The operator of the future – a key to competitive industry in a future information society

Paper in proceeding, 2012

Increased global competition and forthcoming demographic changes is expected for the Swedish industry. The process and manufacturing industry needs to develop solutions that can provide increased flexibility and production efficiency. A key for the future competitiveness is the operator of the future who works closest to the value adding processes. In the project “The operator of the future”, “Framtidsoperatören” in Swedish, the overall aim is to increase the competiveness of Swedish industry by developing an advanced toolbox that meets future needs. In a pre-study, the tasks and needs of the operator of the future were investigated through workshops with 25 representatives from 15 Swedish process and manufacturing industries and system developers. The results had similarities across industries and suggest solutions that support communication, control and constant learning. The tools should be intuitive and situation adapted with use of strengthened senses. These results give the direction for a continued development of a future toolbox. Through a combination of new supporting technologies and new ways of collaboration the operators of the future might find their work more interesting, stimulating, and developing, leading to enhanced competiveness of Swedish industry.