António Moniz

This paper is based in a report for the international project “GERPISA-Labour Relations” on the concept of leader-factory, and in other papers written after that using the case study of the Renault factory in the Aveiro region. This case study is articulated with other studies on engine factories of the same company in Spain, France and Mexico. That study has been co-ordinated by Prof. Juan José Castillo (Univ. Complutense Madrid, Spain). Here we present the results of this empirical research from where were developed the first indicators of a discussion on the concept of new production models and leader-factory that have been studied by the GERPISA international network.

In this paper is analyzed the work organization and the forms of quality control in a robotic welding station in a company of office equipment and metal components manufacturing. The robotic cell is recent and works in two shifts. Quality and production rationalization implied in this firms the adoption of a strategy of organization of teamwork, and it is supported the collaborative tools to decrease the possibilities for errors and to improve means and methods of manufacturing. The analysis of quality control process needed the use of productivity indicators. In this way it was possible to understand the connections between the function quality and the new form of work organization adopted in this innovative experience in Portugal.

There is an increasing importance of different productive architectures related to worker involvement in the decision making, where is given due attention to the intuitive capabilities and the human knowledge in the optimization and flexibilization of manufacturing processes. Thus having reference point architecture of a flexible manufacturing and assembling system existent at UNINOVA-CRI, we will present some exploratory hypothesis about applicability of the concept of hybridization and its repercussions on the definition of jobs, in those organizations and in the formation of working teams.

The aim of the TeleRisk Project on labour relations and professional risks within the context of teleworking in Portugal – supported by IDICT – Institute for Development and Inspection of Working Conditions (Ministry of Labour), is to study the practices and forms of teleworking in the manufacturing sectors in Portugal. The project chose also the software industry as a reference sector, even though it does not intend to exclude from the study any other sector of activity or the so-called “hybrid” forms of work. However, the latter must have some of the characteristics of telework. The project thus takes into account the so-called “traditional” sectors of activity, namely textile and machinery and metal engineering (machinery and equipment), not usually associated to this type of work. However, telework could include, in the so-called “traditional” sectors, other variations that are not found in technologically based sectors. One of the evaluation methods for the dynamics associated to telework consisted in carrying out surveys by means of questionnaires, aimed at employers in the sectors analysed. This paper presents some of the results of those surveys. It is important to mention that, being a preliminary analysis, it means that it does not pretend to have exhausted all the issues in the survey, but has meant that it shows the bigger tendencies, in terms of teleworking practices, of the Portuguese industry.

Algunos de los fenómenos donde el concepto de “globalización” es aplicado incluyen la internacionalización de los mercados, la globalización de la cultura, el dominio político hegemónico del mundo por algunos estados poderosos, o grupos de estados, el poder creciente de organismos supranacionales, y el desarrollo de una división global de trabajo. De acuerdo con Radice, la globalización é generalmente definida como “un proceso a través de lo cual una proporción creciente de transacciones económicas, sociales e culturales ocurre directamente o indirectamente entre partners de países distintos” (Radice, 2004: 154). Un ponto de partida para entender la división global del trabajo debe ser la investigación de los modos como las empresas se reestructuran, una vez que son los actores-llave en la decisión sobre que trabajo debe ser encontrado y donde. Las “cadenas de valor” descriven cada etapa en el proceso productivo de un producto o un servicio final. La palabra “valor” en la frase “cadena de valor” dice respecto al valor añadido. Cada etapa en la cadena de valor implica recibir inputs, procesarlos, y entonces pasarlos a la unidad siguiente en la cadena, con el valor que está sendo adicionado no proceso. As unidades separadas da cadena de valor pueden estar dentro da misma empresa (in-house) o en distintas empresas (outsourced). Similarmente pueden estar en un mismo local, o en otra localización. La normalización de muchos procesos del negocio, combinada con la digitalización da información y el desarrollo de redes de telecomunicaciones de elevada capacidad ha tornado posible el trabajo tele-mediado, pudiendo este ser externalizado y/o re-localizado, conduciendo à introducción de una división de trabajo internacional no trabajo de procesamiento de información. Esta comunicación presentará algunos resultados derivados do proyecto europeo WORKS, donde son estudiados casos portugueses de empresas que justamente se integran en

Nesta comunicação em que se discutem, numa perspectiva de complementaridade, os conceitos de qualificação e de competência profissional, dá-se conta da metodologia adoptada para a identificação e validação de um conjunto de competências profissionais num sistema complexo de trabalho. O estudo incidiu sobre os Serviços de Controlo de Tráfego Aéreo da Região de Informação de Voo de Lisboa e permitiu concluir pela existência de uma dimensão integrativa das componentes trabalho e tecnologia, enquanto elementos estruturantes dos mapas de competências profissionais, indispensáveis à integração sistémica dos diferentes agentes (humanos e tecnológicos) no processo produtivo.

The present communication analyses the relationships between work organisation and quality systems. The analysis is based on results from a study funded by the "Specific Programme for the Development of Portuguese Industry" (PEDIP). The main issues which have been currently associated with work organisation and quality control in the Portuguese industry are characterized. Critical features related to the implementation of quality systems and new methods of work organisation for industrial development are also discussed. A few recommendations are given in order to promote appropriate methods of work organisation for quality improvement within Portuguese industry.

In this paper it is analysed the relationships between work organisation and quality systems in firms that uses some forms of advanced automation. Are characterised the existing quality control structures in the Portuguese industry, and the main factors that hidden or fosters the development of sociotechnical methods of quality control organisation strategies. Are analysed some industrial cases that explains more clearly the critical issues of the implementation of quality systems and work organisation systems. A few recommendations are given about the possibilities for the development of new forms of work organisation and the quality systems associated to automated manufacturing systems.

At the beginning of the 21st century there are new expectations and challenges towards Technology Assessment (TA). Among these there is a new awareness on TA issues in education, in particular at universities. While TA was mainly an activity at extra-universitarian research institutions for a long time now there are new developments and initiative towards integrating TA issues in university courses. We will first give an insight into the international development. Secondly we will focus on the “TA and education” landscape in Germany and Portugal in more detail, followed by a description of new and emerging forms of cooperation between Portugal and Germany in this field which might serve as a model or an example for further cooperation between other partners.

Currently distributed business process (re) design (resulting in components of business networks) basically relies on technical criteria. And that are the main purposes of most research projects supported by EC. Through the process of building a European Research Area, this means a strong influence in the national research programmes. However it is generally accepted that it should also take into account social criteria and aspects such as the quality of working life, or participation in decision processes. Those were some of the objectives of projects in de 80s decade, and framed some of the main concepts and scientific approaches to work organisation. The democratic participation of network and organisations members in the design process is a critical success factor. This is not accepted by everyone, but is based in sufficient case studies. Nevertheless, in order to achieve an optimization that can satisfying the requirements of agility of a network of enterprises, more complex design methods must be developed. Thus, the support to the collaborative design of distributed work in a network of enterprises, through a concurrent approaching business processes, work organisation and task content is a key factor to achieve such purposes. Increasing needs in terms of amounts of information, agility, and support for collaboration without time and space constrains, imposes the use of a computer-based model.

The objective of the paper is to help to understand recent changes in the structure of R&D activities, by analyzing data on the expenditure of the business sector in research and development (R&D). The results are framed in an international context, through comparison with indicators from the most developed countries, divided by technological intensity and economic activity. The study reveals that the indicators of Portuguese R&D expenditure in the business sector are closely linked both to fiscal policy and to high foreign direct investment in knowledge-intensive industries. It also links these indicators to phenomena such as the abundance of skilled labor in pharmaceutical industries and the government intervention in some sectors of the economy (namely health and rail transportation).

In this working paper are present the main provisional results of the first round of a Delphi survey held in Portugal on the automotive sector. It was done under the WorTiS project, developed by IET – Research Centre on Enterprise and Work Innovation, and financed by the Portuguese Ministry of Science and Technology. The majority of experts consider to have an average of less knowledge in almost all the scenario topics presented. Nevertheless, we considered specially the topics where the experts considered themselves to have some knowledge. There were no “irrelevant” topics considered as such by the expert panel. There are also no topics that is not considered a need for co-operation (that happens in jus tone case). The lack of technological infra-structrures was not considered as an hindered factor for the accomplishement of any scenario. The experts panel considered no other international competence besides US, Japan or Germany in these topics. Although the members of the expert panel were not as many as needed, These situations will be taken into consideration for a second round of the Delphi survey

A propose for this article is to present information on the emergence of the knowledge field of sociology of work and labor studies in Portugal. The period of 1974-1984 produced an interesting bibliography in the fields of social stratification, labor conflicts and social history. However, and since the mid-1980s, significant changes have emerged. There took place an increased theoretical diversity and also there was a major preoccupation with the development of a more professional teaching of the discipline. At this time, the first graduated specialists in Sociology appeared in the labor market since 1980, working in municipalities, industrial firms, public health institutions, schools, or even in research and development (R&D) units. The Portuguese association in this field (APSIOT) organized many scientific meetings, debates with unionists, managers and politicians, beside the regular publication of review “Organizações e Trabalho” (Organization and Work) since 1989. It started the diffusion of a professional culture of sociologists who associate science and their occupation concerning themselves not only with scientific quality, but also with technical competence and social responsibility. At the same time, one could assist to the participation of sociologists in the social and organizational molding of new technologies in order to promote alternative production systems.

This study was produced for the “Study of Instruments and Tools to anticipate the effects of industrial change on employment, trades and vocational qualifications” and for DG V (Employment) of the European Commission in the late 1994. It started when the previous Portuguese government was still ruling, the main policies were defined, and the available instruments were not used in a minimum extend. The new Government, issued from the 1995 elections, proposed “employment” as a major objective with horizontal responsibility. That’s also why there is now a Ministry for Qualifications and Employment, and another one for Solidarity and Social Affairs, not one for Employment and Social Affairs as the previous Government had. But more than that, this objective is considered to need a coordinated and consistent action that involves external affairs, industrial and regional policies, and the policies on education, training and employment, among others. The promotion of the “quality of employment” is being recently done at the working conditions, remuneration, social protection, occupational promotion levels, and the equality of opportunities towards employment and vocational training levels, and finally, the levels of qualification of human resources for a better labour market, education policy and training policy developments. In Portugal, the influence of the industrial change is produced in a top-down way; with (in some cases) an ex post analysis process to formulated training needs. This means that the industrial change impact is produced (normally, unexpectedly), and afterwards the responsible at the company level tries to know which training needs should be formulated in order those effects could be the smoother possible. The training needs at the company level is not based on anticipatory studies, neither is done any long term forecast on qualification, or even employment level.

This is the second interim report of the research project "Information Society, Work and the Generation of New Forms of Social Exclusion" (SOWING). It is based on a firm survey conducted in the eight regions participating in the research project — Flanders (Belgium), Lazio (Italy), Niederösterreich (Austria), Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, the Stuttgart area (Germany), the Tampere region (Finland) and the West London area (U.K.). The aim of this report is to present a broad overview of the collected data. In general, only simple statistical methods have been applied. The report focuses on a regional comparison; however, the data have also been analysed by firm size, measured by quantity of staff, and industrial sector. It should be seen as a first step in the data analysis; it may also give some hints for a more strategic analysis of the survey data.

The relation between work organisation and technological practices in auto industry is analysed in this article. The concept of “technological practice” in this sector is used to describe the specific ways of embedding information and communication technology applications into the organizational forms and cultural patterns. This concept was developed with the Sowing project (TSER, DG XII) and that approach included either the shop floor co-operation up to the regionally based networks of companies and supporting institutions. The authors studied different sectors in the automotive firms of different European countries (Germany, Belgium and Portugal): shopfloor and production lines, design and management and the local inter-relationships. It was underlined some evidencies of the different alternatives in terms of technological practices for the same sector. Much of the litterature try to disseminate an idea of a single (and optimum) organisational model for the same type of product. And here, even with the same type of technology, and of product (medium-high range), one can find different models, different cultures, different ways of organising the industrial structure (firms, regional institutions, R&D centres) in the same sector (auto industry).

“Theory and Practice” of TA, which is referred to in the title of this journal “TATuP”, is usually addressed as a question of TA research. But science is more than research: the field of teaching requires just as much attention, both practically and theoretically. Therefore, a mere collection of individual teaching experiences and best practice examples does not provide a strong enough basis to discuss questions of TA teaching, these must also be embedded in a theoretical context and discussed in their relation to research. In this special issue, we aim to contribute to a combination of theoretical and practical approaches to the relation of TA and “Bildung”.

In the last two decades (70 and 80) there took place an intensive controversy in the field of Industrial and Work Sociology. There the topic of the study object of this scientific discipline is again discussed. This controversy, however, has a relatively different sense in comparison with the one that existed in early 60ies. The more recent one followed the increasing number of possibilities of electronical equipment for data processing at the same time its price is decreasing. In this article we try to give knowledge of the main elements that take part in such debate. It is also important to present the international character of the research developed in association with this discussion. It evolves a plurality of research teams that present, compare and synthesize the results of empirical studies that are applied for a wide variety of countries.

In this paper for a public debate promoted by the Portuguese President of Republic in 2000, we start from the basic definitions of information society and discuss the main measures proposed as targets in the firld of work and employment. Structural changes are analysed related with the economical and social dimensions of the information society, especially those related to the work organisation, education and training, and the labour markets. Finally recommendations are made on the topics of innovation, employment and development of information society.

This report is made for the Work Package 15 of WORKS project and tries to develop more information on the Portuguese situation in the work structures changes in the recent years. It starts with an analysis of socio- economical indicators (Macro economical indicators, Employment indicators, Consumption, Technology at the workplace, Productivity), and then approaches the situation in terms of work flexibility in its dimensions of time use and New forms of work organisation. It traces employment in business functions with a sectoral and occupational approach, and analyses the occupational change in South Europe with particular relevance to Portugal (skill utilisation and job satisfaction, occupational and industrial mobility, quantitative evaluation of the shape of employment in Europe. Finaly are analysed the globalisation indicators.

This paper analyses the problems and trends of the introduction of anthropocentric production systems (APS) in small less industrialized member states of the European Union, specifically the case of Portugal, based on the report for the FAST-Anthropocentric Technology Assessment Project (Monitor Programme) on “Prospects and conditions for APS in Europe by the 21st century”. Research teams from all countries of the European Community, as well as researchers from USA, Japan and Australia were participating in this project. The aim of this paper is to characterize APS and to present some special considerations related to the socioeconomic factors affecting the prospects and conditions for APS in Portugal. APS is defined as a system based on the utilization of skilled human resources and flexible technology adapted to the needs of flexible and participative organization. Among socioeconomic factors, some critical aspects for the development of APS will be focused, namely technological infrastructure, management strategies, perceived impact of introduction of automated systems on the division of labor and organizational structure, educational and vocational training and social actors strategies towards industrial automation. This analysis is based on a sample of industrial firms, built up for qualitative analysis, and on case studies analysis that can be reference examples for further development of APS, and not just for economic policy purposes alone. We have also analyzed the type of existing industrial relations, the union and employer strategies and some aspects of public policies towards the introduction of new technologies in the order to understand the extent to which there exist obstacles to and favorable conditions for the diffusion of anthropocentric systems. Finally some recommendations are presented to stress the trends for the implementation and development of anthropocentric production systems in Portugal.

The innovation in the employment behaviour is particularly clear in what concerns the sector composition of the employment changes: the persistent decrease of the industrial employment (even if within a framework of some recovery of the industrial product), a slight expansion in the employment on the tertiary sector, and an important growth of the employment in the construction and public works activities. We can identify then a considerable sector mutation concerning the industrial and the services sectors but also a growth of the atypical forms of employment. Portugal continues not being able to respond to the labour market needs (improvement in the education sector is critical to the catch-up process). The Portuguese cases studied point out to organisational changes supported by ICT, but not determined/induced by it. For most of the changes that were recently developed, ICT had an important role. We didn’t found explicit technological determinism in the relation between ICT and social exclusion.

Em Portugal, existe uma ausência de formalização da ciência para assuntos políticos em que a procura de aconselhamento é, em grande medida, informal.

Additive manufacturing (commonly known as 3D printing or rapid prototyping) refers to processes used to produce parts in an additive manner by means of computer-aided design (CAD). While additive manufacturing is a technology that can be used in many different application areas, this project focuses on future trends in additive manufacturing (AM) aimed at improving biological functionality (bio-AM) and on its opportunities, barriers and challenges. The big advantage of this technique is that small batches can be produced more economically than with any other manufacturing process. Virtually any structure can be customized, which is particularly important in the healthcare sector. Possible applications include biological implants such as organs and tissues, nutrients, drugs and their transport mechanisms, equipment such as surgical knives and drilling guides, tissues for research, development and training, and personalized prostheses, supports and exoskeletons. Besides exploring such applications, the project will also systematically analyze potential "human enhancement" uses of AM technology and developments in the emerging do-it-yourself (DIY) cultures ("bio/body-hacking"; cyborgism; open source 3D printing movement).

In the first phase of the project, the technological state of the art will be analyzed, as will a wide variety of non-technical aspects, regulatory issues and future trends, also with a special focus on sociotechnical imaginaries (e.g., in science fiction), human enhancement and DIY cultures. This horizon scanning will be accomplished partly by means of expert and stakeholder interviews.

In the second phase, the project will use a variety of foresight and technology assessment methods and will carry out a 360° envisioning exercise with contributions by external experts, entailing an in-depth analysis of selected applications of bio-AM.

The project work will end with a scenario development phase in which the focus will be on likely outcomes of already emerging developments, though further-reaching future perspectives will be taken into account to a certain extent. Taken together, these scenarios will allow for both a broader understanding of the wide range of potential impacts of AM applications and a clearer picture of potential policy challenges relevant to the Members of the European Parliament.

The so called “crowd work” is an employment form that uses a digital platform to enable organisations or individuals to access other organisations or individuals to solve specific problems or to provide specific services in exchange for payment (Valenduc and Vendramin, 2016). There are many alternative terms for crowd work used in European member states, such as crowd sourcing, crowd employment, sharing economy, platform economy, gig economy, on-demand economy, collaborative economy, Peer-to-peer economy, among others (Eurofound 2018). Recently, the term “digital platform work” has developed recently to be dominant in the literature to refer to sectors where this technology has arrived. Accordingly, this report will proceed using the latter term. These forms of online intermediation have expanded from creative and high-skilled professional activities that became virtualised as a result of digitalisation to a variety of other services and activities, traditionally delivered by self-employed, that involve the maintenance or repair of material commodities or the delivery of services in person, such as cleaning, gardening, household maintenance and transport (Huws, 2017). As a result of this, workers profiles vary from highly skilled IT and creative professionals to very unskilled workers. It has been also noted that many digital platform workers are young people looking for extra income such as students, unemployed or carers (Valenduc and Vendramin, 2016). The main Portuguese reference about work in digital platforms is fused with the Uber app. Its controversial arrival in 2014 triggered fierce responses from several groups. The main legislative reference on digital platform work is the ‘Uber law’. The symbolism of the app expressed as ‘Uberization’ became synonymous of the ‘new’ precariat, seen as a hassle of technology and an attack to organized labour in the country. There are also regulations for Airbnb at state, regional and municipal level intended to limit the number of lodgings in certain areas where touristic activities are very intense. In general, the other platforms are not covered by specific regulations.