A Critical Component to the Success of Manufacturing Organizations: Transfer of Knowledge

Written by Kevin Walton, Senior Services Manager, Strategic Services

The transfer of knowledge is not only fundamental to learning but crucial to the success of many manufacturing organizations.

It is common for organizations to encounter issues within their operations that originate in the misunderstanding of knowledge transfer. Understanding the mechanisms that are utilized in the transfer of knowledge is fundamental to recognizing the origin and impact of many problems. Characterizing the balance of tacit and explicit knowledge is one way that the risks involved are addressed, evaluating these factors enables us to tag those that require additional work.

What are ways manufacturers can improve knowledge transfer?

Identifying and more effectively managing activities such as work definition, training, and skills demonstration is one means of digging into the details and identifying improvement opportunities. Various work instructions, position profiles, training content, and organization charts are mechanisms that are commonly used to implement controls in this domain. When combined with Risk Management methods, such as Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, these documents can provide powerful insights for action.  

Patterns observed in these investigations also allow high-level adjustments to address the root causes of problems in management activities.

Transfer of Knowledge Training

Recently, Purdue MEP delivered a 40-hour training that brought the transfer of knowledge into a crisp focus for participants. As part of the hands-on training, participants identified and pursued improvement projects within their organization to create more effective applications of knowledge transfer. Throughout the training, different techniques and analysis methods were introduced and evaluated to not only give structure but also provide feedback on which methods were most applicable to the project and the culture of the organization to help participants deliver the results desired.

Interested in learning more? Reach out to Purdue MEP at mepsupport@purdue.edu to find out more about our Transfer of Knowledge training.

Writer: Kevin Walton, 765-494-5343, kevinwalton@purdue.edu