---
_id: '13349'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: In weakly-structured work processes, workers are free to decide in which sequence
    to process their tasks. Predicting their decision-making helps plan production
    more accurately while preserving workers’ autonomy. The factors that influence
    workers’ decision-making depend on the manufacturing process and person considered,
    and they must be newly collected for each use case. This paper identifies the
    factors influencing workers when deciding in which sequence to process manufacturing
    tasks in a medium-sized hydraulic cylinder manufacturer. Five workers and two
    lead workers were observed and interviewed during several work shifts about influencing
    factors. The authors propose a new interview technique called indifference testing
    to overcome subjects’ difficulty articulating their decision-making process. Collected
    factors were categorized using inductive category formation and context analysis.
    The analyses identified 75 influencing factors comprising 37 decision attributes
    and 38 decision rules. The identified decision attributes indicate that worker
    preferences are influenced by attributes from the classical scheduling literature
    and attributes related to worker well-being, circadian rhythms, and ergonomics.
    The identified decision rules are useful constituents of more complex preference
    functions. The decision attributes and rules enable the construction of machine
    learning models to predict workers’ task sequencing decisions in job shops. Potential
    applications include systematically eliminating or controlling influencing factors
    through workplace design measures to increase worker well-being and optimality
    of their decisions.
author:
- first_name: Jan-Phillip
  full_name: Herrmann, Jan-Phillip
  id: '86180'
  last_name: Herrmann
- first_name: Sven
  full_name: Tackenberg, Sven
  id: '71470'
  last_name: Tackenberg
- first_name: Florens
  full_name: Burgert, Florens
  last_name: Burgert
- first_name: Verena
  full_name: Nitsch, Verena
  last_name: Nitsch
citation:
  ama: Herrmann JP, Tackenberg S, Burgert F, Nitsch V. Influencing factors on worker
    task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic cylinder manufacturer. <i>Procedia
    Computer Science</i>. 2025;253:1820-1829. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244">10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244</a>
  apa: Herrmann, J.-P., Tackenberg, S., Burgert, F., &#38; Nitsch, V. (2025). Influencing
    factors on worker task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic cylinder
    manufacturer. <i>Procedia Computer Science</i>, <i>253</i>, 1820–1829. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244</a>
  bjps: <b>Herrmann J-P <i>et al.</i></b> (2025) Influencing Factors on Worker Task
    Sequencing Decisions in a Medium-Sized Hydraulic Cylinder Manufacturer. <i>Procedia
    Computer Science</i> <b>253</b>, 1820–1829.
  chicago: 'Herrmann, Jan-Phillip, Sven Tackenberg, Florens Burgert, and Verena Nitsch.
    “Influencing Factors on Worker Task Sequencing Decisions in a Medium-Sized Hydraulic
    Cylinder Manufacturer.” <i>Procedia Computer Science</i> 253 (2025): 1820–29.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244</a>.'
  chicago-de: 'Herrmann, Jan-Phillip, Sven Tackenberg, Florens Burgert und Verena
    Nitsch. 2025. Influencing factors on worker task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized
    hydraulic cylinder manufacturer. <i>Procedia Computer Science</i> 253: 1820–1829.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244">10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244</a>,
    .'
  din1505-2-1: '<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Herrmann, Jan-Phillip</span>
    ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Tackenberg, Sven</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Burgert,
    Florens</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Nitsch, Verena</span>:
    Influencing factors on worker task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic
    cylinder manufacturer. In: <i>Procedia Computer Science</i> Bd. 253. Amsterdam,
    Elsevier BV (2025), S. 1820–1829'
  havard: J.-P. Herrmann, S. Tackenberg, F. Burgert, V. Nitsch, Influencing factors
    on worker task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic cylinder manufacturer,
    Procedia Computer Science. 253 (2025) 1820–1829.
  ieee: 'J.-P. Herrmann, S. Tackenberg, F. Burgert, and V. Nitsch, “Influencing factors
    on worker task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic cylinder manufacturer,”
    <i>Procedia Computer Science</i>, vol. 253, pp. 1820–1829, 2025, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244">10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244</a>.'
  mla: Herrmann, Jan-Phillip, et al. “Influencing Factors on Worker Task Sequencing
    Decisions in a Medium-Sized Hydraulic Cylinder Manufacturer.” <i>Procedia Computer
    Science</i>, vol. 253, 2025, pp. 1820–29, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244</a>.
  short: J.-P. Herrmann, S. Tackenberg, F. Burgert, V. Nitsch, Procedia Computer Science
    253 (2025) 1820–1829.
  ufg: '<b>Herrmann, Jan-Phillip u. a.</b>: Influencing factors on worker task sequencing
    decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic cylinder manufacturer, in: <i>Procedia Computer
    Science</i> 253 (2025),  S. 1820–1829.'
  van: Herrmann JP, Tackenberg S, Burgert F, Nitsch V. Influencing factors on worker
    task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic cylinder manufacturer. Procedia
    Computer Science. 2025;253:1820–9.
date_created: 2026-01-29T10:15:17Z
date_updated: 2026-02-10T10:54:05Z
department:
- _id: DEP7020
doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2025.01.244
intvolume: '       253'
keyword:
- Task Sequencing
- Manufacturing
- Learning To Rank
- Scheduling Human Factors
- Case Study
language:
- iso: eng
page: 1820-1829
place: Amsterdam
publication: Procedia Computer Science
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 1877-0509
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier BV
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Influencing factors on worker task sequencing decisions in a medium-sized hydraulic
  cylinder manufacturer
type: scientific_journal_article
user_id: '83781'
volume: 253
year: '2025'
...