When discussing tacit vs. explicit knowledge as it relates to maintenance and reliability, the main capture device for the knowledge is the CMMS/EAM system. However there are differences in how the two types of knowledge can be captured and conveyed. First, explicit knowledge is the easiest. It is knowledge that can be captured through the usage of good, detailed job plans, detailed Preventive Maintenance procedures, and safety instructions. The explicit knowledge can be refined over time. It may begin with a maintenance planner developing a detailed procedure or job plan. As the job is performed, the maintenance supervisor or the technician performing the job can make recommendations for changing the procedure, making it more accurate or adding details to make it clearer for the next technician. After a few iterations, the procedure will be explicit knowledge that has been captured and stored.
Now, what about methods that can be utilized to capture tacit knowledge? This is more complex, since it involves the detailed personal experience that a technician has developed over years of performing the procedure. The tacit knowledge can be passed on from the Subject Matter Expert (SME) technician to others through workshops, utilizing hands-on training and/or coaching. How can this information be captured and stored in a CMMS/ EAM system? Consider the option to video the workshop, lab, or training session. With this tacit knowledge captured and attached to the particular procedure, the new technicians will be able to gain some measure of the tacit knowledge of the SME.
While this may seem like a simplistic example, the tools to capture the tacit knowledge of the current SME’s must be developed and utilized. Many of the current SME’s will be retiring soon. And while we may have much of their explicit knowledge recorded, unless we make provisions to capture, store, and make available the SME’s tacit knowledge, companies (and their new technicians) will have to re-learn what they have spent decades learning. It seems like this would be a priority for more companies…
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