Using a production-integrated video learning system (PVL) in the assembly sector of the car manufacturing industry

The fast pace of change in both technical processes and the organisation of work in the production and assembly facilities of the automobile manufacturing industry continues to make new demands on both employees and training schemes. The need for training which innovations involve should be met in a way that should be realistic and where possible at the workplace, virtually corresponding to a “just-in-time” philosophy. The production-integrated video learning system is a training programme which attempts to tackle these tasks. Forms of work organisation such as group work require on the one hand, whole understanding of the production process into which the operation is integrated, and on the other, of the product being made. Thus, in addition to the evaluation of the time-related quality data obtained from the particular section of the manufacturing process, the worker was provided with information on the quality relationships throughout the company and their consequences. One of the automobile manufacturing industries, weak links in the chain of work preparation for assembly processes is the scarcely comprehensible information provided to workers at the shop-floor level, which in the final analysis turns into a quality problem. The description of the quality requirements for workplaces, which are determined using work system analyses, thus form the basis for the design of the learning software and the learning environment. In addition to the information coming from work preparation, the workers' knowledge should be especially involved. This was achieved by intense user participation in the PVL creation process. Relevance to industry The report on the production-integrated video learning system (PVL) shows the procedure used for is creating and configuring such a system as well as linking it with the shop floor. The article reports on initial experiences with the training system/information system in assembly tasks in the car manufacturing industry.