ABSTRACT
The capability of automation to replace or supplement human activity in manufacturing is increasing, however there exists no method to decide what tasks are suitable for intelligent automation and to what extent should they be automated. Often the default strategy taken by system designers is to simply automate all the functions that it is economically viable and technically possible to do so. Typically, the human is still required for task performance involving ‘fiddly’ manual dexterity or which requires cognitive reasoning and decision-making. However, this often leaves the human operator to ‘pick up the slack’ and perform the functions that the system designer could not automate; thus the human operators’ role is defined not by the optimisation of the entire human-machine system but rather by the creativeness (or lack thereof) of the system designer (Parasuraman, Sheridan and Wickens, 2000). This disregard for the abilities, limitations and needs of the human operator can lead to a range of human factors issues such as loss of skills, operator complacency and reduced situational awareness (Endsley and Kiris, 1995).
