Manufacturing companies face stronger fluctuations in customer demand driven by volatile markets with ever shorter lead times and decreasing predictability. Manufacturing companies therefore need to increase their responsiveness by organizing the flexibility within their personnel capacity which is one of the most relevant cost factors in manufacturing. Thus the flexible adaption of human resource (HR) capacity represents a significant advantage in competitiveness for future business sustainability. This is in conflict with the current situation as manufacturing companies do not have planning tools or methods for a systematic planning and utilization of HR-flexibility in volatile markets. Although manufacturing companies already utilize several instruments to adapt HR capacities to markets demand (e.g. temporary work, working time accounts). The planning and application of these instruments is often based on experience rather than on a systematic methodology. Systematic planning of HR flexibility can only be ensured by proactive planning at the tactical log-termed level. Therefore a reference framework is required, that leads companies to dimension their HR-flexibility on the long term and make them able to use the right flexibility instruments from long term to short term periods.
The German research project “KapaflexCy” aims at creating high flexible utilization of HR-capacity in manufacturing companies using industry 4.0 principles like mobile devices and social media. To ensure the systematic utilization of the right HR-flexibility a reference framework is created. The paper describes the need for systematic planning of HR-flexibility and the developed reference framework.
