Knowledge management in the innovation of production technology: A perspective from the shopfloor

It is widely recognised that global competition strategies are increasingly becoming technological-driven in an increasingly competitive business environments. In the manufacturing industry, intensifying competitive pressures have triggered the need for continuous innovations, deployment of advanced production technologies, effective operations management, and strategic management of human resources. Hence, it requires a continuous adaptation of technology to changing production and organisational needs. The increasing popularity of the notion of knowledge management has so far not been able to bring management's attention to the skills and knowledge of wider groups of workforce rather than the professional groups. In the process adaptation and improvisation of production technology, shopfloor users, especially production and maintenance workers play an important role because they are often at the centre of problem-solving. A learning-intensive work organisation and an intervention between working and learning are thus required in generating a permanent motivation to ensure the quick application of knowledge. There is a growing need for information and knowledge sharing which can enhance the learning effort of shopfloor users. The objective of this paper is to investigate, through case studies and survey, the extent to which production and maintenance workers