Prediction of assembly times based on analysis of heart rate variability and experimental evaluation

Abstract

ln cellular manufacturing systems, workers carry out the whole production activities, and the performance of workers' activities changes during production processes. We are engaged in development of dynamic production management system. The previous study shows that the decrease of processing time depends on the learning level for work procedure. The purpose of this study is to predict processing times of workers in consideration of ability difference. This study proposes a method for analyzing workers' heart rate variability to estimate the learning level in real time. The method determines the amount of change in processing times in response to activation level of parasympathetic nerve. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective for prediction of processing times with consideration of personal differences.