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9th IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and

Control
9th IFAC
Control
Berlin, Conference
Germany, on Manufacturing
August 28-30, 2019 Modelling, Management and
9th IFAC
Control
Berlin,
9th IFAC
Conference
Germany, August
Conference on 28-30, 2019 Available
on Manufacturing
Manufacturing
online
Modelling, at www.sciencedirect.com
Management and
Modelling, Management and
Control
Berlin, Germany, August 28-30, 2019
Control
Berlin, Germany, August 28-30, 2019
Berlin, Germany, August 28-30, 2019 ScienceDirect
IFAC PapersOnLine
Exploring human 52-13 (2019) 2183–2188
factors in Logistics 4.0:
Exploring human factors in Logistics 4.0:
empirical
Exploring evidence
human frominaLogistics
factors case study 4.0:
empirical
Exploring
Exploring evidence
human
human fromin
factors
factors inaLogistics
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empirical evidence from a case study
Chiaraempirical evidence
Cimini* Alexandra from
Lagorio* a
Fabianacase study
Pirola* Roberto Pinto*
 Chiaraempirical evidence
Cimini* Alexandra from
Lagorio* a case
Fabiana study
Pirola* Roberto Pinto*
 Chiara Cimini* Alexandra Lagorio* Fabiana Pirola* Roberto Pinto*
 Chiara Cimini* Alexandra Lagorio* Fabiana Pirola* Roberto Pinto*
 *Department of Management, Chiara Cimini* Alexandra
Information andLagorio*
IndustrialFabiana
Engineering,Pirola* RobertoofPinto*
University Bergamo, Italy (e-mail:
 *Department of Management, Information and Industrial Engineering, University of Bergamo, Italy (e-mail:
 chiara.cimini@unibg.it, alexandra.lagorio@unibg.it, fabiana.pirola@unibg.it, roberto.pinto@unibg.it).
 *Department of Management,
chiara.cimini@unibg.it, Information and Industrialfabiana.pirola@unibg.it,
alexandra.lagorio@unibg.it, Engineering, Universityroberto.pinto@unibg.it).
of Bergamo, Italy (e-mail:
*Department of Management,
chiara.cimini@unibg.it, Information and Industrialfabiana.pirola@unibg.it,
alexandra.lagorio@unibg.it, Engineering, Universityroberto.pinto@unibg.it).
of Bergamo, Italy (e-mail:
*Department of Management, Information and Industrial Engineering, University of Bergamo, Italy (e-mail:
chiara.cimini@unibg.it, alexandra.lagorio@unibg.it, fabiana.pirola@unibg.it, roberto.pinto@unibg.it).
chiara.cimini@unibg.it,
Abstract: Nowadays, thealexandra.lagorio@unibg.it,
terms Smart Logistics and Logistics fabiana.pirola@unibg.it,
4.0 are used to represent roberto.pinto@unibg.it).
the Industry 4.0
Abstract:
technology-basedNowadays, the terms
application in Smart
the Logistics
field of and Logistics
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introduction of to represent
technology in the Industry
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Abstract:
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technology in the Industry
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Keywords: (International
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Keywords:
decision support Industry
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manufacturing,in manufacturing,
Human operator Intelligent
support manufacturing systems, Intelligent
Keywords:
decision Industry
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manufacturing,in manufacturing,
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support manufacturing systems, Intelligent
Keywords: Industry 4.0, Logistics in manufacturing,  Intelligent manufacturing systems, Intelligent
decision support systems in manufacturing, Human operator multiplesupport
activities, human work still turns out to be essential,
decision support systems in manufacturing, Human operator support
1. INTRODUCTION multiple activities, human work still turns out to be essential,
1. INTRODUCTION  and would
multiple not be human
activities, substituted workentirely
still turns by outtechnology within
to be essential,
The advent of Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing landscape
1. INTRODUCTION and
the would
future not be
(Jäger & substituted
Ranz, 2014; entirely
Mital & by technology
Pennathur, within
2004).
multiple
and would activities,
not be human
substituted workentirely
still turns by out to be essential,
technology within
The advent
pavedadvent
the wayof 1.
Industry INTRODUCTION
4.0
for1.breakthroughin the manufacturing
innovations inlandscapelandscape
logistics the multiple
the future activities,
(Jäger & human
Ranz, work
2014; still
Mital turns
& out
Pennathur,to be essential,
2004).
The of Industry INTRODUCTION
4.0 in the manufacturing andfuture
would(Jäger not be & substituted
Ranz, 2014;entirely Mital &by technology
Pennathur, within
2004).
paved the way
(Witkowski,
The advent
paved the 2017). for Many
of Industry
way for
breakthrough
technologies innovations
4.0 in the manufacturing
breakthrough have
innovations in to be and
in logistics
started
landscape
logistics the
wouldreasons,
For future
these not be
(Jäger & Ranz,
substituted
assessing 2014;
entirely
the role&of
Mital
by technology
the
Pennathur,operator within
in the
2004).
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(Witkowski,
implemented, of Industry
2017).
and a Many 4.0
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For
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4.0 Ranz,
assessing 2014;
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for 2004).
an in the
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(Witkowski, way
2017). for breakthrough
Many technologies innovations in
haveisstarted logistics
to be For these reasons, assessing the role of the for operator in the
paved the
implemented, wayand
align logistics2017). for
a breakthrough
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transformation” in logistics
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implemented, and Manytotechnologies
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Industry 4.0 2017).
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Industry 2016).
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Logistics 2016).
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Mirčetić,
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Pereira, 2017). areas
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Pereira,
processes, and
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management,
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Pereira, 2017). and resource
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supports both physical explored4.0 paradigmand discussed.to support a human-centric logistics are
management,
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systems (Timm transportation
processes,
& and 2015).
Lorig, and resource
information exchangeplanningand (Barreto,
decision 4.0 paradigm to support a human-centric logistics are
Amaral,
logistics & Pereira,
processes, 2017). Technology
and 2015).
information supports
exchange both physical
and decision The paper
explored and is structured
discussed. as follows. In Section 2, a literature
Amaral,
systems &
(Timm
Traditionally, Pereira,
& 2017).
Lorig,
logistics Technology
processes are supports both
recognised physical explored
The paper and is discussed.
structured as follows.
to be overview is presented, including two parts. First, the role of In Section 2, a literature
logistics
systems processes,
(Timm & Lorig,and 2015).
information exchange and decision
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2015).
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Sgarbossa, 2017). human
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2017). physical,
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technologies
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW to represent a technology-driven approach in managing the


flows of materials inside and outside the boundaries of the
2.1 Human Factor in Logistics factory (Uckelmann, 2008). With the formalization of
Industry 4.0 trend in manufacturing, a new vision of a
In logistics, the human factor is often undervalued and rarely connected, decentralised and intelligent supply chain has
taken into consideration (Grosse et al., 2017), even if it is been depicted and, similarly, inside the factory, key concepts
essential for improving logistics performance (D’Aleo & about manufacturing Logistics 4.0 appeared (Lasi, Fettke,
Sergi, 2017). Moreover, the human factor is considered as Kemper, Feld, & Hoffmann, 2014; Oztemel & Gursev,
one of the logisticians perceived uncertainties in the 2018). First, a set of technologies has been recognised as
industrial processes together with the demands, the internal useful for transforming traditional logistics into smart
processes, and the new technologies general trends; further, it logistics. Among them, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud
is an element that makes logistics operations more complex technologies, big data analysis, cyber-physical systems,
(Nilsson, 2006). Thus, it is possible to evidence that the RFID and automated guided vehicles have been mainly
complexity in logistics is due mostly to the human behaviour employed (Gružauskas, Baskutis, & Navickas, 2018; Lee, Lv,
that condition rational decision making, organisation, Ng, Ho, & Choy, 2018; Rakyta, Fusko, Hercko, Závodská, &
hierarchy, emotions and personal attributes (Bruzzone, Zrnic, 2016; Závadská & Závadský, 2018). Further,
Briano, Bocca, & Massei, 2007). Strandhagen, Alfnes, Strandhagen, & Vallandingham (2017)
Although few authors have investigated the theme of human classify Industry 4.0 technologies in four groups, identifying
factors in logistics, one of the most discussed topic in the the areas in which manufacturing logistics can be supported,
scientific literature is operators’ safety. namely Decision support and decision-making, Identification
In particular, it is possible to find different risk factors in and interconnectivity, Seamless information flow,
inbound and outbound logistics. The articles dealing with the Automation, robots and new production technology.
human factor in inbound logistics address ergonomics (Loos, Generally, the expected benefits of introducing such
Merino, & Rodriguez, 2016) and, more in general, prevention technologies in logistics concern the possibility to improve
of risks related to inexperience (Winkelhaus, Sgarbossa, the material flow traceability and, consequently, enhance the
Calzavara, & Grosse, 2018), fatigue (Rossi, Bertoloni, flexibility of the enterprise (Müller & Voigt, 2018; Trappey
Fenaroli, Marciano, & Alberti, 2013) and discomfort et al., 2017). The final goal of Logistics 4.0 is to provide the
(Calzavara, Hanson, Sgarbossa, Medbo, & Johansson, 2017). production system with the needed input at the right time and
These aspects are particularly important in warehouse place and in the right quantity exploiting the technological
logistics (Dewa, Pujawan, & Vanany, 2017), especially in advances offered by Industry 4.0 (Hofmann & Rüsch, 2017).
picking (Elbert, Knigge, & Sarnow, 2018; Grosse, Glock, &
Nevertheless, there are several fields of application of
Neumann, 2017) where movements are particularly
Industry 4.0 technologies into production logistics. In this
repetitive, laborious, and time-consuming (Grosse, Glock,
regard, Barreto, Amaral, & Pereira (2017) highlight the
Jaber, & Neumann, 2015). In the outbound logistics, the risks
following five main areas of technological applications of
linked to the human factors can be overcome by the careful
Logistics 4.0:
management of intermodal interfaces and loading/unloading
phases where human operators have to interface with cranes  Resource Planning (RP), referring to all the
and forklifts, as occurs on intermodal platforms and in procedures used in the supply chain management;
terminal or if the transportation regards a hazardous material
(Pezzullo & Filippo, 2009).  Warehouse Management Systems (WMS),
Considering that the above mentioned topics are the most encompassing inventory management activities;
discussed in the scientific literature, it is possible to identify  Transportation Management Systems (TMS), as the
the functional areas in which the relationship between part of the supply chain management centered on
logistics and human factors has been most investigated. In transportation logistics;
particular, it is possible to observe that literature focuses  Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), including
mainly on warehouse logistics (particularly on picking new technologies, infrastructures, control methods
operations) and actual transport operations (i.e., external and operations in the field of transportation;
logistics and transport).
 Information Security (IS) that refers to solutions able
2.2. Industry 4.0 in Logistics to protect the information assets and infrastructures.
It is worth mentioning that in all these application areas,
In literature, under the concept of Industry 4.0, many operators currently play an important role, and the
technologies, features, and applications have been discussed
introduction of new technologies will affect the human work
(Lu, 2017). Different areas of implementation have been
in the supply chain management and transport systems
described as well, and logistics represents one of the most inevitably (Paprocki, 2017).
important ones, given the necessity to reach a high level of
value and supply chain integration, which is at the basis of In the following section, we deeply explore the impacts of
the Industry 4.0 paradigm (Kagermann, Wahlster, & Logistics 4.0 implementation on the operators.
Johannes, 2013). Actually, before the advent of Industry 4.0,
the concept of smart logistics has been previously introduced

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3. OPERATOR 4.0 IN LOGISTICS main areas in which operators will be involved, thanks to the
opportunities offered by IoT and data analysis, which allow
Based on what can be inferred from the analysis of the
full traceability of the material in the process flow. In this
literature, the role of the logistics operator in Industry 4.0 can
case, logistics operators can benefit from real-time
undergo two main evolutions:
information exchange to optimize the supply and transport of
(i) the operator is replaced by the technology for
materials inside the factory. Further, it contributes to the
performing some tasks;
improvement and rearrangement of the production planning
(ii) the operator is supported by new technologies, and
and scheduling if any problem occurs. Technology also
possibly perform more tasks than previously done.
enables new communications mechanisms, which can be
According to previously discussed scientific literature, the used by logistics operators in the coordination of material
hypothesis (i) is more likely to be true for operators and flows. Looking at the whole supply chain, improving the
individual tasks that are strongly related to the use of physical internal logistics performance, exploiting better coordination
force (e.g., material handling) and to continuous and and management of warehouses and transport, can also bring
repetitive activities (e.g., manual packaging, picking benefits to other departments of the enterprise. Logistics
operations) (Grosse et al., 2017). In general, all activities that operator working in the shop floor can support sales
do not bring added value to the process, such as inventory processes, contributing to the improvement of the customer
control and scrap disposal, can be easily automated and service level of the enterprise, with responsive information
assigned to technology rather than operators. However, exchange about material and production management. Such a
scenarios i) and ii) do not represent two mutually exclusive scenario suggests that the work of logistics operators can be
approaches, but industrial logistics systems will evolve affected significantly by technology and new tasks can be
simultaneously towards them. Actually, the replacement of created, enlarging their traditional duties to cross-functional
human operators with the technology in logistics activities and more cognitive activities. Moreover, logistics operators
already happens. A clear example of this is the case of the can benefit from technologies that are complementary to their
increasingly widespread presence of self-driving vehicles that capabilities, thus allowing higher efficiency. For instance, the
are used instead of forklifts and trans pallets to move the use of augmented reality in picking operations can avoid
material inside the warehouses and for transporting products errors and improve the performance, without replacing the
across the production departments and to and from the operator. To realize this perspective, it is worth to mention
storage warehouses (DHL Trend Research, 2014). Inventory that technology affects significantly also the workplace. For
control operations can be nowadays almost entirely instance, logistics operators are increasingly equipped with
automated: in modern warehouses, the Warehouse wearable tools and supported by mobile devices. Human-
Management System (WMS) software allows real-time machine interfaces and communication need to be designed
management of stock, making it possible to know the level of properly, in order to allow the operators to perform their tasks
stock, free and occupied storage areas, the exact position of effectively and efficiently.
each item, and the material departing and arriving, almost in In the following section, some Logistics 4.0 implementations
real time. The use of technologies that allow the automation are shown, and the implications of scenarios (i) and (ii) in a
of the previously listed activities indeed leads to some real context are discussed.
benefits (e.g., productivity, flexibility, traceability) and solve
4. CASE STUDY: ALPHA COMPANY
some of the critical aspects of the relationship between
logistics and human factors highlighted in the previous This research analyses the relationship between the theory
paragraph (e.g., human errors, safety issues). Reducing the and the reality leveraging on an in-depth, single case study.
number of interactions between human and machine allows The single case study research method is particularly
reducing the risks related to them and, therefore, increasing appropriate for exploratory studies discovering relevant
the level of safety in the work environment. In addition, it constructs in areas where theory building is at the formative
contributes to the reduction of the level of uncertainty related stages and for studies where the experiences of participants
to human behaviour by increasing the reliability of operations and context of actions are critical (Bhattacherjee, 2012), such
and the process. It should also be noted that the reduction (if as logistics 4.0. For the developing of the case study, several
not the elimination) of operators repetitive actions with no site inspections and interviews with key figures of the
added value and the transformation of the operators’ duties company (i.e. CEO, HR manager, Operations manager,
from operational to supervision and control tasks should Technological team manager) have been performed. In
make the work less de-personalising by making the operator addition, qualitative evidences form other secondary sources
more autonomous and with a higher possibility of affecting from the company (i.e. presentations, documents, news,
the optimisation of logistics processes. If the operator is not conference extracts) have been analysed in order to
employed in no value-added tasks anymore, the second triangulate the information.
scenario (ii) contributes to filling up the time that previously
the operator used for them, enlarging the variety of tasks to 4.1. Technological innovations introduced
perform, mainly with the support of technology. As a result,
all the tasks concerning decision making or coordination Alpha company is a family firm, active from 1939, located in
activities become the core of the logistics operator work. the north of Italy. The company has two core activities: the
Referring to the previously discussed technological production of “big bags”, that is relatively large, plastic (or
applications of Logistics 4.0, Resource Planning is one of the other similar materials) bags for different industrial
applications, which generates about the 20% of the turnover,

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and the trading of the same products, which generates about


the 80% of the turnover. In recent years, when the new
generation of entrepreneurs of the Alpha company family
took the management of the company, they decided to pursue
an innovation path, starting from logistics, a primary area for
them.
They started the logistics innovations from the warehouse,
that at that time was managed with the use of legacy
software. In that way, most of the information (such as the
material position inside the warehouse) was known only by
the warehouse manager, and the supply requests from the Fig. 1. An RFID reader for managing warehouse operations
marketing department to the warehouse were all made in
verbal and paper form. At this point, after having tried to Referring to the envisioned scenarios of Section 3 and
adapt a WMS system available on the market, the managers applications described in Section 2, the logistics activities
of Alpha company decided to develop their own WMS affected by changes in the case study company are reported
system in order to devise a completely customised solution in Table 1.
fitting their needs. They started developing the idea of a
WMS entirely supported by cloud technologies and highly Table 1. Summary of the evolution of
interoperable, able to interface simultaneously with suppliers operator’s work in Alpha Company
and customers of various nationalities everywhere and with Scenario (i)
several external IT systems as well. The introduction of this Application Activity Evolution
new WMS software has allowed increasing the collaboration
WMS/ITS Warehouse Replaced by drones
and the information exchanged within the supply chain
inventory
between suppliers (who can report in real time the shipments RP Operator’s Automatically provided by
sent and their contents), transporters and customers (sales activity timeline Beta company software
manager could negotiate with customers the exact quantities RP Task assignment Automatically performed
of goods according to real-time stock information). This to operators through RFID gates’ passage
innovation made possible to reach levels of efficiency that Scenario (ii)
were previously unattainable, for example by minimising the Application Activity Evolution
transit time of goods in warehouses through the geolocation WMS Warehouse Supported by new WMS
of the material destined for the warehouse from the moment management software
it was shipped from the supplier. Also, cloud technology WMS/RP/IS Real-time stock Supported by mobile devices
allows the creation of a dispatch module that can calculate and production
the transport costs and seek the best combination of control
consolidation and packaging. TMS Transport Supported by new WMS
Moreover, other technologies have been implemented in the management software
company. For instance, the management of the Alpha
Company warehouse has been revolutionised with the 4.2. Impacts on the operators
introduction of RFID sensors. RFID sensors are used to
identify every single item in stock, and to regulate the Analysing the impacts of these technological innovations on
entrances, exits, and passages of operators and transporters in the workforce, it is possible to notice some improvements in
the various areas of the company. In fact, RFIDs are present the work organisation. First, the new WMS software provides
on each warehouse equipment (e.g., forklifts), and each a significant support to the operator, displaying the task to be
operator is provided with a wearable device, which is used to performed, allowing a faster task execution, and avoiding the
assign tasks to the operators when they pass through RFID time loss due to the scheduling of activities to carry out,
readers gates. In addition, several mobile devices (i.e., previously done by the operator himself. These aspects
barcode and RFID readers, tablets and smartphones; Fig.1) change operators’ way of work leading to a better work time
have been introduced. In this way, each operator can have management, a more active participation in decisions-making
real-time control of the stock and production situation and the processes, and finally to achieve more autonomy in the daily
timeline of the activities that must be performed. operations.
Furthermore, the traditional warehouse was almost entirely Because of this change, the company observed that
converted into a warehouse controlled by the operators. warehouse operators begun making proposals for new
Finally, a drone was also introduced. His main task is to read implementations and optimisations, enlarging their view from
the RFIDs placed on each package contained in the mere operational tasks to a wider management perspective.
warehouse and automatically realise the inventory count In addition, the new warehouse management system has
(Figure 2); such an activity was previously performed allowed the company moving from a working system based
manually by the logistics operators once a year, thus on fixed working time to one based on goals achievement.
represented a time-consuming task. Thanks to this, the company managed to reduce the working
hours of the employees, who benefitted from both an increase
in available free time and greater flexibility.

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This paper aimed at exploring the opportunities offered to the


human workforce by Industry 4.0 implementation in
logistics. However, there are some limitations: this paper use
single case study methodology that is less generalizable and it
is more complex to verify the external validity than other
methodologies. Consequently, having analysed only an in
depth case study, it is possible that a different implementation
of the same technology yields to different results (or that
different implementation yields to similar results). Thus,
further research in this field is required to better pinpoint how
to design human-centered logistics 4.0 systems, in which the
collaboration between humans and technology could enhance
Fig. 2. Drone used for warehouse inventory operations at the best performance to the production and supply chain. A
Alpha Company deeper investigation about the new competencies required to
workers could also help companies in training and
The change in the organisation, in turn, has led to a flatter
involvement of employees in the logistic transformation,
organisation chart in which, under the three directors, there
supporting the realization of Industry 4.0 in real contexts.
remain only four managers (commercial, purchasing, human
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