No-Stress Manufacturing

Duration: 2023

Scientific Coordinator: Francesca Montagna

Project Type: EU-EIT research project (funded by EIT Manufacturing during the second Call for Innovation activities for the Business Plan 2023 – 2025)

PoliTO Role: Project Coordinator

The project "No-Stress Manufacturing – A human-centered approach for manufacturing workers’ well-being" aims to ensure social sustainability in the workplace, with particular attention to the manufacturing sector. Led by the Department of Management and Production Engineering (DIGEP) at Politecnico di Torino, the project develops an innovative system for real-time assessment of neurophysiological, physical, and psychological data from workers, contributing to stress mitigation and their physical and mental well-being. This method helps reduce accidents, distractions, and errors among workers, thereby improving workplace safety. 

The adoption of the system in the plastics and automotive sectors (pilot studies) represents the starting point for future applications in other work environments and geographically distributed industrial sectors. Result analysis will enable the development of new safety standards, promoting environmental and economic sustainability by reducing errors and resource waste. Regulations and policies will be updated to keep pace with technological innovations, ensuring a safer and more inclusive working environment, aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8. 

By creating healthier manufacturing environments, the project optimizes production sites for efficiency and cost reduction. Fewer human errors lead to decreased absenteeism and downtime, generating significant savings. The project integrates advanced technologies such as exoskeletons, voice assistance, and real-time monitoring of neurophysiological signals to gather valuable data on the origins of work-related stress. The monitoring system includes a technological module that suggests measures to transform the working environment into a human-centeredspace, promoting solutions for the redesign of operational environments to make them safer and more efficient. 

Through an in-depth analysis of work tasks and collected data, the project proposes tailored solutions for companies, minimizing necessary changes and ensuring social and economic sustainability. The ability to customize solutions based on real data allows the establishment of norms and regulations beyond current standards (e.g., ISO_9886), setting minimum requirements that companies must adopt to ensure safe working environments and reduce worker stress. 

The No-Stress project also emerged from synergy among start-ups, technological centers, and affiliated universities, enabling its development through the integration of advanced tools, technologies, and methods. 

Involved Structure

• DIGEP, Department of Management and Production Engineering 

Partners

• INEGI driving science & innovation 
• BIBA 
• Mondragon University – Mondragon Unibertsitatea 
• Politecnico di Torino 
• CTAG: Centro tecnológico de automoción de Galicia 
• Grenoble INP - UGA - Institut d'ingénierie et de management 
• SPIX industry 
• Trafil S.r.l. 
• WearHealth company 

Location

• The case studies analyzed during the project received detailed data analysis at the end of activities, which can be used and considered in the development of production layouts aimed at reducing operator stress sources. The evidence obtained may support the involved entities in achieving social sustainability goals.

Project Team

• Francesca Montagna (DIGEP), Associate Professor and Project Coordinator 
• Marco Cantamessa (DIGEP), Full Professor 
• Graziana Blandino (DIGEP), PhD candidate 
• Samuele Colombo (DIGEP), PhD 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

8. Decent work and economic growth