The student team started the Design-Thinking process by conducting desk research on various topics such as new work, self-organization in companies, and flexible working hours. In the next step, they interviewed employees from different departments at Rolls Royce.
Through the interviews they learned that there is a cross-departmental need for a consistent system for shift planning and assignment of tasks. In addition, it became apparent that many employees in the manufacturing department were satisfied with the shift planning in general, yet, there was also a desire for a more flexible and individual shift planning.
In several co-creation-sessions, students and employees continued to work on the insights gained in the interviews and jointly developed solutions. The sessions enabled communication between employees from different departments that had not been in contact before. Moreover, this exchange facilitated a greater understanding for differing experiences and needs amongst employees from different departments.
The student team developed a prototype for a digital Information Hub where production employees and team leaders can log in at the beginning of their shift. The Information Hub displays all important information for their shift and allows accessing other relevant information such as hours worked, upcoming trainings or remaining holidays.
The software is currently being developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute Leipzig.