Training for Systematic Search Using a Job Aid

Abstract

A dominant component of quality control, visual inspection can be broken down into two elements: visual search and decision-making. This study focuses on the search process. The search process has been mathematically described as random, systematic, or somewhere in between. Mathematical models and empirical studies have shown that the best performance in detecting defects during visual inspection results from the use of a systematic search strategy. For this study, a job aid that could potentially be used as an off-line training tool was developed to promote systematic visual search strategy. The job aid, a moving cursor on the viewing screen, was used to determine an optimal search speed or a range of optimal speeds for which the highest inspection accuracy could be achieved.

Use of job aid to promote systematic search under different levels of task complexity

“…This study extended the previous work done by Koenig, Liebhold, and Gramopadhye (1998a), addressing further issues related to systematic search strategy and visual-search performance. The general objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the use of the job aid in promoting a systematic search strategy under varying levels of inspection-task complexity.…”

“…The subjects were instructed to follow a cursor (the job aid) only with their eyes, not with the mouse, searching only in the area of the cursor as it moved along the path illustrated in Figure 1. More details about the job aid can be found in Koenig, Liebhold, and Gramopadhye (1998a); Figure 1 Path of the training cursor. Koenig, Nickles, Kimbler, Melloy, and Gramopadhye (1998b);and Nickles, Sacrez, and Gramopadhye (1998).…”

“…In addition, a job aid aimed at promoting a systematic search strategy developed by Koenig, Nickles, Kimbler, Melloy, and Gramopadhye (1998b) was subsequently used in a preliminary study to demonstrate the effect of inspection time on search accuracy (Koenig, Liebhold, & Gramopadhye, 1998a). This job aid, which was also used in this study, consisted of a cursor following a regular, side-to-side pattern across the visual-search area.…”

Optimal approaches to the quality control checking of product labels

“…Two means of achieving this Optimal approaches to the quality control checking of product labels 20 present themselves. Firstly, label-checkers could be trained to use a systematic checking strategy, a method used previously in other types of visual inspection task (e.g., Koenig, Liebhold & Gramopadhye, 1998;Nickles, Sacrez & Gramopadhye, 1998). Secondly, behavior could be explicitly guided during search (e.g., Chabukswar, Gramopadhye, Melloy & Grimes, 2003).…”

Using aversive conditioning with near-real-time feedback to shape eye movements during naturalistic viewing

“…Individuals often have limited awareness of how they move their eyes (Chun & Jiang, 1998;Horowitz & Wolfe, 1998;Reingold & Sheridan, 2011;Vo et al, 2016), limiting the effectiveness of verbal or pictorial instruction concerning eye movements. Providing pictures showing people where and how to look while searching can have some utility (Litchfield et al, 2008(Litchfield et al, , 2010Vitak et al, 2012), but such an approach to training is typically limited to simple rules for orienting and requires the active engagement of an explicit strategy that is accessible to awareness (Auffermann et al, 2015a(Auffermann et al, , 2015bCarroll et al 2013;Chapman et al, 2002;Koenig et al, 1998;Kok et al, 2016;Litchfield et al, 2008Litchfield et al, , 2010Nickles et al, 1998Nickles et al, , 2003Pradhan et al, 2009;Vitak et al, 2012). This limits the scope, flexibility, and generalizability of training (Drew & Williams, 2017;Kok et al, 2016;Kramer et al, 2019;Peltier & Becker, 2017).…”