Restructuring and hierarchical labor organization of the steel industry in the industrial structure turning point

1997 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 08630029
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 経済政策(含経済事情)
• Research Institution: HOKKAIDO UNIVERSITY
• Principal Investigator: KIMURA Yasushige Hokkaido University, Faculty of Education, Professer, 教育学部, 教授 (40003959)
• Project Period (FY): 1996 – 1997
• Keywords: Steel Industry / Restucturing / Hierarchical Labor Organization / Wage System / Reduction of Workforce

Research Abstract

(1) This is a study on the restructuring and the hierarchical labor organization of the steel industry. The output of the steel decreased in the S steel company of the biggest company in Japan, the S steel company is doing restructuring. As for the decrease percentage of the output, the old steelworks is more remarkable than the new steelworks. The output, of the old A-steelworks decreased to 1/4 at the maximum time. The S steel company transfered business to the subcontractor and shifted workforces there. The shift percentage of the S steel company reachs 40 percent. The S steel company introduced new wage system in 1997 which changed it into ability wage system from wage system based on job evaluation. The part of ability wage reached 80 percent.
(2) The old A-steelworks introduced "the mobile squad system" in 1992 which promoted to enable training of workers in multiple jobs. It divided into the core part which fixes a worker on the office and the part which belongs to the mobile squ ad. The worker of the latter increased versatility at work thoroughly. They must do all work in the factory and required a wide skill and knowledge to do it. On the other hand, "self-maintenance system" is the means of training worker in multiple jobs. That system makes operator do the work of maintenance man. As a result, the rate of operator and maintenance man became 9-1.
(3) The new B-steelworks is core busuiness in the S steel company, and introduced artificial intelligence which promotes the improvement of the productivity. Artificial intelligence simplified the labor, but on the otherhand, the new empirical skill which can not be made a manual was born. This skill is different from the old skill, it is the one of the computer step. It is necessary to understand a mechanism about the machine and the computer for the learning.
(4) The steel industry is hierarchical organization where a lot of subcontractor is arranged. The reorganization of the subcontractor is performed, as a result "One category of business one company system" which arranges only one subcontractor in every work field was made. The new steelworks advances more in the reorganization than the old steelworks. The restructuring of the reduction of the workforce, the grouping of the organization, the utilization of 2nd subcontractor, introduction of the new personnel system and so on is advanced to the rationalization request of the S steel company.