3D CAD and Multimedia Telecooperation within the Metallurgy Industry

The primary goal of the project ORGTECH is to improve the cooperative work process within and between two design offices and one steel mill through the introduction of 3D CAD and multimedia telecooperation. Introduction of the new technologies takes place intwo cycles based on an inyegrated organization and technology development (OTD) approach. Both cycles will permit the best participation of the users in the development process as apartipatory and evolutionary approach to support changes of work systems. In this paper we describe the organisational and technical problems and first results based on our experience with two pilot teams, '3D CAD' and 'Telecooperation'. The outcome of the first phase, theproblem analysis, is described and followed by a detailed description of the pilot teams. Here modern 3D CAD and telecooperation systems are tailored to the specific situation of the engineer offices and their major customer, the steel mill. We explain the next step of the projectwich co nsists of introducing the prototypes and organizational change in the pilot teams.