Grain Terminal Automation: A Case Study In The Control Of Control

In 1978, the Cargill grain export terminal in Thunder Bay, Ontario, underwent a modernization program that included the installation of a computerized process control system. The introduction of this technology challenged the prevailing division of labor in the grain industry under which a management supervisor issued commands by telephone and hourly workers responded by physically moving the grain through the terminal. Under the new system, grain movements were controlled by two operators sitting at computer terminals in a control room. Management claimed control of the control room as an extension of the supervisor's role and in the initial automation plan both control room operators were to be supervisors. The union representing hourly employees saw this as a threat to its control over physical operations. An unstable compromise was worked out under which management and the union would share control room duties. Four years of negotiations and an arbitration hearing failed to fully resolve the issue in this test case for grain industry automation.