A framework for training workers in contemporary manufacturing environments

Manufacturing expe riments with full automation for manufacturing of goods, developed, promoted and attempted in the 1980s, have failed for economic and technical reasons. It is now widely accepted that humans are vital to efficient and effective operation of manufacturing proce sses. Historically, human resources in most manufacturing environments have been m ismanaged, and while the re has been a virtual proliferation of enabling technologie s to support manufacturing systems, little attention has been paid to integrating humans into such systems. Now that humans are be ing re introduced in contemporary manufacturing systems, it is necessary to pay serious attention to th is most vital of all re source s. One of the most critical and pre ssing human resource management needs is the training of workers, at all leve ls ( line workers, managers, engineers, etc.) in skills they need to make a manufacturing organization competitive. In spite of th is pressing need relatively little has been done to deve lop generic and fundamental methods for training manufacturing workers. Th is pape r reviews training literature, identifies research de ficiencies, and propose s a framework for training workers in contemporary manufacturing environments.