Sociotechnical Design in a Third World Country: The Railway Maintenance Depot at Sennar in the Sudan

Abstract

A World Bank-sponsored study team was directed to employ sociotechnical methodology in designing a new locomotive repair shop in Sennar, Sudan. The team, comprised of Sudanese and expatriates, found that despite cultural differences, despairing Sudan Railway workers' and managers' feelings and reactions to a bureaucratic enterprise were similar to those of their counterparts in industrialized countries. Because a design along these old principles was certain to yield low commitment and performance now evident throughout the Sudan Railways, a state-of-the-art design was indicated. Overcoming effects of brain and skill drain to nearby oil-rich countries required emphasis on human development equal to that of locomotive repair. This dual emphasis was accomplished in a set of minishops which were self-reliant, semi-autonomous entities coupled with on-site comprehensive formal training resources and facilities. Up-front stakeholder involvement and resource commitment was essential to success. The value of the learning by the World Bank, Sudan, and other developing countries from the application of sociotechnical methodology potentially exceeds the contribution of the new shop to Sudan's transport.