The advantage of placing responsibility for the complete coal-getting task squarely on the shoulders of a single, small, face-to-face group which exp… - Eric Trist

Every time the cycle is stopped, some 200 tons of coal are lost. So close is the task interdependence that the system becomes vulnerable from its need for 100 percent performance at each step.

Fellows were encouraged to revisit their former industries and make a report on any new perceptions they might have. One of these Fellows, Ken Bamforth, returned with news of an innovation in work practice and organization which had occurred in a new seam in the colliery where he used to work in the South Yorkshire coalfield. The seam, the Haighmoor, had become possible to mine "shortwall" because of improved roof control.

# Internal regulation of the system by the group was thus rendered possible rather than the external regulation of individuals by supervisors.