On the choice of a production control system

This paper deals with a problem to develop ‘factory automation systems’ which harmonize companies’ needs with workers’ desires. Two kinds of indices and methods of survey are proposed on the basis of the ‘fusion system concept’. One is that of the state of workers’ desires which are based on the ‘stimulus-response model’, the other is that of situations where ‘factory automation’ is implemented in a workshop. The effects of ‘factory automation’ on workers’ desires are clarified in a study of Japanese manufacturing industries in 1983. As a result of this investigation, some problems can be pointed out which should be solved in the future to develop ‘factory automation systems’.