Designing wearables for use in the workplace: The role of solution developers

Maren Evers, Martin Krzywdzinski and Sabine Pfeiffer

Discussion Papers, Research Group Globalization, Work, and Production from WZB Berlin Social Science Center

Abstract: Wearables (such as data glasses and smartwatches) are a particularly visible element of Industrie 4.0 applications. They aim at providing situation-specific information to workers, but at the same time they can also be used for surveillance and control because they generate data on the work process and sometimes even on movement patterns and vital data of the employees. Wearables technology is at an early stage of development, in which the interests and perspectives of relevant stakeholders, especially technology developers and the management, are of particular importance. This article explores the role of solution developers and their understanding of work processes in which wearables are to be used. It is based on expert interviews with solution developers, academic and company experts. The analysis shows an ambivalent understanding of work: On the one hand, it is characterized by the perception of workers as potential sources of error. It focuses on the optimization of individual workplaces and their ergonomics, while broader questions of work design and work organization are ignored. On the other hand, the technology developers see and discuss the potentials and dangers of wearables technologies with regard to individualization, data protection and control in a differentiated manner.

Keywords: industrie 4.0; technology; developers; labor process; optimization; Industrie 4.0; Technologie; Technologieentwicklung; Arbeitsprozess; Optimierung (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J53 M54 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-pay
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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