A Human-centred Methodology to Assess Collaborative Automation Solutions

Integrating collaborative automation in manufacturing often fails because it neglects workers’ expectations, which leads to insufficient acceptance and negative employee experiences. This paper presents a comprehensive human-centred methodology for evaluating collaborative automation systems by examining four key dimensions: task, automation, people and organisational characteristics. The approach combines qualitative assessments with quantitative indicators. Two industrial application cases applying collaborative robotics illustrate the application of the method and highlight its usefulness in identifying areas for improvement. The methodology has proven to be a practical assessment that helps practitioners quickly identify key areas of focus without initially requiring extensive quantitative analyses.