Technologie: Training

The handling of customer-individual requirements, product variants and a worldwide market requires the professionalization of knowledge-intense processes. Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) often have excellent individual competencies, but lack a systematic management of the associated knowledge. IT-solutions for Knowledge Management in SMEs provide limited functionalities and are thus rarely used. Therefore, a need exists for the business process oriented approach for Knowledge Management in SMEs, featured in this article. Implemented in a portal for information management, it supports optimization of knowledge-intense processes.

Today knowledge is the company’s main resource. To be competitive, companies need qualified employees who are able to use their knowledge for solving problems. Especially in the field of product development it is essential that relevant knowledge is available. Knowledge Management is one important module of the concept of Lean Development. The Sulzer Mixpac AG has established Lean Development in its structure, while knowledge management has been introduced to the organization. This article provides background information. Sulzer Mixpac has followed the Toyota principle: “Before we build cars, we build people!”

No longer does the shortage of qualified employees represent a regional or sector specific problem. It has become an issue impacting the whole economy - in particular in times of an economic recovery. In today’s knowledge society, people are the most important asset as they determine corporate performance as well as the capability of an organization to innovate and change. Thus, the anticipation and proactive response to future qualification needs is crucial and defines the capability to outpace the competition in a time-based environment. The capability to learn and to unlearn faster than others defines the ability to change - this, however, is not an issue of technology but culture - a culture that nurtures the role of leaders as teachers.

Brazil offers great potential, e.g. for the automotive industry. However procurement, production and distribution structures often lead to specific challenges. To cope with these challenges tested logistic planning approaches can be transferred. This article describes the cooperation between the Fraunhofer IML, Germany, and various Brazilian partners to initiate such a knowledge transfer and to adopt supply chain planning methods for the Brazilian automotive industry.

After three years of living in one of China’s booming cities, the answer seems easy: In China! Even during the crisis in 2009 construction was ongoing in Dalian: Roads, apartments, plants. At the same time in Europe workers were dismissed and factories closed. That is why a discussion of the advantages of a location seems unreasonable at this point. The decision has already been taken by companies. The remaining question is: Where to go from here? And again the answer seems easy.

Continuous attempt for improvement as well as the permanent impulse to explore and eliminate failures and flaws belong to the classical quality mindset, which is also reflected in CIP approaches. However, it is often difficult to systematically identify improvement potentials with minimal expenses, especially in knowledge intensive business processes. A purposefully combined disciplines and instruments of quality management, process management and knowledge management enables the development of a maturity model adjusted to the needs of SME. This maturity model, based on the methods of CIP, serves to uncover the potentials in the knowledge process. The following contribution demonstrates the development, application as well as the value of employing the quality-oriented maturity model for knowledge intensive business processes.

Today’s new products and services must be marketed in cycles which are rapidly becoming shorter and shorter. The pricing pressure and the progressing trend toward individualisation of products pose a tremendous challenge for major sectors of the industry. In the future, therefore, the implementation of digital methods will be necessary to a much greater extent than in the past, not only in product development, but also in process, production, and factory planning. For ensuring their own survival in a globalised world, small and medium-sized enterprises will also be faced with the inescapable necessity of introducing the digital factory. In this context, 3D-CAD factory planning can be regarded as a basic prerequisite for successful implementation of the digital factory. However, this prerequisite has not yet been satisfied in many companies. In the present publication, an overall method for implementing computer-aided 3D-CAD factory planning in conformance with the requirements is ...

The concept enterprise 2.0 stands for the enabling of new forms of know-ledge management by utilizing internet technology. While web 2.0 focuses on tools for communication, relationship management and learning, i.e. weblogs, wikis, and social networking platforms, enterprise 2.0 also covers the strategy, structure, and culture of knowledge management, and thus encompasses the entire enterprise. The authors argue that the vision of a blended enterprise is superior to existing non-hybrid enterprise 2.0-visions in terms of both feasibility and performance.

For many years now, it is a widespread goal of knowledge management to employ knowledge as a resource: Projects aim - but often fail - at optimising processes of generating, distributing, and applying knowledge. This can be attributed in many cases to (one of) three causes: - The basic difference between “knowledge” and “data” is misunderstood - The benefit of knowledge management seems to be regarded as inevitable, while it is not defined as a tangible goal - Projects focus on ideal concepts and processes, losing contact with organisational realities We show how to avoid those pitfalls, how to identify the potential of knowledge management and how to realise it.

This article describes an opportunity to model actors and systems in various business processes into an overall model by using the technique of networking. To achieve this goal, an algorithm is introduced. Next, different metrics based on social network analysis, are described. These metrics are able to expose parts of the network which have a huge utilization and therefore the underlying process itself. With this technique it is possible for project leaders, managers and decision makers to analyze the processes for flaws, finding out capacities and to build new project teams together (staffing).