Effects of pneumatic screwdrivers and workstations on inexperienced and experienced operator performance

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of pneumatic screwdriver characteristics and workpiece orientation on operator productivity. Operators used four pneumatic screwdrivers (two pistol and two straight grip) representing two different clutch types (positive and automatic air shut-off). The two grip types represented both fast (1700 RPM) and slow (1000 RPM) motor speeds. The pneumatic screwdrivers were used at each of three different workstations representing different workpiece orientations (horizontal workpiece at a fixed height, horizontal workpiece with an adjustable height, and angled workpiece with adjustable height). In the first phase of the study, 18 university students (inexperienced operators) participated in a simulated furniture assembly operation. In the second phase, 16 experienced employees of a furniture manufacturing facility participated in an actual furniture assembly operation. The results of the study indicate that operators took longer to complete the required tasks and made more errors when the straight grip screwdrivers were used than when the pistol grip screwdrivers were used. These differences were more pronounced at the end of the task than at the beginning of the task. No strong performance differences were found among the three different workstations used.