Abstract This study investigates issues of (KES) in conventional manufacturing processes concerning the use of welding. In view of the shortage of skilled workers and the advancing digitalisation processes in welding, it is essentially relevant to identify how KES takes place. Based on an in-depth study, the possibilities of digital assistance systems to support KES in welding are discussed. The novelty of our contribution lies in the use of a (CSCW) perspective to understand how welding practices can be supported and shared among co-workers. Such practices, as made evidence across the contribution, have particular aspects that make them unique in comparison with other practices in the metal-working industry. Technologies that are already available offer promising possibilities to the challenges faced by KES in welding and have the potential to shape a third generation of KES. While operational activities can benefit from visual digital support, administrative and managerial tasks primarily require better access to relevant information and a better understanding of the practice. Our contribution offers valuable insights for the further development of KES in industrial manufacturing processes and show potential for the targeted use of innovative technologies in welding. It also adds to the CSCW body of literature on KES, by contributing an empirical study on a domain not well explored in the field.

In our study, we practically evaluated a chatbot for normative knowledge in the context of welding.

Abstract In this article, we present findings concerning how environment can both impact upon and be impacted by knowledge and expertise sharing practices (KES) supported by augmented reality (AR) systems. We draw on findings from a Design Case Study (DCS) carried out for the design and evaluation of an AR system to support KES in complex production contexts. Our results suggest that the proposed system not only changes the perception of the technical environment but is itself gradually perceived as an element of it. The results also reveal changes in the employees’ focus of attention when working with the AR-aid in question and how they individually adapt to it. Moreover, our findings suggest that the proposed system facilitates a change in the proximity between experts and non-experts, bridging spatial and temporal distances, fostering cooperation between those two categories of workers, at the same time that enhance their autonomy. Overall, the results highlight how changes in the social environment of digitised production cannot be separated from changes in the technical environment.

Abstract This study addresses an unexplored intersection of vocational education and training (VET), motor skill learning, craftsmanship and the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry as well as expertise sharing. Acquiring proficiency in craftsmanship involves not only theoretical knowledge but also a multitude of physical skills, such as chiselling, which are honed through repetition. Mastering these manual skills and combining them with knowledge of materials, such as wood, is essential for an effective executing of craftmanship. We developed an augmented reality (AR) prototype through the design case study approach to design a support for beginners, especially apprentices, in woodworking education where the connection between craftspeople and material is important for the end results. The prototype was evaluated by 28 apprentices inside and outside a woodwork shop setting. While participants praised the prototype’s 3D visualisations and interactive models, challenges in compatibility with woodwork shop environments were evident. Our findings highlight the importance of on-site evaluations in the craftsmanship context and the significance of direct interaction with real world materials. We provide a set of seven design guidelines derived from our empirical findings to inform the development of AR-based learning applications in craftsmanship. Our discussion opens up the question of the role of interactive 3D models for collaborative learning. The research extends AR’s impact in craftsmanship and AEC industry. Our study underscores the importance of expert knowledge in handling certain materials and the potential of AR to reshape work practices and visualisations, contributing to expertise sharing in this domain.

Abstract Since almost the onset of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW), the community has been concerned with how expertise sharing can be supported in different settings. Here, the complex handling of machines based on experience and knowledge is increasingly becoming a challenge. In our study, we investigated expertise sharing in a medium-sized manufacturing company in an effort to support the fostering of hardware-based expertise sharing by using augmented reality (AR) to ‘retrofit’ machines. We, therefore, conducted a preliminary empirical study to understand how expertise is shared in practice and what current support is available. Based on the findings, we derived design challenges and implications for the design of AR systems in manufacturing settings. The main challenges, we found, had to do with existing socio-technical infrastructure and the contextual nature of expertise. We implemented a HoloLens application called RetrofittAR that supports learning on the production machine during actual use. We evaluated the system during the company’s actual production process. The results show which data types are necessary to support expertise sharing and how our design supports the retrofitting of old machines. We contribute to the current state of research in two ways. First, we present the knowledge-intensive practice of operating older production machines through novel AR interfaces. Second, we outline how retrofitting measures with new visualisation technologies can support knowledge-intensive production processes.

Fast-paced knowledge and expertise sharing (KES) is a typical demand in contemporary workplaces due to dynamic markets and ever-changing work practices. Past and current computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) research has long been investigating how computer technologies can support people with KES. Recent claims have asserted that augmented reality- (AR-)based cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) are poised to bring significant changes in the ways that KES unfolds in manufacturing contexts. This paper scrutinises such claims by implementing a short-term evaluation of an AR-based CPPS and assessing how it can potentially support (1) the generation of AR content by experienced production workers and (2) the visualisation and processing of such content by novice workers. We, therefore, contribute a user study to the CSCW community that sheds light on the use of a particular type of AR-based CPPS for KES in industrial contexts.?

Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly being used for providing guidance and supporting troubleshooting in industrial settings. While the general application of AR has been shown to provide clear benefits regarding physical tasks, it is important to understand how different visualization types influence user’s performance during the execution of the tasks. Previous studies evaluating AR and user’s performance compared different media types or types of AR hardware as opposed to different types of visualization for the same hardware type. This paper provides details of our comparative study in which we identified the influence of visualization types on the performance of complex machine set-up processes. Although our results show clear advantages to using concrete rather than abstract visualizations, we also find abstract visualizations coupled with videos leads to similar user performance as with concrete visualizations.