A significant part of the knowledge base indispensable for the development of engineering products is not cataloged, nor “standardized”, nor accessible to all but the veteran Subject Matter Experts (SME’s).
Often that knowledge is lost when one of these SME’s leaves her/his current position within the company, is promoted, is recruited by another company, or retires. Knowledge Based Engineering aims to solve this problem.
Using Knowledge Based Systems Technology to capture the knowledge acquired and used during the product development and manufacturing processes allows the company to maintain and expand the design and engineering knowledge the company has worked so hard to develop.
The continuous incorporation of knowledge (best practices) in the development of a new product, or other similar products belonging to the same family plays a huge part in maintaining design standards and increasing efficiency and cost savings in the manufacturing process.
What is certain is that “coding” knowledge is not an easy task and requires the intervention of specialists who can assist and mentor companies during these processes.
But the benefits outweigh the effort required to overcome the challenges and makes it crucial for every organization to adopt KBE-based systems.
by
Giorgio Colombo, Dante Pugliese
Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Caterina Rizzi
Universita Degli Studi di Bergamo, Italy