Smart collaborative workflow development in the footwear industry - MELLOW

The German footwear industry is part of global value-creating networks. International collaboration, diverse processes and digital interfaces are making workflows more complex, placing significant challenges on companies to ensure product quality and social standards across production networks. The MELLOW project is addressing these challenges with the aim of enhancing the quality of work, processes and products in international production networks in two use cases. To this end, a digital assistant is being developed that uses sensors and AI technology to record work processes at various locations. This data is then merged into a process representation. After which the processes are jointly optimised in so-called collaboration islands.

As part of the project, the ITA will focus on organisational and ergonomic aspects:
• Holistic process design for quality assurance
• Improvement of intercultural coordination
• Design and implementation of the collaboration islands
• Supporting the introduction process for MELLOW assistance
• Ergonomic and participative workplace design
• Changing roles, job and competence profiles
• Collaboration in international value-creating networks

The aim of the ITA within the MELLOW project is to test concepts and methods of collaboration and to integrate them into existing organisational science approaches to shaping transformations. A socio-technological approach is being pursued. In MELLOW, holistic concepts are developed that include people, technology and organisation in equal measure. In addition to expanding the understanding of organisations in value creation networks, the focus is also on the development of intercultural skills and the participatory design of MELLOW workplaces.

The „Smart collaborative workflow development in the footwear industry - MELLOW“ project is funded as part of the “Future of Work“ (Funding Code 02L23B040 to 02L23B044) program by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF Plus) and managed by the Project Management Agency Karlsruhe (PTKA). The authors are responsible for the content of this publication.