AI as a support tool in industrial work – A practical experiment tracking workflow and meaningfulness

Industrial work has traditionally been physical and manual, but digitalisation and AI are opening new possibilities. The HiFive project, steered by VTT, set out to answer a central question: how could industrial work become more attractive in the future?

“The interaction between humans and machines will be key element in the factory of the future. We need to understand what creates meaningfulness in work and how we can sustain it as the nature of work changes”, says Matias Vierimaa, Research Team Leader at VTT.

“Our goal is to understand how new technologies – such as AI, automation and smart interfaces – are changing workers’ roles, tasks, and environments”, says Kimmo Rantala, UX Designer at Konecranes. “We want to find ways to design ways of working that are both attractive to employees and serve production going forward.”

The HiFive project is part of Konecranes’ Zero4 initiative, which explores the future of material handling from a human-centred perspective. Other participants include Elomatic, ProVerse Interactive, Tasowheel and AINS Group. Research partners alongside VTT are the University of Jyväskylä and Aalto University.

The project tested the use of AI through a simple lifting task, with Konecranes employees as test participants. The task involved turning a gear with an overhead crane.

Previously, the same task had been accompanied by printed documents or PDF files. This time, before the lift began, the AI walked the participant through the task steps at a computer. During the actual lifting, the AI guided each work phase via a voice interface.

The AI streamlined the work by delivering instructions at each step. Information was available immediately, and documentation became easier because the AI automatically generated a report from the conversation.

Experiences were largely positive. The AI brought a sense of flow to the work. Participants also appreciated the consistency of AI-delivered information. Unlike information passed between people, it doesn’t suffer from a “telephone game” effect.

That said, the experience wasn’t entirely seamless. Workers weren’t always sure how to phrase their questions when talking to the AI, and AI’s responses were sometimes too long. Communicating by typing during physical work was also found to be awkward.

“It’s important for us to involve future users early on, at the very beginning of the change process and technology adoption. Even though this is still a proof of concept and the solutions are simplified, gathering feedback and experiences is important,” Vierimaa says. 

“It allows us to ensure solutions address real needs. Simultaneously, users get engaged in the development work, and their job description becomes visible.”

The use of AI in industry is still in its early stages. One key challenge to solve is safety.

“A fundamental question is whether the information produced by AI can be trusted. For AI to be used widely, it must provide reliable information for even a novice to act on it without safety risks”, Vierimaa says.

Progress is also slowed by the fact that systems often operate in silos, with information not flowing between them.

“Running a factory requires many separate systems that don’t yet talk to each other. As integrations improve, so will the potential for AI”, says Rantala.

According to Vierimaa and Rantala, AI will gradually find its place in industrial work. AI assistants will become more common as challenges related to safety and system integration are addressed. Machines will grow more self-aware and context-aware – able to optimise their own operations and communicate with other equipment. As interfaces improve, working with AI will become more natural.

Now is the golden opportunity to manage this transition thoughtfully.

At Konecranes, the view is that competitiveness doesn’t come from automation alone, but from how people are supported and how their skills are put to use.

“There’s still a lot of automation, semi-automation and manual work. We can’t jump straight to full automation – we have to take the human perspective into account”, Rantala emphasises.

AI can be one factor in making industrial work more attractive.

“The task of AI is to support wellbeing and allow room for creativity. The meaningfulness of work is central to ensuring that work remains fulfilling in the future too”, Vierimaa concludes.