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Skills-Based Automation: Can it Succeed in America? A Case Study
Copyright © IFAC 11th Trienn ial World Congress. Tallinn. Estonia. USS R. 1990
SKILLS-BASED AUTOMATION: CAN IT SUCCEED IN AMERICA? A CASE STUDY F. Emspak Project Director, Cenler for Applied Tee/lllu/ug:;, Massachusetts Cmters of Excellence Curpomtiolt , BostUIl , Massachusetts , USA
Abstract. Skills based automation is a proven manufacturing strategy in many advanced industrial countries. Yet it is not pursued widely in the United States. However there are specific projects funded by State government that support skills based technical solutions. This article describes the existing projects and explores the impediments to more widespread usage of skills b~sed technologies in the United States. Keywords . Skills-based automation; Taylorism; worker participation; socio technical criteria. Skills-based automation depends on a skilled work force interacting with complex equipment . Skills-based systems become most efficient when the design of the system is based on a cooperative relationship'between the worker and management. Cooperation and dependence on a skilled work force are not presently hallmarks of American industry. However. high quality batch production requires changes in American manufacturing tradition . Skills-based automation is one such change. But can it succeed in America? In the spring of 1989 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a landmark report entitled. Made in America.l The most fundamental recommendation made by the authors was emphasis on human resources such as training and education as the key to solving production problems. From an applied technology point of view a focus on training and education is not enough . They must be structured around the tasks that will be performed in the manufacturing environment. Thus. the design of work is an integral pert of any human resource strategy . The design of the workplace and the content of a job were defined in America by Frederick Winslow Taylor at the dawn of the mass production era. Taylor's objective was to IMade In America: Regaining the Productive Edge .• Michael L. Dertouzos. Richard K . Lester. Robert M. Solow. The MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity; The MIT Press. Cambridge. Mass . 1989
reduce job content to its smallest and. hence. most unskilled portions . He recognized explicitly that skill implies control over the pace of work. and he saw this control as something to be avoided. The intellectual framework of re~uced job content has been the nor", for job design in the United States since the early part of this century. Production engineers sought to design production so as to minimize the need for skilled workers in the mistaken belief that a work organization based on cheaper semi-skilled and unskilled workers would cost less. A criticism of Taylorism is implicit in the MIT report. As the authors note. "American industry pursued flexibility through the interchangeability of workers with limited skills and ability rather than the cultivation of multiskilled workers •.. The result was a progressive narrowing of worker responsibility".2 However. an explicit rejection of Taylorism and its attendant design of work must be elaborated. In concrete terms this would mean resources placed at the disposal of those who would design production along alternative means. including skills - based automation. Rejection of Taylorism would also require a rejection of one its main tenets. a distrust of the skilled worker. Taylorism was proposed as a means to reduce the tasks of the skilled worker to its most unskilled dimension. based on the technology of the time. Taylorism favored deskilling the worker. based on distrust and the belief that the 2Ibid; p . 83
481
skilled worker would control production in ways contrary to the health of the firm. Therefore. if an explicit rejection of Taylorism were to become "industrial policy." we would expect to find technology designed to increase the skills of the worker. The reward system for technology and design, never "neutral," would be skewed in favor of more open, democratic and less hierarchical systems. Systems would be designed to allow the application of the tacit knowledge of the work force to problem - solving. The design of production equipment would be structured in such a way as to include the organized participation of the users (workors). including the organized workers (unions members). We might even see universities willing to speak with the elected representatives of workers with the same seriousness as they speak with leaders of businesses. This would be ~specially true in those departments such as mechanical engineering that deal with problems of making a product. What do these "social" questions have to do with design? Just as technology was placed at the service of a social criteria called
"Taylorism" some years ago, now we ask that technology be placed at the service of other social criteria in order to accomplish an agreed-upon end. These social criteria include safe working conditions. skilled job content, increased efficiel'CY, production and high quality. rapid turn around. The final result is supposed to be increased market share and. thus. increased profit. It is highly unlikely that a more open. "democratic" technology can he placed in a factory setting that is extremely rigid and disrespectful of those who work within it. Thus. the structure of work in its l~rgest context - including wages. training and stability of employment - has a great deal to do with the possibility of success for a skillsbased automation strategy. Within the American context certain indicators will tell us whether skills-based automation can succeed. One indicator is a willingness of science and technology leaders to recognize the centrality of human resources in the production process. The MIT report is one positive sign. Another is the allocation of resources both at a state and federal level to programs that feature research or practices that emphasize non-Tayloristic methods of production. Recent National Institute for Standards and Technology support for technologies designed to serve small and medium-
sized firms sign.
is another positive
Actions by states such as Massachusetts are positive. The Center for Applied Technology (CAT) has based its work on providing practical applications of skillsbased automation to industry and labor. To the best of our knowledge, CAT is the only program of its kind in the US. Therefore. we will describe it in detail as we think the practice and strategy of the Center has some validity as a model '':lr others. The Center for Applied Technology is a program of the Massachusetts Centers of Excellence Corporation (MCEC) which is primarily supported by state funds. Founded in 1985. MCEC's objective is to stimulate state economic development in certain areas by supporting industry/university partnerships to do research that will in time lead to new prOdlJ c ts or processes. The Center for Applied Technology was created in 1987 specifically to assist manufacturers in applying state-of-the-art technology to their production processes. CAT recognizes the importance of labor. The Massachusetts Secretary of Labor is chairman of CAT's advisory bOArd. and labor has an additional seat on the nine member governing body along with representatives from business. academe and state economic development agencies. In addition to industry/university research partners. CAT insists that labor/workers be in c luded in the design and implp.mentatinn of research projects. The CAT also considered the idea that industry needed "state-of-theart" technology. but after much deliberation. CAT rejected the "state-of-the-art" concept because it implied high - cost. hightechnology processes thal were not readily affordable or useful to small and medium - sized firms. CAT believes that appropriate technology. especially humancentered technology. provides the best means for the manufacturing base of Massachusetts to maintain its health and r e gain market shar~. The concept of "appropriate" also implies a different set of design criteria. and CAT attempts to clarify these differences and apply them in a practical way. How does CAT do this? CAT ~as embarked on three major programs: a documentation center. research projects and technical assistance services. In addition. CAT takes on special projects designed to increase technological literacy
among working people and increase union access to technology.
to alter the order of production based on shop floor input.
CAT's largest project is the Massachusetts Manufacturing Resource Center (MMRC). The MMRC is a documentation center for material~ on skills-based automation, alternative work organization, worker participation and related topics. The MMRC will disseminate information about these topics to business. labor and public policy planners . The MMRC will also work with engineers and university research institutes to explain the concepts behind skills-based automation with the expectation of seeing engineering currjcula change to include a concentration on humallcentered design questions . Finally. the MMRC will be a resource accessible electronically for all interested parties.
Another design criteria is skill. CAT supports research that results in processes and products that will increase the skill of the machine operator. It seeks to combine conception and execution at the lowest level possible in the factory hierarchy. The clearest example of this concept is shop floor programming. The objective is to provide machinists with systems that encourage shop floor programming and interaction with the engineering department. It is desirable to engage workers in programming and modification so that their tacit knowledge acquired over the years is accepted and valued . Clearly. major improvements in quality will occur. Quality is not the only improvement. Fast turnaround time is another major gain as a result of skillsbased technology. Inevitably a large firln must mak~ some engineering changes in the parts they order from smaller firms . Skills-based organization mealls designing a system which allows the worker to make those changes on the shop floor quickly and accurately and save them on a disc for future reference. It is precisely a system like this that CAT has sponsored for a large computer firm and its supplier of fabricated sheet metal parts. Changes required by the customer can be made accurately in "real time."3
The Center for Applied Technology also realizes that technology must move forward. that technologies must be designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers and their workforce. Many of the systems on the market today are too costly. too capital intensive and too inflexible for the small batch manufacturer. Thus. CAT sponsors research that is aimed at practical applications of an existing technology. These research projects are conducted at various universities with an industry partner, sometimes more than one. CAT seeks to structure in the involvement of the work force in each project. In some cases the Massachusetts AFL-CIO is a partner. In other cases the chief investigator consults with the local union. In s t i l l others individual workers are part of the research/applications team.
CAT's third major area of concentration is assistance to individual firms. The small manufacturer needs information and ideas about how to produce more efficiently. CAT is interested in validating ideas in the real world and at the same time assisting individual firms with their problems. As with university sponsored research, CAT insists on worker participation at the firm level before undertaking a technical assistance project . CAT's objective is to structure the project so that workers or their union are involved in defining the manufacturing problems and in working out solutions. Clearly. this is a
CAT research is structured to include all segments of the workforce as it exists in the factory . A good manufacturing system encompasses the needs of the workers and engineers along with the owners. Emphasis on satisfying only engineering concerns often results in overly complicated and expensive technical solutions. As CAT has developed, it has begun to define socio - technical design criteria. Chief among them are emphasize enhancing skill and designs that are "transparent." In other words. software or systems that allow the worker to concentrate on the probl~_ not the operation of the software. CAT also suggests non hierarchical and open architecture. If the system is accessible and two-
way,
3~The
Application of CAD/CAM Technology to the Sheet Metal Industry: A Unique Interactive Expert System to Increase the Productivity of Small and Medium Sized Firms by Enhancing Worker Skills" Paul D. Cotnoir; Robert W. Bean; Sean T . Anzu n n j. ; Kenneth J . Ward; Manufacturing Engineering Applications Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute; a project funded by the Center for Applied Technology
then workers can have a
meaningful voice in scheduling production. Substantial savings in set-up time can be achieved by designing a system flexible enough
-183
departure practice.
from traditional American
CAT is trying to accomplish two complementary goals with these projects . It seeks to work with technologies in a factory setting that will be applicable to more than one firm. It also seeks to engage workers in the process of solving problems . Although it has been difficult to get both workers and management involved. CAT has found that the best projects are those that involve a strong trade union. a finding which contradicts popular belief. What has cau s ed management to use CAT's services? CAT subsidizes one half the costs. has a practical. common - sense attitude towards technology applications and designs systems based on skill. whi c h means they are less expensive. In addition. management perceives that skills - based systems are renewable. The skilled worker is continuously improving. Faced with opportunities such as these. management is willing to relinquish certain attitudes in regards to meaningful worker participation. It should also be noted that firms which work with CAT are self - selected: they choose CAT knowing the requirements. They are also firms that recognize that they must change, so they are open to new ideas, both technical and social. On the other hand, the unions CAT works with are also open to new ideas . In many cases, they have already been to management requesting more training or investment . CAT's ideas of human centered automation c ontradict "common knowledge" which states that automation means more monotony and less skill. CAT offers a different approach which takes the claims of the new technology seriously. CAT pra c tices the slogan, "mach i nes that work so man c an think . " At present CAT has approximately 13 individual, firm- spe c ific projects . By June 1990 CAT should have about 30 in operation and 10 completed. A brief overview of one proje c t will illustrate the technique . A firm manufacturing packaging ma c hinery needed assistance in more expeditiously produ c ing spare parts for its installed equipment. The firm has machines in the field all over the world . Some of those machines date back to 1900 . Spare parts generally took six weeks from the order date to ship, even though manufacturing time was less than 16 hours for 90% of the parts. CAT organized a joint management / union team to analyze the situation . Two major problems presented themselves : the order
system and the production system. After tracking actual orders, CAT consultants re c ommended that the orders placed with the firm be sent directly to the floor without various stopping points at engineering. planning, scheduling. etc . Tracking the parts could be accomplished accurately with real time entry systems. The system is inter-active so shop floor personnel can enter and receive data. Thus, the order entry and the arrival on the floor are almost simultaneous . However, production under such a revised system would be possible only if the production system were completely reorganized. This was accomplished with the worker / engineering team designing new work cells . The heart of the work cells is machines running on a software system that allow the machinist to program the parts from the blueprint or from verbal instru c tions . The system has great flexibility, good through - put times, high skill, high efficiency and ensures that the firm can meet and beat their competition in making spare parts. The union, company engineers and CAT engineers held lengthy discussions to properly design the system. Meanwhile, the university that supplied the engineers under contract to CAT was also under a joint university / industry/labor partnership to evaluate software packages for machining to make sure the "best" software was recommended to the machinists.4 "Best" means software that could be programmed with relative ease by the average skilled metal worker. Thus, CAT combined its applications research with the specific needs of a firm and did so with the active participation and involvement of the workers using the system. How does the CAT approach work within the context of American labor CAT consciously removes relations? its projects from the legal structure of labor relations.5 If there is a union. the company, the union and CAT operate the CAT 4 n The Shop Floor Programming Project" John Koegel, Brian Wheeler. University of Lowell; A Project funded by the Center for Applied Technology 5The traditional legal structure of labor relations in American industry, embodied in company-union contracts, specifically provides th~t the company will have sole decision - making power for "means and methods" except as specified in the contract . Usually this means that the firm will bargain about the effects of a produ c tion process, but not the process itself.
484
project by agreement outside of the day-to-day grievance procedure (if any). Questions of wages and hours are settled between the firm and its union. If a new job description emerges from CAT's work, CAT encourages, but cannot and does not force, the union and company to work together to sort out the proper wage levels. CAT does not seek a contract between the union and management.
research. The federal government tends to fund research at a higher level than applications work . So the successful engineer is drawn into a research-oriented pathway . In addition, the technical schools, both two-year and four-year, do not have an organized presence at the federal funding level. Thus, engineering applications do not receive the prominence that the current situation demands.
CAT is able to sidestep the traditional bargaining structure because CAT provides a service to all parties in the industrial environment. CAT contracts to provide services and to hire thnse services on behalf of the firm and/or union. In the example mentioned above, the actual work team functions under the supervision of both union and manaqement.
Countries that devote a significant effort to skills - based technologies also tend to have a strong labor movement. As a result of the political strength of these movements in Scandinavia or the Federal Republic of Germany, the unions are able to influence the allocation of research funds. Skills-based research is encouragerl. not just by engineers who see its potential, but by the actual users themselves. At the present time in the United States, organized labor does not shape engineering research. In fact, organized labor has little, if any, role in any engineering research decisions. Thus, the discussion about skills-based or human- centered technology is somewhat one-sided.
What do CAT projects tell us about the future of skills-based automation? We have found that once CAT is able to talk with the firms and the workforce, skills-based concepts are welcomed. Most smaller firms know that their greatest asset is their experienced workforce. Most workers and their unions are eager to explore te c hnical solutions that don't require de -s killing as a "necessary" sacrifice on the way to modern production. One of CAT's biggest problems is recruiting university engineers who will work with the work force on the basis of equality. CAT has had to convince engineers that the tacit knowledge possessed by shop floor workers is of equal or greater value than the formal knowledge taught in engineering schools. It has also been necessary to work with the engineers to help them afford workers the respe ct that they would proffer to engineering colleagues. And has been necessary to convince the engineering community that socio-technical criteria for the design of software or manufacturing systems
are
superior
to
"technical"
criteria alone. Skills-based concepts are most ]. i k e 1 y to bee mph a s i z e ,: in engineering schools that deal with the practical problems of manufacturing. But the current structure of engineering edu c ation is skewed away from practical applications. The "reward structure" in engineering schools acts as an impediment to concentration on technical shop floor issues. The most well - funded and prestigious engineering schools concentrate on
We conclude that there are more sociological impediments than technical impediments on the road to applying skills-based automation . On the positive side, financial resources for the support of skillsbased programs, while small, are growing. The world market for many products increasingly structured around small batch production is forcing changes in manufacturing in the U.S. Skills-based automation fulfills the need to produce highquality goods flexibly, efficiently and quickly to meet that new market. Therefore, we conclude that the future of skills-based automation is bright.
SKILLS-BASED AUTOMATION: CAN IT SUCCEED IN AMERICA? A CASE STUDY F. Emspak Project Director, Cenler for Applied Tee/lllu/ug:;, Massachusetts Cmters of Excellence Curpomtiolt , BostUIl , Massachusetts , USA
Abstract. Skills based automation is a proven manufacturing strategy in many advanced industrial countries. Yet it is not pursued widely in the United States. However there are specific projects funded by State government that support skills based technical solutions. This article describes the existing projects and explores the impediments to more widespread usage of skills b~sed technologies in the United States. Keywords . Skills-based automation; Taylorism; worker participation; socio technical criteria. Skills-based automation depends on a skilled work force interacting with complex equipment . Skills-based systems become most efficient when the design of the system is based on a cooperative relationship'between the worker and management. Cooperation and dependence on a skilled work force are not presently hallmarks of American industry. However. high quality batch production requires changes in American manufacturing tradition . Skills-based automation is one such change. But can it succeed in America? In the spring of 1989 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a landmark report entitled. Made in America.l The most fundamental recommendation made by the authors was emphasis on human resources such as training and education as the key to solving production problems. From an applied technology point of view a focus on training and education is not enough . They must be structured around the tasks that will be performed in the manufacturing environment. Thus. the design of work is an integral pert of any human resource strategy . The design of the workplace and the content of a job were defined in America by Frederick Winslow Taylor at the dawn of the mass production era. Taylor's objective was to IMade In America: Regaining the Productive Edge .• Michael L. Dertouzos. Richard K . Lester. Robert M. Solow. The MIT Commission on Industrial Productivity; The MIT Press. Cambridge. Mass . 1989
reduce job content to its smallest and. hence. most unskilled portions . He recognized explicitly that skill implies control over the pace of work. and he saw this control as something to be avoided. The intellectual framework of re~uced job content has been the nor", for job design in the United States since the early part of this century. Production engineers sought to design production so as to minimize the need for skilled workers in the mistaken belief that a work organization based on cheaper semi-skilled and unskilled workers would cost less. A criticism of Taylorism is implicit in the MIT report. As the authors note. "American industry pursued flexibility through the interchangeability of workers with limited skills and ability rather than the cultivation of multiskilled workers •.. The result was a progressive narrowing of worker responsibility".2 However. an explicit rejection of Taylorism and its attendant design of work must be elaborated. In concrete terms this would mean resources placed at the disposal of those who would design production along alternative means. including skills - based automation. Rejection of Taylorism would also require a rejection of one its main tenets. a distrust of the skilled worker. Taylorism was proposed as a means to reduce the tasks of the skilled worker to its most unskilled dimension. based on the technology of the time. Taylorism favored deskilling the worker. based on distrust and the belief that the 2Ibid; p . 83
481
skilled worker would control production in ways contrary to the health of the firm. Therefore. if an explicit rejection of Taylorism were to become "industrial policy." we would expect to find technology designed to increase the skills of the worker. The reward system for technology and design, never "neutral," would be skewed in favor of more open, democratic and less hierarchical systems. Systems would be designed to allow the application of the tacit knowledge of the work force to problem - solving. The design of production equipment would be structured in such a way as to include the organized participation of the users (workors). including the organized workers (unions members). We might even see universities willing to speak with the elected representatives of workers with the same seriousness as they speak with leaders of businesses. This would be ~specially true in those departments such as mechanical engineering that deal with problems of making a product. What do these "social" questions have to do with design? Just as technology was placed at the service of a social criteria called
"Taylorism" some years ago, now we ask that technology be placed at the service of other social criteria in order to accomplish an agreed-upon end. These social criteria include safe working conditions. skilled job content, increased efficiel'CY, production and high quality. rapid turn around. The final result is supposed to be increased market share and. thus. increased profit. It is highly unlikely that a more open. "democratic" technology can he placed in a factory setting that is extremely rigid and disrespectful of those who work within it. Thus. the structure of work in its l~rgest context - including wages. training and stability of employment - has a great deal to do with the possibility of success for a skillsbased automation strategy. Within the American context certain indicators will tell us whether skills-based automation can succeed. One indicator is a willingness of science and technology leaders to recognize the centrality of human resources in the production process. The MIT report is one positive sign. Another is the allocation of resources both at a state and federal level to programs that feature research or practices that emphasize non-Tayloristic methods of production. Recent National Institute for Standards and Technology support for technologies designed to serve small and medium-
sized firms sign.
is another positive
Actions by states such as Massachusetts are positive. The Center for Applied Technology (CAT) has based its work on providing practical applications of skillsbased automation to industry and labor. To the best of our knowledge, CAT is the only program of its kind in the US. Therefore. we will describe it in detail as we think the practice and strategy of the Center has some validity as a model '':lr others. The Center for Applied Technology is a program of the Massachusetts Centers of Excellence Corporation (MCEC) which is primarily supported by state funds. Founded in 1985. MCEC's objective is to stimulate state economic development in certain areas by supporting industry/university partnerships to do research that will in time lead to new prOdlJ c ts or processes. The Center for Applied Technology was created in 1987 specifically to assist manufacturers in applying state-of-the-art technology to their production processes. CAT recognizes the importance of labor. The Massachusetts Secretary of Labor is chairman of CAT's advisory bOArd. and labor has an additional seat on the nine member governing body along with representatives from business. academe and state economic development agencies. In addition to industry/university research partners. CAT insists that labor/workers be in c luded in the design and implp.mentatinn of research projects. The CAT also considered the idea that industry needed "state-of-theart" technology. but after much deliberation. CAT rejected the "state-of-the-art" concept because it implied high - cost. hightechnology processes thal were not readily affordable or useful to small and medium - sized firms. CAT believes that appropriate technology. especially humancentered technology. provides the best means for the manufacturing base of Massachusetts to maintain its health and r e gain market shar~. The concept of "appropriate" also implies a different set of design criteria. and CAT attempts to clarify these differences and apply them in a practical way. How does CAT do this? CAT ~as embarked on three major programs: a documentation center. research projects and technical assistance services. In addition. CAT takes on special projects designed to increase technological literacy
among working people and increase union access to technology.
to alter the order of production based on shop floor input.
CAT's largest project is the Massachusetts Manufacturing Resource Center (MMRC). The MMRC is a documentation center for material~ on skills-based automation, alternative work organization, worker participation and related topics. The MMRC will disseminate information about these topics to business. labor and public policy planners . The MMRC will also work with engineers and university research institutes to explain the concepts behind skills-based automation with the expectation of seeing engineering currjcula change to include a concentration on humallcentered design questions . Finally. the MMRC will be a resource accessible electronically for all interested parties.
Another design criteria is skill. CAT supports research that results in processes and products that will increase the skill of the machine operator. It seeks to combine conception and execution at the lowest level possible in the factory hierarchy. The clearest example of this concept is shop floor programming. The objective is to provide machinists with systems that encourage shop floor programming and interaction with the engineering department. It is desirable to engage workers in programming and modification so that their tacit knowledge acquired over the years is accepted and valued . Clearly. major improvements in quality will occur. Quality is not the only improvement. Fast turnaround time is another major gain as a result of skillsbased technology. Inevitably a large firln must mak~ some engineering changes in the parts they order from smaller firms . Skills-based organization mealls designing a system which allows the worker to make those changes on the shop floor quickly and accurately and save them on a disc for future reference. It is precisely a system like this that CAT has sponsored for a large computer firm and its supplier of fabricated sheet metal parts. Changes required by the customer can be made accurately in "real time."3
The Center for Applied Technology also realizes that technology must move forward. that technologies must be designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers and their workforce. Many of the systems on the market today are too costly. too capital intensive and too inflexible for the small batch manufacturer. Thus. CAT sponsors research that is aimed at practical applications of an existing technology. These research projects are conducted at various universities with an industry partner, sometimes more than one. CAT seeks to structure in the involvement of the work force in each project. In some cases the Massachusetts AFL-CIO is a partner. In other cases the chief investigator consults with the local union. In s t i l l others individual workers are part of the research/applications team.
CAT's third major area of concentration is assistance to individual firms. The small manufacturer needs information and ideas about how to produce more efficiently. CAT is interested in validating ideas in the real world and at the same time assisting individual firms with their problems. As with university sponsored research, CAT insists on worker participation at the firm level before undertaking a technical assistance project . CAT's objective is to structure the project so that workers or their union are involved in defining the manufacturing problems and in working out solutions. Clearly. this is a
CAT research is structured to include all segments of the workforce as it exists in the factory . A good manufacturing system encompasses the needs of the workers and engineers along with the owners. Emphasis on satisfying only engineering concerns often results in overly complicated and expensive technical solutions. As CAT has developed, it has begun to define socio - technical design criteria. Chief among them are emphasize enhancing skill and designs that are "transparent." In other words. software or systems that allow the worker to concentrate on the probl~_ not the operation of the software. CAT also suggests non hierarchical and open architecture. If the system is accessible and two-
way,
3~The
Application of CAD/CAM Technology to the Sheet Metal Industry: A Unique Interactive Expert System to Increase the Productivity of Small and Medium Sized Firms by Enhancing Worker Skills" Paul D. Cotnoir; Robert W. Bean; Sean T . Anzu n n j. ; Kenneth J . Ward; Manufacturing Engineering Applications Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute; a project funded by the Center for Applied Technology
then workers can have a
meaningful voice in scheduling production. Substantial savings in set-up time can be achieved by designing a system flexible enough
-183
departure practice.
from traditional American
CAT is trying to accomplish two complementary goals with these projects . It seeks to work with technologies in a factory setting that will be applicable to more than one firm. It also seeks to engage workers in the process of solving problems . Although it has been difficult to get both workers and management involved. CAT has found that the best projects are those that involve a strong trade union. a finding which contradicts popular belief. What has cau s ed management to use CAT's services? CAT subsidizes one half the costs. has a practical. common - sense attitude towards technology applications and designs systems based on skill. whi c h means they are less expensive. In addition. management perceives that skills - based systems are renewable. The skilled worker is continuously improving. Faced with opportunities such as these. management is willing to relinquish certain attitudes in regards to meaningful worker participation. It should also be noted that firms which work with CAT are self - selected: they choose CAT knowing the requirements. They are also firms that recognize that they must change, so they are open to new ideas, both technical and social. On the other hand, the unions CAT works with are also open to new ideas . In many cases, they have already been to management requesting more training or investment . CAT's ideas of human centered automation c ontradict "common knowledge" which states that automation means more monotony and less skill. CAT offers a different approach which takes the claims of the new technology seriously. CAT pra c tices the slogan, "mach i nes that work so man c an think . " At present CAT has approximately 13 individual, firm- spe c ific projects . By June 1990 CAT should have about 30 in operation and 10 completed. A brief overview of one proje c t will illustrate the technique . A firm manufacturing packaging ma c hinery needed assistance in more expeditiously produ c ing spare parts for its installed equipment. The firm has machines in the field all over the world . Some of those machines date back to 1900 . Spare parts generally took six weeks from the order date to ship, even though manufacturing time was less than 16 hours for 90% of the parts. CAT organized a joint management / union team to analyze the situation . Two major problems presented themselves : the order
system and the production system. After tracking actual orders, CAT consultants re c ommended that the orders placed with the firm be sent directly to the floor without various stopping points at engineering. planning, scheduling. etc . Tracking the parts could be accomplished accurately with real time entry systems. The system is inter-active so shop floor personnel can enter and receive data. Thus, the order entry and the arrival on the floor are almost simultaneous . However, production under such a revised system would be possible only if the production system were completely reorganized. This was accomplished with the worker / engineering team designing new work cells . The heart of the work cells is machines running on a software system that allow the machinist to program the parts from the blueprint or from verbal instru c tions . The system has great flexibility, good through - put times, high skill, high efficiency and ensures that the firm can meet and beat their competition in making spare parts. The union, company engineers and CAT engineers held lengthy discussions to properly design the system. Meanwhile, the university that supplied the engineers under contract to CAT was also under a joint university / industry/labor partnership to evaluate software packages for machining to make sure the "best" software was recommended to the machinists.4 "Best" means software that could be programmed with relative ease by the average skilled metal worker. Thus, CAT combined its applications research with the specific needs of a firm and did so with the active participation and involvement of the workers using the system. How does the CAT approach work within the context of American labor CAT consciously removes relations? its projects from the legal structure of labor relations.5 If there is a union. the company, the union and CAT operate the CAT 4 n The Shop Floor Programming Project" John Koegel, Brian Wheeler. University of Lowell; A Project funded by the Center for Applied Technology 5The traditional legal structure of labor relations in American industry, embodied in company-union contracts, specifically provides th~t the company will have sole decision - making power for "means and methods" except as specified in the contract . Usually this means that the firm will bargain about the effects of a produ c tion process, but not the process itself.
484
project by agreement outside of the day-to-day grievance procedure (if any). Questions of wages and hours are settled between the firm and its union. If a new job description emerges from CAT's work, CAT encourages, but cannot and does not force, the union and company to work together to sort out the proper wage levels. CAT does not seek a contract between the union and management.
research. The federal government tends to fund research at a higher level than applications work . So the successful engineer is drawn into a research-oriented pathway . In addition, the technical schools, both two-year and four-year, do not have an organized presence at the federal funding level. Thus, engineering applications do not receive the prominence that the current situation demands.
CAT is able to sidestep the traditional bargaining structure because CAT provides a service to all parties in the industrial environment. CAT contracts to provide services and to hire thnse services on behalf of the firm and/or union. In the example mentioned above, the actual work team functions under the supervision of both union and manaqement.
Countries that devote a significant effort to skills - based technologies also tend to have a strong labor movement. As a result of the political strength of these movements in Scandinavia or the Federal Republic of Germany, the unions are able to influence the allocation of research funds. Skills-based research is encouragerl. not just by engineers who see its potential, but by the actual users themselves. At the present time in the United States, organized labor does not shape engineering research. In fact, organized labor has little, if any, role in any engineering research decisions. Thus, the discussion about skills-based or human- centered technology is somewhat one-sided.
What do CAT projects tell us about the future of skills-based automation? We have found that once CAT is able to talk with the firms and the workforce, skills-based concepts are welcomed. Most smaller firms know that their greatest asset is their experienced workforce. Most workers and their unions are eager to explore te c hnical solutions that don't require de -s killing as a "necessary" sacrifice on the way to modern production. One of CAT's biggest problems is recruiting university engineers who will work with the work force on the basis of equality. CAT has had to convince engineers that the tacit knowledge possessed by shop floor workers is of equal or greater value than the formal knowledge taught in engineering schools. It has also been necessary to work with the engineers to help them afford workers the respe ct that they would proffer to engineering colleagues. And has been necessary to convince the engineering community that socio-technical criteria for the design of software or manufacturing systems
are
superior
to
"technical"
criteria alone. Skills-based concepts are most ]. i k e 1 y to bee mph a s i z e ,: in engineering schools that deal with the practical problems of manufacturing. But the current structure of engineering edu c ation is skewed away from practical applications. The "reward structure" in engineering schools acts as an impediment to concentration on technical shop floor issues. The most well - funded and prestigious engineering schools concentrate on
We conclude that there are more sociological impediments than technical impediments on the road to applying skills-based automation . On the positive side, financial resources for the support of skillsbased programs, while small, are growing. The world market for many products increasingly structured around small batch production is forcing changes in manufacturing in the U.S. Skills-based automation fulfills the need to produce highquality goods flexibly, efficiently and quickly to meet that new market. Therefore, we conclude that the future of skills-based automation is bright.