Process model for a systematical knowledge transfer in the tool and die making industry

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Günther Schuh
• Subject Area: Production Systems, Operations Management, Quality Management and Factory Planning ; Production Automation and Assembly Technology
• Term: from 2017 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 362536663

Knowledge management systems are widely used in the industry, but in small and medium sized companies the implementation of knowledge management systems is unsatisfying. Also the companies of the tool and die making industry have problems with using knowledge management systems. The tool and die making industry is an important supplier for the producing industry and is positioned between the product development and the series production. The tool and die making industry faces the challenges of intense competition from countries with lower factor costs. Therefore the tool and die making industry needs to be able to make fast decisions and use their experience in order to increase their efficiency. The tool and die making industry can face these challenges when they treat gained knowledge as a resource. The processes depend a lot on the know how of the employees, but a knowledge exchange between departments and different projects only happens by coincidence and is not managed systematically. Due to the high product and process variety it is even harder for single employees to learn from occurred problems, because the rate of repetition is very low. This problem is increased by the higher distribution of processes between companies, because companies focus on their core competencies. The focus of this research project therefore is the development of a process model for a systematical knowledge exchange in the tool and die making industry.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants