- Machine-translated
Completed project · 2020–2023
Technical communication in the learning and working processes of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technicians in the context of Industry 4.0
The ongoing digitalisation and networking in industry and the skilled trades are increasingly changing the requirements and tasks involved in the profession of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician. Factors contributing to this include, amongst others, the increased use of diagnostic, analytical and design software in agricultural and construction machinery engineering, the growing use of high-voltage technology, the increasing interconnection of systems, and augmented, virtual and mixed reality technologies. However, inter-company training programmes for apprentices in agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics do not yet take sufficient account of this digital transformation. The ‘tekom_LandBauMT’ project addresses these challenges by modernising the inter-company training programmes for agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technicians.
Background and Problem
The project ‘tekom_Land-BauMT – Technical Communication in the Learning and Work Processes of Agricultural and Construction Machinery Mechatronics Technicians in the Context of Industrie 4.0’ was carried out by Bau-ABC Rostrup and the Institute Technology and Education (ITB) at the University of Bremen between September 2020 and June 2023 and was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). One of the project’s aims was to investigate the changing requirements and activities in the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician resulting from advancing digitalisation and networking in industry and the skilled crafts, and to provide impetus for the vocational-pedagogical modernisation of inter-company training in this occupation.
Research question
What fundamental effects do digitalisation and networking in the field of agricultural and construction machinery technology have on the occupational activities of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technicians?
How can the processes of change and the new learning content arising from increasing digitalisation and networking in agricultural and construction machinery technology be presented systematically and in a structured way so that they can be used for modernisation in connection with the inter-company training of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technicians?
How can inter-company training staff be supported in designing work-process- and competence-oriented, digitally supported inter-company training for the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician?
Approach
The ‘tekom_LandBauMT’ project addressed these challenges by first having the ITB carry out fundamental vocational-scientific analyses, through the preparation of a sector analysis for the field of agricultural and construction machinery technology and the development of a structure of occupational fields of action (Berufliche Handlungsfeldstruktur) for the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician. On this basis, and against the background of the Kompetenzwerkstatt concept, the ITB then developed a digitally supported, work-process- and competence-oriented learning and work task for the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician and made it available to the inter-company training staff at Bau-ABC for piloting and further development.
Results
Within the tekom_LandBauMT project, the ITB prepared a sector analysis for the field of agricultural and construction machinery technology to open up the research field, a structure of occupational fields of action to focus on the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician, and a digitally supported learning and work task for this training occupation as an exemplary implementation in inter-company training.
Sector analysis of agricultural and construction machinery technology
The sector analysis prepared by the ITB within the ‘tekom_LandBauMT’ project analysed, described and explained:
the different technology fields in which agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technicians were professionally active
the economic sectors to which each of these technology fields belongs
the genesis, structure, organisation and content of training as an agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician, as well as the opportunities for advanced and continuing training
and, in particular, the effects of digitalisation on the occupation
The aim of the sector analysis was to identify and analyse fundamental trends and developments in connection with the digitalisation now emerging specifically in the agricultural and construction machinery sector, in order to draw conclusions for the future design of inter-company training measures for the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician.
The sector analysis was published as an e-book: https://doi.org/10.26092/elib/2712
Structure of occupational fields of action for the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician
Within the ‘tekom-LandBauMT’ project, a structure of occupational fields of action was drawn up for the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician. This structure was developed using the vocational-scientific method of the ‘expert workshop’.
The aim was to use the structure of occupational fields of action to provide the basis for the vocational-scientifically grounded design of order- and competence-oriented training measures for the inter-company training of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technicians.
The resulting structure comprised a total of 16 occupational fields of action. A description was prepared for each of these fields of action. In detail, each description comprised:
a brief description of the respective occupational field of action
a selection of typical (customer) orders specific to the field of action
a presentation of the competence profile specific to the field of action, clustered into professional, methodological and social competences
a list of typical work objects and operating resources specific to the field of action
the naming of important tools and auxiliary materials
and the naming of legal requirements specific to the field of action.
The structure of occupational fields of action, including the respective field descriptions, was published as an e-book and was available for download here. In addition, the structure of occupational fields of action for the occupation of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technician was available in digital form on the following pages.
Learning and work task for inter-company training
For the exemplary design of digitally supported training measures in the inter-company training of agricultural and construction machinery mechatronics technicians, the inter-company course ‘Maintenance and Repair of a Hydraulic Excavator’ was selected. It was implemented on the basis of the training materials available for this course using the Aufgaben-Manager (task manager), a web-based tool of the Kompetenzwerkstatt.
The aim was to introduce inter-company training staff to the digitally supported design and delivery of inter-company training measures. At the same time, this was intended to promote and support media literacy among both trainers and trainees.
The learning and work task ‘Maintenance and Repair of a Hydraulic Excavator’ comprised a total of 18 sub-tasks. These were distributed across the order phases of acceptance, planning, execution and completion. Once the learning and work task had been created by the inter-company training staff using the Aufgaben-Manager, it was made available to trainees as a digitally supported learning environment for them to work through. Learning and work task: https://bau-abc-am.kwst.uni-bremen.de/release/p/QEIJYSAHcolP
Publications
Sander, Michael; Petermann, Nils (2023): Sektoranalyse Land- und Baumaschinentechnik. Technische Kommunikation in Lern- und Arbeitsprozessen im Kontext Industrie 4.0., Universität Bremen, Institut Technik und Bildung (Kompetenzwerkstatt - Handbücher für die Berufsbildungspraxis), DOI: 10.26092/elib/2712
Sander, Michael; Petermann, Nils (2023): Berufliche Handlungsfeldstruktur für den Beruf Land- und Baumaschinenmechatroniker:in. Technische Kommunikation in Lern- und Arbeitsprozessen im Kontext Industrie 4.0, Universität Bremen, Institut Technik und Bildung (Kompetenzwerkstatt - Handbücher für die Berufsbildungspraxis), DOI: 10.26092/elib/2713
An overview of the project results was also made available at https://ck.kwst.uni-bremen.de/projekt-tekom/.