribute to several advantages, but shop-floor requirements need to be considered to achieve expected benefits. Results are based on an industrial study, where new machinery was implemented. Identified critical aspects include transfer of new knowledge related to the modified production system, scenario building, and situation awareness both within and outside the company. These critical aspects may also be relevant during planned changeovers between different levels of automation. An initial model is proposed, describing effects of varying the levels of automation and the potential of automation if critical aspects are sufficiently regarded.