Stress and competence-oriented staff deployment planning - BeKoMi

Around one third of all employees in the metal and electrical industry work in assembly, which means that staff deployment planning plays a central role in this area. Due to the demographic change and increasing demands on quality, time and costs, productive personnel deployment planning is a major challenge. The rising product variance and the ongoing digitalization of production processes are increasing the cognitive burden on employees.

Target

The aim of the research project is to maintain the performance of the employees through rotation planning, which achieves a reduction in stress and strain. In the long term, it should contribute to reduce overstraining and the resulting days of absence.

Approach

In order to increase or maintain the well-being and performance of employees in the long term, the project BeKoMi is developing a new approach of job rotation. In addition to the physical and cognitive strain on the workplaces, the stress felt by employees in the context of the work task is also taken into account. In the rotation model, the competence requirements of the respective workplaces areconsidered, as well as any potential stress that might arise as a result of the change process. The aim of the project is to maintain the employee performance by means of rotation planning, which achieves a reduction in stress and strain and in the long term should contribute to reducing overstress and the resulting days of absence. Four project partners from industry and science are working on the development of an algorithm that determines expected stress values. In a simulation model, reduced-strain rotation plans and layer compositions are simulated and then prototypically implemented at an industrial partner. A communication interface is created by means of Smart Devices and the feedback of real stress values is realized by the employees.