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New organisational concepts in manufacturing - e.g. groupwork - imply changing roles and tasks for shopfloor employees. The importance of Human Oriented Design increases as human experience and skill becomes the core focus of group-oriented work organisation. The concept of socio-technical systems can give a theoretical framework for the derivation of design guidelines within the context of groupwork-oriented technology design. Three examples of technological systems for shopfloor applications - a CNC controller, a shopfloor information system and a work planning system - are described which were designed to meet these guidelines. Some methodological remarks on co-operative software design are added.

The concept of fractals as self-similar entities has recently been suggested by vari ous authors as an organisational principle for the (re-)design of enterprises. Besides the notion of fractal structures within the organisation, fractal methods or processes have been recognized as an interesting approach to change management. The theoretical background of this methoddogy is discussed and case studies from industry are provided.

Cognitive compatibility of human-machine interfaces implies that the structure of the interface should match the cognitive structures of the users. A theory of mental models (structures of analogue knowledge) is described. A methodology incorporating this theory has been used to analyse the user's mental models in work settings. Furthermore, it has been employed to generate variants of human-machine interfaces with direct user participation. As an example, a new CNC system has been developed.

Cognitive compatibility of human-machine interfaces implies that the structure of the interface should match the cognitive structures of the users. A theory of mental models (structures of analogue knowledge) is described. A methodology incorporating this theory has been used to analyse the user’s mental models in work settings. Furthermore, it has been employed to generate variants of human-machine interfaces with direct user participation. As an example, a new CNC system has been developed.

Automation today defines the role of human operators largely, as follows: The control system acts, the human observes and supervises, he/she acts only in case of emergency. Thus, the skilled workers controlling manufacturing systems, loose - or never develop - the willingness or ability to act in responsible ways. In this report, approaches will be described to re-define the roles of human operators in manufacturing. The design of new CNC control systems will be discussed. It is based on the psychological concept that the structure of the CNC interface should match the cognitive structure of its users. In this way the users remain fully in charge of controlling the system.

Cognitive compatibility of human-machine interfaces implies that the structure of the interface should match the cognitive structures of the users. A theory of mental models (structures of analogue knowledge) is described. A methodology incorporating this theory has been used to analyse the user’s mental models in work settings. It has been embedded into a research-based set of criteria for system design to match the user’s needs. Furthermore, it has been employed to generate variants of human-machine interfaces with direct user participation. As an example, a new CNC system was developed.