Operators’ Work Situation in Volvo Uddevalla

Lars Medbo () and Carl Wänström ()
Additional contact information
Lars Medbo: Chalmers University of Technology
Carl Wänström: Chalmers University of Technology

Chapter Chapter 5 in Technology Convergence and System Divergence, 2025, pp 239-266 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter, co-authored by Medbo and Wänström, discusses the factory operators’ social and technical work situationWork situation. As the Uddevalla factory was seen as the future of sustainable manufacturing in the automotive industry, understanding the operators’ work situationsWork situation and contents is crucial for defining the prerequisites for successful production. The discussion is based on interviews with operators in assembly workshops and reflect their perceptions and views. In the analysis, a cross-disciplinary framework is used, based on the self-determination theorySelf-determination theory (SDT), job design theoryJob design theory (JDT) and socio-technical systems theorySocio-technical systems theory. The design with parallel product flows and extensive work cycles and contents was promising for high performance and improved working conditions. Further, the organisation of the production teamsProduction teams created good opportunities for operators to fulfil their basic psychological needsBasic psychological needs (BPN). However, this potential was not fully utilised, especially with respect to productivity. A leadershipLeadership that focused on the design and needs of the production system would have significantly improved the workers’ well-beingWell-being and performance.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-96-1910-8_5

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9789819619108

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-96-1910-8_5

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().