Learning Factory for Management, Organization and Workers’ Participation

Abstract The learning factory of the Chair of Production Systems (LPS) at the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum imparts knowledge not only about process improvement (lean management) and the efficient use of resources but also about professional competencies regarding management, workers’ participation and organization of work. This contribution will present thedeveloped trainings for the interdisciplinary course MAO(Management, Arbeit und Organisation; engl.: Management and Organization of Labor). The trainings and the course has been developed in cooperation with the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Social Sciences as well as the Office of Cooperation RUB/IGM, which grants a unique significance to this learning factory. The trainings focus on the definition of working conditions, communication and cooperation of middle management and shopfloor level, and workers’ participation in a real-world manufacturing environment.