Susanne Mütze-Niewöhner

Development and Evaluation of a Novel Service Productivity Model

Although the early stages of engineering service development are essential, methods and tools to proactively and comprehensively evaluate the productivity of service processes are rare. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive model for product-service systems productivity assessment along the service provision chain. The novel productivity model distinguishes between potential, process and outcome thus covers all dimensions of a product-service system. The model further differentiates between service provider and customer from both a qualitative and quantitative point of view. A set of value drivers and success criteria is proposed in a structured manner, resulting in various levers to optimize a product-service system. The model is made fully operational by defining influence factors, representing parameters to optimize service productivity and by key figures measuring service effectiveness and efficiency. To evaluate the novel service productivity model, field data and expert opinions from two German engineering companies are considered.

An empirical analysis of human performance and error in process model development

Process models capture important corporate know-how for an effective Business Process Management. Inconsistencies between process models and corporate reality are a common phenomenon in corporate practice. Human performance in process model development is a major source for these inconsistencies. In this contribution, a human performance analysis of process model development paying special attention to the concept of human error was conducted. It was found that the frequencies of the omissions and erroneous executions of notation elements are significantly higher for novices than for experienced modelers. Moreover, experienced modelers inherently adhere to a verb-object activity labeling style. The overall empirical results indicate that experienced modelers achieve higher process model quality with less expenditure of time than novices.

Age-Differentiated Analysis of the Influence of Task Descriptions on Learning Sensorimotor Tasks

This paper presents a study into the validity of a self-developed method to predict the learning time of sensorimotor tasks that was originally developed for young adults (age group AG I) for persons aged between 52 and 67 (age group AG II). For this purpose, a laboratory study was conducted with an age-differentiated sample of 60 participants. The participants’ task was to repeatedly assemble a carburetor with the help of one of three task descriptions, which differed in regard to format (textual, text- & figure-based, animated). Execution times and numbers of assembly errors were measured to evaluate human performance. Additionally, the cumulative viewing time of the task description was measured in each trial to analyze participants’ usage of the task description. Data analysis with respect to the age group and the format of the task descriptions indicates significant effects (α = 0.05). Thus, participants who had the support of a textual task description achieved greater performance improvement than participants who used the animated task description. Concerning the age group, participants in AG I show better performance and lower observation times concerning to participants in AG II. Furthermore, nonlinear curve fittings were carry out and root mean square errors calculated in order to investigate the accuracy of the prediction method. The results show that the prediction method is less accurate for older adults.

Assessment of the teamwork organization in a production plant of a major German automobile manufacturer

In this article the assessment of work organization method (AWO) developed by Frieling et al. was used to describe and compare different settings under which teamwork occurs in a production plant of a major German automobile manufacturer. The aim was to And significant differences within several shop-floor areas at. The original AWO consists of 43 items operationalized in six categories: organizational structure, team-oriented activities/tasks, participation/autonomy, formal team communication, qualification and continuous improvement process. Due to specific conditions in the plant the AWO was adapted and extended. An ANOVA was used to compare the four different shop-floor areas. The results demonstrate significant differences within five of the categories between all four shop-floor areas. Only the category formal team communication did not differ among the shop-floor areas.

Ergonomic Design of Human–Computer Interfaces for Aging Users

The demographic changes taking place in many industrialized countries and the increased use of information technology in the workplace are creating an urgent need to carefully consider how older users work with computing systems. The changes in perceptual, cognitive and motor skills that often accompany the aging process can have important implications for the design of the human–computer interface. We investigated human–computer interaction exemplarily on the basis of self-developed project management application software for two reasons. First, computer aided project management (CAPM) is important in many manufacturing and service industries; and second, older workers are often responsible for the coordination and controlling of complex projects due to their extensive experience and excellent communication skills.

Influencing factors on the productivity of knowledge-intensive services

In this paper it will be explicated which are the most important influencing factors on the productivity of knowledge-intensive services. After a short introduction about knowledge-intensive services and research proceedings the authors will present the identified influencing factors on the productivity of knowledge-intensive services. These influencing factors will be assigned to the three dimensions of the service provision: Potential, process and outcome. Conclusive the findings and especially the influencing factors will be discussed and an outlook on further research will be given.

Identification and classification of Human Error in process model development

Process models capture important corporate know-how for an effective knowledge management (KM). However, many process models do not match with corporate reality and therefore cannot serve the intended purpose. Human Error is a major source for these inconsistencies that might hinder process implementation and maintenance as well as continuous improvement efforts. The approach presented in this paper accounts for a more active participation of employees in order to further increase the economical benefit of KM. To this purpose, a human error analysis in process modeling was conducted. The results derived from data of 64 subjects show that errors of omission and erroneous execution on an activity level are considerably higher for novices than for subjects with theoretical knowledge and experienced modelers. However, it can be concluded that even for experienced modelers complex modeling scenarios are prone to reasoning fallacies and thus represent a possible source for model inconsistencies in corporate practice.

Complexity Drivers in Digitalized Work Systems: Implications for Cooperative Forms of Work

Article history: Received: 01 August, 2018 Accepted: 16 September, 2018 Online: 27 September, 2018 Digitalization changes the way people work to a considerable extent. It alters business models and process organizations of whole industries. The ensuing market dynamics and faster innovation cycles cause an increase in complexity. In this article, the interconnection of digitalization and complexity in work systems is analyzed. For this purpose, a framework for comparing relevant complexity definitions is developed. Moreover, complexity drivers in digitalized labor systems in six different organizational dimensions (process organization, organizational structure, technology, working conditions, product and personnel) are explored. 23 experts from the academic and industrial sector were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The results of a qualitative content analysis show that the consideration of complexity and digitalization has extensive impact what becomes evident in interdependent relations amongst the organizational dimensions. Furthermore, complexity drivers in digitalized work systems are determined as a result of the analysis procedure. Finally, the implications of the expert interviews for cooperative forms of work are discussed. The concept of a “task complexity mountain range” is presented to explain the effect of task complexity on performance and motivation in the context of work groups.

Service Productivity and Complexity in Medical Rescue Services

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Article history: Received: 05 April, 2017 Accepted: 07 May, 2017 Online: 24 May, 2017 The increasing impact of services on economic wealth and income in high-wage countries calls for a detailed examination of service productivity and complexity in current research projects. This paper describes the development of a measurement model of service productivity and complexity within the domain of medical service provision. While the measurement model of service productivity is partly literature-based, a novel construct is developed for service complexity. The reliability and validity of these constructs have been analyzed by a survey with 454 employees of German medical rescue service providers. Reliability of the construct is estimated by analyzing Cronbach’s alpha, average variance extracted, variance inflation factors and the significance, weights and loadings of the items. Furthermore, the relationship between the partial productivities (capacity, internal and external) as well as complexity and service performance is analyzed by using the structural equation modeling approach with partial least square method (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that the developed constructs have sufficient reliability, although the examination of validity highlights difficulties in quantifying service productivity and complexity. While a significant and substantial effect of internal and external efficiency on service performance could be proved, complexity influences performance only marginally and positively while capacity efficiency has no effect at all. Thus, further research is needed in order to foster the measurement model and to investigate possible nonlinear relationships between the constructs in more detail.

Age-Differentiated Analysis of the Influence of Introduction Methods on Learning Sensorimotor Tasks

Understanding the process of learning sensorimotor tasks is an important objective of work-related research. In order to investigate the influence of methods for introducing new sensorimotor tasks, a laboratory study with an age-differentiated sample of 40 participants was conducted. The participants were introduced either with a demonstration-based or with a reflection-based introduction, which were specifically created for the study. The experimental task was the repeated assembly of a carburetor. In each trial, the execution times and the number of assembly errors were measured. The collected data were compared with the data of 20 participants of a previous study, in which participants received no introduction. The results show that both introduction methods increase the initial product quality. However, only the reflection-based seems to be a good approach to introduce a new task to a learning person.