An Experiment in Autonomous Working in an American Underground Coal Mine

Abstract

This paper presents a work-in-progress report on an action research project which began in the summer of 1973 at an underground coal mine in the eastern United States. Its aim has been to improve safety and increase job satisfaction while at the same time raising the level of performance. It is a joint undertaking of union and management and is part of a national program of demonstration quality of work-life projects. The first phase consisted of a sheltered experiment of one year's duration in which volunteers manned a selected mine section as autonomous groups. The responsibilities of the section were extended to include support work. The experiment was sufficiently successful that a decision was made to extend this method of working to the mine as a whole. This constitutes the second phase of the project which is still under way. The paper gives a detailed account of the complexities and difficulties so far encountered in proceeding from a sheltered experiment in a part system to the operational transformation of a whole production system.