ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors discuss a "disaster" that happened in an organisation, and compare the events to these requirements. During a team-working study in a steel rolling mill, a "disaster" happened; a hot, flat plate became trapped under a set of rollers. The original organisational set-up, under "normal" production conditions, plotted on a "Role Matrix", showing relationships between roles. The blobs are roles, and arrows are known, well-used communication paths connecting the roles, by which authority is translated into activity. The intended blurring of roles so that team members can take on more than one role will allow more flexible operation within each team. PM is the Plant Manager, top right; FR on the right is the Floor Roller, supervising the operation of the mill on the shop floor. Between these two are management and engineering roles; other shop floor operators are all grouped towards the bottom left.
