Digitalization of Whiteboard for Work Task Allocation to Support Information Sharing between Operators and Supervisor

Paper in proceeding, 2017

The increase of complexity in modern production systems has put new demands on shop-floor operators. Therefore, proper sharing of information on shop-floors has become more important as means to support operators’ cognition. To this aim, the development of Information and Communication Technology has provided new support tools, but many of these tools lack empirical testing in live production. This paper studies how information sharing between operators and supervisor, at a small production company, is affected by the use of one of these tools: namely, replacing a whiteboard for work task allocation with a digital counterpart. In this study, questionnaires, polls, and interviews about the operators’ perception towards shared information and its quality were assessed. This assessment was based on the MEET model, which includes both an organizational and an informational perspective for studying various areas that affect meetings and information sharing. The results indicate that, while the information quality was improved by the digital whiteboard, the Organization System supporting the changed Information System need to keep up with the changes. Future practice needs to better match the two systems, and research needs to study the relations of the subcomponents of the two systems.