Shilpa S. Dani

A methodology for best practice knowledge management

Abstract Capturing and reusing knowledge of best practices has been identified as one of the requirements for next-generation product development. Knowledge identification is therefore already being done to some degree in many organizations, through instruction manuals or ‘how to’ guidelines. However, this is only a first step, as to fully exploit valuable knowledge, best practices must be identified and shared. A detailed review of previous research in best practice knowledge management shows that the method of modelling best practice knowledge and the resulting model structure are critically important for the successful reuse of best practice knowledge. Yet, to date, only limited research has been focused on these aspects. This paper therefore presents research into a methodology to determine ways for better communication, sharing, and reuse of best/good practice knowledge. The proposed methodology has been divided into two parts: firstly, the identification of best practices for product development, and secondly, the structuring of best practice knowledge for effective sharing and reuse. This methodology encourages the adoption of best practices by providing knowledge about both process and implementation elements. This makes the explicit knowledge easier to find and reuse. Once a best practice is found to suit current requirements and circumstances, an expert who has identified and used the best practice can also be contacted to gain additional knowledge/information. This helps to address the challenges posed by ‘tacit’ knowledge, which cannot easily be shared within the knowledge base.

Manufacturing knowledge verification in design support systems

This paper identifies the need for a verification methodology for manufacturing knowledge in design support systems; and proposes a suitable methodology based on the concept of ontological commitment and the PSL ontology (ISO/CD18629). The use of the verification procedures within an overall system development methodology is examined, and an understanding of how various categories of manufacturing knowledge (typical to design support systems) map onto the PSL ontology is developed. This work is also supported by case study material from industrial situations, including the casting and machining of metallic components. The PSL ontology was found to support the verification of most categories of manufacturing knowledge, and was shown to be particularly suited to process planning representations. Additional concepts and verification procedures were however needed to verify relationships between products and manufacturing processes. Suitable representational concepts and verification procedures were therefore developed, and integrated into the proposed knowledge verification methodology.

Supply Chain Architecture-A Blueprint for Networking the Flow of Material,Information and Cash, by William T. Walker, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2004,pp. 412, hbk (ISBN 1-57444-357-7).

Supply Chain Management is one of the most researched and written about subjects in today’s business context. As variability of customer requirements has increased, product lead-times have reduced and the complexities of managing the supply and distribution network have gained focus. When I received this book for review, I was sceptical about the need for another book on supply chain networks. But Supply Chain Architecture by William T. Walker has provided a valuable practical view on managing the supply network. The book not only presents an insight into supply chains and supply networks, but also creates a complete process (architecture or blueprint) of designing and maintaining supply chain networks. The author has a vast experience in managing supply networks and this is shown clearly in the writing style. The book is very practically oriented and presents readers concepts of supply chain management in a very novel approach. The author builds the premise for the different concepts and processes discussed in each chapter through three stories, two of which are presented at the start of each chapter and the third ends the chapter. The stories are in fact a single story presented in the form of three sections, which focuses on various aspects of supply chain issues. The stories link information received by the supply chain architect, the primary character in the story, about supply chain issues when observing the activities involved in the renovation of the kitchen in his house and applying the principles to the problems he faces in his company. The transfer of principles from the issues generated by the construction supply chain to the problems faced by his company is well presented. Also, the use of these principles in managing the network of his wife’s service company is also discussed properly. The author then introduces the various concepts affecting supply chains and networks through ten chapters focusing on all issues of operational planning, throughput generation, market dynamics, financial issues, logistics and distribution, and creates a Blueprint, which is shown in the appendix. This Blueprint comprises of 38 steps, but brings together a robust process incorporating all the aspects of managing the business. The book would be very useful for a wide range of audiences. The academic community will find most of the concepts regarding supply chain issues under one roof, although there will be the criticism about insufficient depth in handling the issues. But for students and supply chain practitioners from industry,

Managing reuse in manufacturing system modelling and design: a value net approach

In the past, reuse programs have assumed that technical solutions would overcome barriers to effective reuse. However, recent retrospectives of reuse programs show that organizational factors can greatly affect the implementation of a reuse program. Reuse is often approached as an independent collection of tools and techniques, and the technical and non-technical aspects are commonly examined separately. This research proposes that all the factors affecting reuse are interdependent and therefore should be studied simultaneously. It is therefore very important that all elements and relationships are identified and documented in a structured, clear manner. The concept of value nets, based on game theory has been identified as a means of capturing the different factors involved in the reuse driven software process. The value net is a useful model for viewing multiple interactions from various perspectives. The value net of the reuse-driven software development process is a map of the various factors and players identified in the reuse process, and the interactions occurring between the players. Hence the reuse value net helps in identifying the important factors that can provide the points of leverage to make the reuse process more efficient.

Supply Chain Project Management – a structured collaborative and measurable approach 2nd edition, by J. B. Ayers

The title ‘Supply Chain Project Management’ presents an interesting question. Do we consider the process of managing supply chains as a project and apply project management techniques? The term Supply Chain Management (SCM) encompasses a wide range of processes which help in delivering the product or service as required by the customer. Hence, considering these individual processes and particularly referring to the Supply Chain Operations Referencemodel (SCORmodel) as proposed by the SupplyChain Council, each process of Planning, Sourcing, Making and Delivering in itself is a project. However, when we consider all these processes together under the umbrella of Supply Chain Management, the question arises regarding who actually is managing the project? The premise is a very interesting one and James Ayers with his consulting experience has written a book which combines both these operations, managing the supply chain and project management so that industry personnel involved in either job functions can consider their operations in a different perspective. The author mentions that this book is for two types of readers: ‘the first is a supply chain practitioner seeking background on project management, and the other a project management practitioner seeking knowledge of supply chain management.’ Hence, the target audiences are industry practitioners with some experience of working in either fields, and who are conversant with models set out by the Supply Chain Council, Project Management Institute (PMI), the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) or who are seeking to learn more about these institutions and models. The book is very much a guide that seeks to get practitioners to use the models set out by the institutions in a cohesive manner. The book is well written and it brings the aspect of supply chain management in a process oriented project environment. The book is divided into three sections. Section 1 deals with SCM executions and also presents the concept of SCM in a different but interesting perspective. This section also describes SCM knowledge areas and five management tasks that managers should perform. The information in this section refers to the SCOR model and process standards as set out by CSCMP. Section 2 brings together a discussion on Project Management (PM) and SCM. Again this section presents good information but this is linked to the ‘Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) set out by the PMI and Supply Chain management Process Standards’ as set out by CSCMP. Section 3 brings both these concepts together and presents a process map for those who would like to consider SCM as a project and apply project management principles. It is an interesting perspective and would be beneficial for those who are heading SCM functions in industry. There is scope for individuals who are performing certain tasks within the framework of SCM to use PM principles for their tasks. The aspect of managing the complete project and individuals managing certain aspects of the project to help towards completion is important for understanding the

Leading the lean enterprise transformation, by G. Koenigsaecker

Lean Management is a much talked about and discussed area with a plethora of resources. These include books, reports, videos, websites, training programmes and business novels. When I started reading ‘Leading the Lean Enterprise Transformation’, I was looking for something interesting and new to read about in the area of Lean Management. The book has various endorsements and testimonials from people working in strategic roles and also one from Jim Womack. Hence, there was even more reason to read and understand this book. I began reading the book with pre-conceived notions about what it will contain, however, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the subject of Lean was dealt with quite differently and more practically. The book, at 120 pages, is fairly short for this subject area, but it does contain insightful and relevant material for all those involved in or considering a Lean implementation. There are seven chapters in all with an introduction that provides the reader a refresher of the relevant Lean tools from the Lean toolbox. Although not all the tools are depicted here, the ones described are set out from an Executive Leadership perspective. In Chapter 1 the author has described his experiences with Lean implementation over his 30 year working life. This is quite an interesting read, and provides understanding of how different organisations evolved with the thinking behind ‘Toyota Production System’ a long time before ‘Lean’ was coined in the early nineties. In Chapter 2, there is a brief look at what ‘Lean’ means and the connection with ‘Toyota Production System’. One very important aspect of this book is that the author discusses Lean by putting it in the perspective of Toyota. I think that this is very interesting as it puts the Lean implementation exercise in a very different perspective and gives a new insight in to the process. Chapters 3 and 4 then deal with measurement and Value Stream Analysis using ‘True North metrics’ and ‘Kaizen’ both from a Toyota perspective. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 deal with the issues of Lean implementation. Chapter 5 deals with day-to-day organisational practices and introduces some good concepts such as the ‘n/10 rule’, ‘3 percent guideline’ and how teams should be formed. Chapter 6 deals with strategic issues and discusses governance, hands-on-training and communication, and presents a realistic time-line for successful Lean implementation. Chapter 7 looks at a long-term view of Lean implementation and discusses the challenges towards building the appropriate culture. The book is short and some readers may feel that there should have been more detail within the chapters. Also, in some ways it assumes that the reader has some background knowledge regarding the Lean concepts. Hence it does not delve into an academic viewpoint but presents a very practical picture regarding Lean implementation. Readers who are new to Lean implementation or to the concepts of ‘Toyota Production System’ will find this book interesting, but may find it difficult to follow at times. In my opinion, the book is very good as it addresses key challenges in Lean implementation, takes a very realistic view about the timelines involved in a successful implementation, provides a

A Systems Approach to Identification of Best Manufacturing Practices

If a company is to maintain its success in any market, it is necessary that its processes are among the best available. A best practice is a practice “that will lead to the superior performance of the company”. However, it should be noted that “best” is a moving target in today’s world, and it is also situation specific. Thus, it is important to identify the best practices in a particular organisation but at the same time it is vital to have knowledge of the environment in which the practice is “best”. Improvement in business and manufacturing practices should affect not only the processes themselves, but also the knowledge needed for the process, and the configuration of this knowledge alongside the process. This paper proposes a data mining based methodology to identify the effective process for manufacturing design. The methodology proposes an approach where the effective, good or best manufacturing practices are identified and the knowledge about these practices is stored for future reuse.Copyright

Book reviews of Strategic Production Networks . Edited by L. Z heng and F. P ossell -D olken (Springer Heidelberg, 2002), xv + 489 pp. £49.00, US

The main focus of Strategic Production Networks is to present an overview of the different issues of cooperation when companies join forces to form strategic networks. A collection of chapters written by various authors from China, Germany and Switzerland, the book manages to provide an array of various issues, ranging from management to operational, arising in the formation and working of networks. The main theme being cooperation in all its forms, the chapters are designed to be very elaborate in depicting the different technology enablers for having these cooperative networks. Though the title reads as Strategic Production Networks, it does not delve in depth on the management or people issues in cooperation. The authors have concentrated on the technological aspects and they have done it excellently. This book is a good reference for academics, researchers and manufacturing system practitioners who are working in the field of supply chains, network management and the use of IT in managing company networks. It provides a very good conceptual base, presenting a variety of latest concepts, models and frameworks that are very helpful from the research context, which is also helped by the provision of good references at the end of each chapter. There is also an inclusion of topics of networks of interest like mass customization and virtual enterprises. This book may also provide a good read for students undertaking courses in manufacturing management, supply chain management, etc. Another good aspect is the inclusion of frameworks and technologies that have been used more in smalland medium-sized companies (SMEs). For some readers though, this book may fall short of providing enough experiential data and examples. Overall, it provides good information about enablers for cooperation and technological frameworks for achieving cooperative production networks.