Dmytro Svarytsevych

Factory production dashboard · Volvo Group · 2018

The production board
became the blueprint.

At a Volvo bus factory, managers tracked production on a wall of vehicle cards and handwritten issue notes. I studied that system and designed a dashboard around its lines, stations and cards. Another team later took over the initiative.

Product DesignerField research, information architecture, interface designDesign handoff
20 working days

Estimated annual reduction in meeting-preparation time.

~$90k

Estimated annual operational savings.

Business estimates for the initiative.

Context

The shift meeting
started at the board.

Managers updated production cards by hand and gathered at the board to discuss problems. A vehicle's position showed where it sat in production; attached notes added the issues that needed attention. Keeping that view current took repeated preparation.

The board gave the team a shared way to read the factory floor. I started with that structure.

Managers gathered at the physical bus production board
The daily management meeting at the production board. Vehicle cards and issue notes kept the discussion tied to the factory floor.

Discovery

The card's position
carried part of its meaning.

I observed the daily management routine. I photographed the cards in use, recording their position, text, colour and handwritten marks. I reviewed the card types and their relative importance, then used that classification to define the dashboard's hierarchy.

A photographed issue note linked a part number to several vehicles, with request and delivery dates beside it. Those details already belonged together. The digital design kept the issue attached to its production context.

A photographed vehicle card with a handwritten part reference and delivery note A handwritten issue note linking a part reference to several vehicle numbers and request and delivery dates A production issue card with Polish handwritten annotations A photographed issue note containing a part specification A physical vehicle card carrying handwritten part information
The handwritten notes connected part references, vehicle numbers and dates. Their structure informed the information carried by the digital issue cards.
The full bus production board, arranged by production line and station with vehicle cards and attached issue notes
Production lines and station labels gave the board its spatial structure. That map became the starting point for the dashboard.

Design

Keep the production map.
Bring the detail into reach.

I kept the line-and-station layout as the main view. Each vehicle keeps its place. Issue cards group beneath it, while the selected line's counts summarise the problems in that area. I designed the dashboard for a feed from the factory's production systems.

Each issue card brings its part reference, quantity, responsible function and dates into a consistent format. A side panel holds the fuller record and action items. The production overview stays visible behind it. The working model stayed intact.

Dashboard design with A, B and C production rows, station labels, vehicle references and issue cards
Overview

Dashboard design. A/B/C rows and station labels retain the production map; issue cards sit with the affected vehicle, and the selected line's counts summarise its problems.

Edited detail-panel design with issue metadata and action items beside the dimmed production overview; comment text is illustrative
Detail

Detail-panel design. Issue metadata and action items sit beside the production overview, keeping the wider context visible.

Edited reconstruction with illustrative action-item notes. Original design

Select a photograph or design to inspect it at full size.

Handoff

Another team took over the initiative.

My involvement covered field research, information architecture and interface design. The business estimated the initiative's annual savings at 20 working days of meeting preparation and approximately $90,000 in operating costs.

The board gave me a design model. Its lines, stations and attached issue notes showed how managers organised the work; I carried that structure into the digital interface.

Next case Enterprise hiring dashboard