Japanization at Work: The Case of Engineering Plants in Leeds

Abstract

This paper draws on case studies undertaken between 1985 and 1988. The research analysed the effects of Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools and Japanese manufacturing techniques such as cellular technology, just-in-time and total-quality-control in `concrete' and unionized environments. It is argued that such changes enhanced manual engineering skills and shopfloor autonomy, partly through CNC technology, but also by functional flexibility associated with cellular arrangements. The evidence is in contention with labour process theorists who either posit a view that deskilling is a central dynamic of technological change or consider that Japanese-style methods are bound to reverse the deskilling process. Exploring the hypothesis that cellular and just-in-time methods increases managerial control, the paper provides evidence of enhanced managerial control through the use of microprocessor-based manufacturing technology and worker-generated forms of control, a process described as computer-controlled-autonomy.