The "flux tendu" concept as an element present in various current work situations, which shape a new productive combination. These situations cannot be reduced to the just-in-time method of organization, and can be employed not only in industries but also in services and in the commercial relations between firms. The text is divided into five parts: the first is a short introduction on the economic and social context in which the use of the flux-tendu is inserted; in the second, it is defined in view of the recent innovations in production and in work (the Japanese model and lean-production); in the third part, the contemporary discussion on competences is shown to be coherent with the new format; in the fourth, the role of the unions facing this new challenge is discussed; and, finally, in the fifth, there is a warning on the limit to its applications in a pro-labor scenario.
New productive model; Post-fordism; Toyotism; Competence