Human factors and emerging needs in aerospace manufacturing planning and scheduling

Planning and Scheduling (P&S) are critical components of organizational management that influence efficiency, overall performance, and human factors in the workplace. The aerospace manufacturing industry is experiencing rapid changes, marked by heightened demands for new aircraft and the need for precise task execution to accommodate increasing air traffic and rigorous safety regulations. This study explores the human factors and emerging needs in the P&S processes within aerospace manufacturing. A qualitative research approach was employed, featuring semi-structured interviews with 15 professionals from a prominent European organization. The participants, actively engaged in P&S operations, were chosen to offer diverse perspectives on their roles and the industry’s specific requirements. Results indicate that planners/schedulers, IT experts, and operations team leaders are crucial in ensuring efficiency throughout the various stages of P&S operations. The findings reveal that emerging needs encompass workforce and customer management (i.e., allocating human resources, responding to client requests, and addressing workforce resistance to new technology adoption), prioritization (i.e., scheduling tasks based on urgency, error susceptibility, and cost efficiency), and contingency handling (i.e., machinery availability, time constraints, quality issues, human performance variability, and weather conditions). These needs highlight the importance of considering human factors and cognitive aspects when designing and implementing P&S systems. The study underscores the challenges the aerospace manufacturing industry faces as it adapts to technological advancements and evolving market conditions. The findings emphasize the necessity of advanced P&S systems that integrate innovative technological solutions with an understanding of human factors and cognition.