A dynamic knowledge management framework for the high value manufacturing industry

Dynamic knowledge management (KM) is a combination of cultural and technological factors, including the cultural factors of people and their motivations, technological factors of content and infrastructure and, where these both come together, interface factors. In this paper a dynamic KM framework is described in the context of employees being motivated to create profit for their company through product development in high value manufacturing. It is reported how the framework was discussed during a meeting of the collaborating company's (BAE Systems) project stakeholders. Participants agreed the framework would have most benefit at the start of the product lifecycle before key decisions were made. The framework has been designed to support organisational learning and to reward employees that improve the position of the company in the market place.     

制造企业知识管理实施方法的探讨

企业知识管理实施是一项系统工程，本文从企业知识管理概念模型出发，从企业战略选择，企业文化培养，企业组织创新和有效的知识管理的构建四个方面对知识管理的实施进行了讨论，分析表明：知识管理的实施不是四个方面的简单叠加，需要各方面的协调发展，需要针对企业自身情况，通过企业各子系统和过程的整合，建立适合自身特点的具有特色的知识管理模式是企业知识管理实施的最佳选择。     

The impact of operations capability on firm performance

We propose that a firm's operations capability is manifested through its new product design and development, just-in-time, and quality-management efforts. Moreover, we propose that operations capability, so defined, directly and positively impacts firm performance. Survey data were used to independently calibrate and validate a structural equation model linking operations capability, a second-order construct, to firm performance. Results provide support for the model and demonstrate a positive relationship between operations capability and firm performance.     

Improving the design phase through interorganisational product knowledge models

This paper focuses on the use of interorganisational knowledge models with the purpose of standardising engineer-to-order (ETO) products. Such product variant reductions can lead to decreased costs for both the ETO company and its suppliers without reducing sales. In spite of the attention that supply chain integration has received in the literature, supply chain integration with a focus on the integration of product knowledge in ETO companies and their suppliers has not received much attention. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to define this type of supply chain integration. The concept is investigated by a case study, which supports the claim that supply chain product knowledge integration is an approach for increasing the competitiveness of ETO companies and their suppliers. Given the gap in the literature, the paper may potentially open a new horizon for studying supply chain integration.     

An approach to conceptual and embodiment design within a new product development lifecycle framework

The design of new innovative products is the result of an accurate and precise management of knowledge sources all over its life cycle, such as technology, market, competitors and suppliers. The work contributes with a framework that shows how the knowledge sources influence in the state-of-the-art and market needs so that they become opportunities for innovating products addressing the whole product life cycle. It provides a systematic path from the early generation of ideas to the production of a new product proposal. Through a deep analysis of previous research works of new product innovation life cycle development frameworks and linking it with knowledge management, strategic planning and scorecards, we came out with a structured contribution. The result considers the concurrent activities and its relationships all the way through the product life cycle that can help in creativity and innovation, combined with a process management proposal. Managing the sources of knowledge in highly dynamic markets and technologies is one of the major difficulties involved in innovative products design and development. The emerging knowledge from external sources is confronted with organisation internal knowledge and experience in order to achieve the first product correct.     

The value of information systems for product recovery management

This article sheds light on the role of information systems in product recovery management. We first develop analytical models and then provide a numerical example to determine under what conditions investments in Information-intensive Product Recovery Systems (IPRS) are economically justifiable for manufacturers and when policy-makers need to consider facilitating their implementation. The results of the analytical models indicate that the recovery network (collection) structure and product characteristics determine if precision improvements or increased sorting speed associated with IS investments will lead to higher profit gains. Manufacturers should carefully assess conflicting impacts of current manufacturing and recycling technology trends on the value of IPRS. Implementing IPRS might end up reducing manufacturers' profits under a highly time efficient decentralised collection structure. We show that negotiations with competitors about IPRS implementation may lead to a win–win situation and allow consumers to enjoy the lowest product price if the binding force of the agreement is strong. Otherwise, some manufacturers follow free-rider strategies. This article has immediate application to manufacturers' IS strategy and to government policy-makers considering investing in and/or structuring product recovery closed-loop supply chain processes within their jurisdictions. It also opens a potential stream of research concerning the role of IPRS to automate, informate and transform closed-loop supply chains for eco-efficiency.     

The reuse of machining knowledge to improve designer awareness through the configuration of knowledge libraries in PLM

The nature of competition induces the need to constantly improve and perform better. For global aerospace manufacturers, this is as timely an epithet as ever as market forces urge for more growth, better financial return and market position. The macroeconomic aspect is compounded by the growth of product complexity and the need for higher product quality, hence the drive to reduce waste places emphasis upon production costs and the need to improve product performance. This paper focuses upon a rapid development and deployment method that enables the capture and representation of machining knowledge so that it may be shared and reused by design engineers to accelerate the design-make process. The study and mapping of information and knowledge relationships are described and put forward as a lightweight ontology. From this, a set of knowledge document templates were created to facilitate the capture, structuring and sharing of machining knowledge within a collaborative multidisciplinary aerospace engineering environment. An experimental pilot system has been developed to test and demonstrate that knowledge document templates can accelerate the sharing of machining knowledge within an industrial product lifecycle management environment. The results are discussed to provide a case for further development and application within the product domain.     

制造企业的产品创新与知识管理

分析了制造企业所面临的变革与挑战，探讨了“知识”在产品创新过程中作为一种独特而又无限的资源必须进行有效的管理和充分利用的观点，认为知识已经成为产品创新和帮助客户创造价值的源泉，传统制造企业能否向知识型制造企业过渡，在很大程度上取决于在其业务过程中是否能有效地获取和应用知识。在构建了知识型制造企业总体构架的基础上，根据知识管理的目标、构架特征和系统结构，研究了知识型企业的知识共享空间基础的建立。通过案例分析了建立知识管理系统的主要过程及其应用。     

Semantic annotations for semantic interoperability in a product lifecycle management context

The interoperability among a variety of systems, in or across manufacturing enterprises, has been widely accepted as one of the important factors that affect the efficiency of production. Many research works, related to the interoperability at different levels, have been carried out to tackle the information exchange, transformation, discovery and reuse. One of the main challenges in these research works is to overcome the semantic heterogeneity in the exchanged information between enterprise applications along the life cycle of a product. As a possible solution to support the semantic interoperability issue, semantic annotations have gained more and more attention. This paper identifies several existing drawbacks and proposes a formal semantic annotation approach to support the semantic enrichment of models in a product lifecycle management context.     

The impact of quality practices and employee empowerment in the performance of hospital units

Healthcare is a unique services environment with increasing demand for services coupled with widely diverse patient needs. In addition, hospitals are under increased pressure to provide quality care yet simultaneously decrease associated costs. This study examines how the use of quality practices and employee empowerment impact hospital unit outcomes. Specifically, the sociotechnical theory is used to explain the relationship of quality practices and employee empowerment in respiratory care services. Utilising data from 101 different hospital units, survey responses from managers and physicians within the same hospital units are used to test the impact on quality and cost of care performance metrics via path modelling. The results show the social side of improvement programs, i.e. employee empowerment, may be a critical component to true quality improvement in hospital units. Furthermore, while respiratory care managers feel that employee empowerment reduces costs of patient care, physicians felt that there was no impact on costs. The implications of these findings and differing perspectives are discussed.     

产品设计过程中非模型信息管理方法与管理系统

为了实现产品设计过程中各类非模型交互信息的有效记录与管理,提出了一种面向设计人员的非模型信息管理方法。为准确、客观和全面地记录设计信息,采用多样化信息载体工具对设计信息进行可视化描述,实现模型信息和非模型信息的集成管理与共享。将该方法无缝集成到产品设计软件平台和信息记录与管理软件中,开发出一套产品设计非模型信息管理系统,实现产品设计与信息管理的一体化。实例研究结果表明,设计人员通过该管理系统可实时查阅、描述和管理产品设计过程中产生的各类非模型信息,并能实现信息的自动分类与保存。研究表明所提出的管理方法和管理系统能够实现产品设计过程中非模型信息的有效管理,提高了其使用价值和产品的设计质量。     

Relative effectiveness of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award categories

This study fills a critical research gap by assessing the effectiveness of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) model within a government organisation and by comparing the effectiveness of the categories within the MBNQA model in government to the effectiveness of the categories of the MBNQA model in different industries. This study examines the relative effectiveness of each Baldrige category in the MBNQA 2013–2014 framework to results using data from a municipal government. We tested the hypothesised research model employing partial least squares (structural equation modelling). The results validate the effectiveness of the Baldrige categories and quantitatively support the theoretical foundations of the Baldrige model. Drawing on contingency theory, we explore the commonalities and differences of the effectiveness of Baldrige categories across different industries. The comparisons provide evidence that the Baldrige model has experienced the appropriate adaptations over years. This work discusses theoretical and managerial implications, and suggests future research directions.     

A dynamic curation method for manufacturing-related knowledge

A method for the dynamic curation of manufacturing-related knowledge is proposed, based on the impact of successive paradigm introduction on the network structure within manufacturing companies. This draws together manufacturing system structure in terms of interacting component network types, the nature and consequences of knowledge silos and the underpinning dichotomous influence of language. The need and opportunities for an objective- rather than subjective paradigm-based view of manufacturing are identified, leading to a curation process in which paradigms and other knowledge specialisms are different viewpoints based on particular models of manufacturing processes and resources. The consequences of this are explored in terms of knowledge silo reduction, improved communication within component social- and information networks, increased operational resilience and better informed decision-making for future business.     

EPCIMS环境下基于知识库的项目进度规划与控制模式研究

为了更好地捕获、存储、共享、利用、创造与项目相关的经验与知识,应对项目进行过程中的变更问题,文章在EPCIMS(Engineering Projects Contmporary Integrated Management Systems)环境下,应用面向对象方法构建了知识库的体系结构,并给出了EPCIMS环境下应用知识库处理施工过程中变更问题的解决方案,此模式为更好地指导实践工作提供了有效途径.     

The Improvement of New Product R&D System in the Scompany Based on the Perspective of Multi-project Management

Taking S Company new product research and development project management as the background,this paper analyzed the problems existing in the process of project management and discussed the approach to improve the way of a new product development project management system.It built the strategic planning to a new product research and development project and its corresponding organization structure model.Finally,it studied resource management and knowledge management in a new product research and development multi-project.     

A framework for the design of knowledge management systems in eco-design

Eco-design is becoming a crucial challenge for many companies. The effective integration of environmental concerns into design is linked to the development of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). In this context, this paper proposes a framework to support the design of KMS for eco-design. This framework consists of two complementary parts linked to the main knowledge management strategies that KMS generally support. The first part of the framework concerns codification strategy and relies on an eco-design process reference model and the related adaptation of the GAMETH^® method used to locate and evaluate crucial knowledge systematically. The second part of the framework concerns the personalisation strategy. In this paper we propose to exploit the community of practice (CoP) theory by: (1) proposing guidelines defining the structural features of CoPs and (2) adapting a tool landscape providing insight on CoP instrumentation. Both guidelines support the setting up of a specific CoP. The exploitation of the framework is illustrated on a real case study.     

知识门户的概念与设计思想

从企业应用特点和问题出发，提出门户系统的需求背景，结合对IT模型的理解，给出知识门户的概念和IT实现的原理，进一步提出企、世知识门户的规划设计方法和实施步骤。     

A structured approach to evaluating the impact of implementing a component-based system in the automotive engine manufacturing domain

Component-based (CB) technology applied to the control system of production machinery is one of the new research developments in the automotive manufacturing sector. Although it is important to evaluate the technical aspects of this new paradigm, an appreciation of the impact from the business and human aspects is equally important to the stakeholders in the industry. Current evaluation approaches do not offer a method to capture and analyse the impact of CB technology that is simple to use and produces results that are readily understood by all the interested parties. The definition of an approach for evaluating the business and human aspects of implementing a CB system in the automotive sector is discussed. An evaluation strategy has been formulated comprising (1) knowledge elicitation, (2) investigation of future implementation scenarios, (3) data representation and analysis using enterprise modelling approaches, and (4) simulation and model analysis using proprietary software toolkits.     

新产品开发中的设计知识管理

基于对知识管理的基本理论的研究,从企业主要的创新活动--新产品开发活动出发,深入具体的业务层面对具体的涉及到的知识进行分析归纳,并对新产品开发中设计知识管理的流程和新产品的开发各个阶段的相互作用进行了具体的分析.     

The impact of autonomous vehicle technologies on product recall risk

Complex Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology are increasing the number of vehicle recalls. At the same time, financial risks resulting from extensive product recall events can severely affect vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers, exposing the automotive supply chain to business continuity, legal and reputational risk. However, these risk implications are under-appreciated by large segments of the supply chain. This study shows that product recall events are increasing in general but recall events associated with ADAS/AV technology form an increasingly large percentage of these recall events. Based on this analysis, we describe ADAS/AV-specific aspects of risk mitigation and present a multidimensional approach, combining production-centric risk mitigation avenues in the automotive supply chain with the transfer of residual financial risks via insurance. We find that this comprehensive risk mitigation approach benefits in higher transparency of total production costs and increased resilience of the automotive supply chain. Against the background of an increasing product recall risk resulting from the increasing automation and interconnectedness of modern vehicles, we therefore suggest a closer, more strategic cooperation between insurance companies, car manufacturers and automotive suppliers for the benefit of all parties.