Vol.3 No.1 2010

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Research paper : Acquisition of skills on the shop-floor (N. Matsuki)−79−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.3 No.1 (2010) for determining the specific figures, not just determining the right-wrong of a certain action. For example, in forging, such skills include the estimation of the necessary process pressure by looking at the plan and material of the ordered parts. The decision of whether a product can be manufactured by the machines available in the company factory is extremely important in the forging industry, and often depends on the expert skilled worker’s assessment.One of the reasons for looking at the skill of decision-making is because the output of this research is a skill transfer tool that can be used on site. To create the tool, it must be implementable on the computer, in such ways as entering some figures that will produce some figures or graphs. Therefore, it is necessary to look at skills that can be expressed in numbers, and the skills of decision-making became the main subjects of this research.The goal of the NEDO project under which this research was conducted was to select four core processing technologies – casting, forging, plating, and heat treatment, to select 10 different skills for each processing methods, to extract individual skills, and to develop a skill transfer tool that can be used on site. This project was a joint project by AIST and RIKEN, and RIKEN conducted the research for metal cutting and metal stamping. These processing methods were selected among those set forth in the Act on Enhancement of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises’ Core Manufacturing Technology, as enforced by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency.3 Research scenarioThe development of the skill acquisition method of an expert skilled worker means that the acquired skill must function independently and autonomously from the skilled worker. It means to build a computer system that will be an alternative to the skilled worker, as shown in Fig. 1. Although we were aware of this concept only vaguely at the start, we became conscious of it when we actually executed the R&D. The construction of this alternative became the methodology for skill acquisition in this research. In this chapter, the path we followed is discussed in retrospect.We started the research by learning how the expert skilled worker conducts decision-making. The case studies of decision-making done at companies were collected, and their importance and qualities were studied. This was the collection of the decision results or the output. Next, we considered the whole body of information that was used for that decision-making. This was the collection of the input for decision-making.Although it is very interesting to recreate the thought process that takes place in the mind of an expert skilled worker, it is very difficult. Therefore, we built an algorithm that was established from the input and the output. This involved building a computer system using the known formal knowledge. The algorithm was inferred from the output, and the input to establish that algorithm was inferred. This was verified through interviews at the company, and then the algorithm and the input were reviewed. The creation of the alternative of decision-making by the expert skilled worker was the method for skill acquisition in this study.Since the subjects were the input and output only, as a result, we decided not to consider the thought process of the expert skilled worker at all. Although the subject was skill acquisition, the expert worker was not the subject of analysis. We became clearly conscious of this at the late stages of the research. In this research, a device for observing the actions of the expert worker was developed, and we felt we were observing the expert worker at all times, but that was not the case. In the early phases of the research, consideration of the difference in methodologies for acquiring the different skills – decision-making and action control – was insufficient.In contrast to the fact that the research for tacit knowledge and skills from the viewpoint of business management focuses on the role of the expert skilled worker and the process of knowledge creation, attention was given to the skill itself in our engineering research. However, neither the business management research and our method considered the thought process of the expert worker, and in that sense, the two were the same. The issue of the tacit knowledge in the brain is an issue for cognitive and brain sciences.Table 1. Skills in processing. Immediatelybefore workBefore workDifficultDifficultRelativelydifficultRelatively easyEasyDifficulty of measurementCapable of responding quickly to new trouble・ Pouring・ Polishing・ Burr removal・ Tapping timing; “Take it out now”Adjustment of additives according to the day’s weather・ Processing method planning・ Riser arrangement planningExample of on-site skillsAbility to respond to trouble, etc.Manual skillsAbility to determine situationsAbility to adjustAbility to planOthersAbility during work(based on perceptivity)Ability to set upAbility of expert skilled workerCategory of abilityDuring workFig. 1 Model for acquisition of the decision-making skills. VerificationResponseDerived valueEnvironment(parameter)Result of decision-makingDecision-making skillsEnvironment(parameter)Alternative of decision-making skills: Computer system

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