Technologie: Training

Knowledge management can be an important competitive advantage for many companies. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often have limited access to capital. The challenge in contract logistics is to identify an appropriate knowledge management approach. In particular, the process of proposal preparation is characterized by a high complexity and intensity of specific knowledge. This article presents a knowledge management approach for the tender preparation process of SME in contract logistics.

For most German companies managing demographic change is one of the main future challenges. However, many firms are not yet well prepared to face this development. Nowadays competition is primarily based on knowledge and hence enabling knowledge transfer between older and younger employees has turned to be a key success factor. In this paper we therefore develop a ‘Knowledge Transfer Balanced Scorecard’ in order to provide a hands-on tool for controlling the knowledge transfer process in times of demographic change.

Due to a growing amount of complexity and variants as well as shrinking product life cycles industrial companies meet the challenge to handle a high number of production ramp-ups. Within this context, a fast and smooth ramp-up of assembly systems is becoming more and more a critical success factor. This article describes how smart devices combined with a predictive knowledge database can support and speed up the ramp-up of manual assembly systems in capital goods industries.

Within structured wikis we can combine the web 2.0-advantages - flexibility, collective intelligence, self-organization and participation - with process oriented knowledge work. These wikis are able to use process structures to support complex processes. Thus, a structured wiki supports knowledge work in know-ledge intensive processes. Users are not bound to strict processes as the wiki technology enables creativity by definition. This paper shows the differences between traditional and structured wikis by example.

In volatile markets firms must be able to develop products faster and streamline production. Processes of reorganization to renew resources and routines are relevant, especially processes of knowledge generation, absorption and exploitation. Therefore this article develops wellestablished approaches to organizational learning and knowledge management. The foundations and commonalities of these approaches are presented and practical implications are discussed.

The rising demand and availability of knowledge contributes to the change away from an industrial society towards a more knowledge oriented society. This article focuses on knowledge work in small enterprises. The article describes the importance and the potential of know-ledge work in small enterprises and demonstrates the difficulties in the implementation. The small structured building industry with its change towards a more and more knowledge intensive branch of business over the last years was chosen as an example to explain this approach. In a systems-theoretical model the authors describe an approach to make the application of knowledge work in small enterprises of the building sector possible.

Planning, design and continuous improvement of today’s complex corporate structures and technical systems require a sophisticated level of extensive know-ledge of technology, processes and IT. To apply planning and simulation tools effectively and efficiently engineers and plant operators have to rise to the challenge to use their knowledge in a goal-oriented way and to expand it within creative processes. Consequently, knowledge is more than ever a key productivity factor and an important component of corporate capital. Against this background, the article discusses possibilities for systematization and standardization in simulation studies and especially approaches to increase productivity in simulation studies by supplying assistance functions as well as systematic evaluation methodologies.

The aging workforce and labour shortage due to lacking young qualified employees are topics which today primarily concern small and medium-sized businesses in unattractive regions. The Federal Statistical Office expects particularly dramatic changes in the age structure of the German workforce in 2017 to 2024. How can companies prepare for these changes? And is it a mere obligatory task or could there have been unexploited potential overlooked so far? Recent German studies provide new insights.

If you met an engineer in a R&D department some years ago, he was supposed to be an employee of the firm. However, today, as firms have started to contract out there is an increasing number of high-skilled contractors working side by side with employees in core areas of the firm, e.g. in R&D. A reason which is often cited for this development is the flexibility advantage of using contractors. However, high-skilled contractors can also be a valuable source of new know-ledge and innovation. They can support a firm by recognizing technological trends, absorbing new knowledge and generating innovative products. In this paper we would like to illustrate how contractors can be an important knowledge source and what processes underlie the integration of the contractors’ knowledge. Our paper is based on empirical studies from a long-term research project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research and Education.

Industrial product-service systems (IPS²) represent a combination of interdependent product and service components developed to satisfy highly specific customer needs. One key challenge in the engineering of IPS² pertains to the successful integration of providers’, customers’ and suppliers’ heterogeneous expertise. While previous research mainly addresses this issue through the lenses of organization or automation, little attention has been paid towards integration through interaction. In this paper we therefore ask the question which competencies enable employees and teams in IPS² to successfully deal with heterogeneity thus taking advantage of its innovative potential. We use a a multilevel model of competence and specify it for the IPS² work system on the base of expert interviews. It becomes apparent that experts attribute successful IPS² performance especially to factors which increase perceived stability in flexible or heterogeneous work systems.