Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The project started at NCC in January of 1971 with Nygaard as the project leader
[18]. Four local union shops, geographically spread over the southern part of Norway,
were selected to take part. Eventually 120 people participated in the project.
It was important for NJMF and NCC that the project gave real and useful results.
The Steering Committee in the autumn of 1971 formulated a new definition of project
results:
“Results are all actions from NJMF, centrally or at the local level, that with
support from the project aim to give the organization and its members a larger influ-
ence on data processing and control tools in their work place. … From this viewpoint,
working papers and research reports from the project will be useful only to the extent
that they lead to actions of the organization's leadership, divisions, or local shops.”
The project group initially concentrated on establishing suitable educational mate-
rial for shop stewards and industry employees. This resulted in a basic textbook for
trade unions on “Data processing, planning and control” [17] which formed the basis
for the work started by the shops of the participating companies from the summer of
1972. The purpose was that the shops should test a way of working that the project
group thought would be common in the future, that shops themselves would study
important questions within their work place with assistance from experts from outside
and personnel from the company itself.
The Iron and Metal Project was a very untraditional research project. The contrac-
tor was of a new kind, the project had an uncommon definition of goals, and the
group of participants was unusual. Both the establishment and the fulfilment of the
project were wholly dependent on Nygaard's creative engagement. The project also
demonstrated his ability to inspire co-workers and participants and to build a team.
His lack of ability to follow the time-schedules given for project reports was also
demonstrated
6
.
The project was followed by similar projects and had important consequences for
trade union involvement in the introduction and use of new technology in Norway,
Scandinavia, and elsewhere [7].
Nygaard's last project initiative in cooperation with trade unions was UNITE (Un-
ion Net for Information, Teamwork and Education, 1983-85). The strategic impor-
tance of ICT for organizational development was the main theme. The focus was to
study how the “
PC-revolution
” and data communication could make union work,
particularly on the local level, more efficient and influential. As was often the case
with Nygaard's initiatives, this project also had an international perspective and net-
work building aspect.
5 Data Agreements and the Working Environment Act
In 1974 the world's first agreement on enterprise data use was established between
the company Viking-Askim AS and the local shop [5]. The background was that the
enterprise wanted to introduce a new data system for control of their car tire produc-
tion. The trade union asked Nygaard for help in the discussions with the employer.
The result was a data agreement that gave the employees a right to information and
6
If Drude Berntsen, who was NCC's director at the time, did not have meetings with him
twice a week to follow project reporting, the project would not have finished on time and
hardly experienced such a successful end result.
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