ABSTRACT
Several authors have investigated in various industrial segments the way in which workers improve their performance as repetitions of a manual-based task take place; e.g., Anderson (1982), Adler and Clark (1991), Pananiswaml and Bishop (1991), Nembhard and Uzumeri (2000a), Nembhard and Osothsilp (2002), Vits and Gelders (2002), Hamade et al. (2007). A number of factors may impact the workers’ learning process, including: (1) task complexity, as investigated by Pananiswaml and Bishop (1991) and Nembhard and Osothsilp (2002); (2) structure of training programs (Terwiesch and Bohn 2001; Vits and Gelders 2002; Serel et al. 2003; Azizi et al. 2010); (3) workers’ motivation in performing the tasks (Kanfer 1990; Eyring et al. 1993; Natter et al. 2001; Agrell et al. 2002); and (4) prior experience with the task (Nembhard and Uzumeri 2000a, 2000b; Nembhard and Osothsilp 2002). Other studies have focused on measuring knowledge and dexterity retention after task interruption; e.g., Dar-El and Rubinovitz (1991), Wickens et al. (1998), Nembhard and Uzumeri (2000b), and Jaber and Guiffrida (2008). Analyses presented in the works listed above were carried out by means of mathematical models suitable to describe the workers’ learning process.
