Strukturwandel in der Ingenieurtechnik der chemischen Industrie

Changes in the Structure of Engineering in the Chemical Industry. The poor profit situation has stimulated a discussion of the costs of engineering in the chemical industry. The allocation of engineering responsibilities to centralized organizational structures is at issue. This applies to planning just as much as to plant maintenance or to the workshops. These structures are regarded as inflexible, expensive and, in many cases, monopolistic. Decentralized units which are directly responsible to divisions or business units seem to be able to work more efficiently and cheaply. The best alternative, however, is considered to be the outsourcing of work to external firms on a far larger scale than up to now. The article deals with the reasons which have initiated the structural change and with the relating consequences thereto.