Digitisation of maintenance work management - a work design perspective: Lessons Learned in an Industry Study

Work design theory provides an understanding of the characteristics of a task or job that makes work meaningful and motivating for individuals. Currently, maintenance technicians in hands-on manual trades roles working in industrial organisations are dealing with the introduction of digital technology to replace or augment their work practices. This paper elicits technicians’ views on potential changes to the nature of their work as a result of this new technology. We report on learnings from two focus groups with qualified technicians prior to the introduction of a tablet-based digital tool to replace paper-based procedures. The potential impact of the technology is framed in terms of six job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback and community. We identify lessons for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) practitioners relating to how to present these ideas to audiences whose work is grounded in manual skills.