Safety aspects in FMS implementations

Development of Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMSs) requires diverse new skills and sets new challenges for operators. It also increases the possibilities for errors. The reasons for this often lie in the organization and human factors. The purpose of this study was to clarify what effects the organization itself has when advanced manufacturing systems are being implemented. This study was carried out at 22 Finnish flexible manufacturing system (FMS) implementations. The method used was to interview the key management persons of implementation projects. For the interviews, a questionnaire about the main organizational items was utilized. The results showed that in the design process, companies have not paid enough attention to layout design, personnel involvement, and training. Deficiencies in organizational aspects have led to disturbance situations and decreased safety level in the systems. The safety and efficiency of FMS implementations can be improved by helping system designers and companies become more conscious of technical and safety aspects from the operator's point of view. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.