Forza lavoro e produzione snella nell’industria metalmeccanica tedesca

Abstract

The pretension of lean production to be a new globally applicable “one best way” of rationalization cannot be maintained. It is however true that tayloristic rationalization wastes and destroys workers’ skills and professional sovereignty. A new concetpion of rationalization and more intelligent organizational forms are then necessary in order to activate unused productivity reserves still present in work. In this way it is possible to reduce the traditional contradiction between increase in efficiency and humanization. The organization of work in automatized processes is more and more frequently characterized by far-reaching integration of production, maintenance, quality control and planning tasks, resulting in a new type of professional production worker, who considers himself a protagonist of rationalization. What makes for the optimization of the production process in the firm, means for him an extensions of his professional know-how. Experiments in tasks’ enlargement and group work are also made in production sectors characterized by manual work (especially assembly lines); however, no convincing solution for the joint improvement of work and efficiency has emerged in this field so far.