디지털 전환과 숙련의 변화: 철강기업의 스마트 팩토리 도입 사례

As the economy becomes more digitalized, the world of work is expected to undergo significant changes. This study aimed to explore how the smart factory affects the skills of workers in the steel industry. The study analyzed interview data from steel workers using a grounded theoretical approach. The findings revealed that smart factories have replaced the manual skills of steel workers. However, it cannot be said that deskilling has occurred unilaterally; rather, the type of skills required for steel workers has changed. In particular, intellectual skills, such as domain knowledge, are now required in a more in-depth form for steel workers employed in facility operation and facility inspection. Additionally, soft skills, including self-organization, the ability to respond to unexpected situations, self-development, and social skills, are also required. Therefore, steel companies should improve human capabilities and skills to successfully transform into smart factories. The study found that the steel companies have developed the organizational capability to attain the required skills. However, due to the divided labor market inherent in the manufacturing industries, non-regular employees are at risk of deskilling and under pressure of replacement by technological automation. This is expected to diminish human capabilities in the steel industry. Therefore, steel companies must improve their overall human capabilities by taking policies to overcome or minimize the division within steel workers.