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Knowledge Management in Innovative Companies 1
 9781119681144, 1119681146

Table of contents :
Cover......Page 1
Half-Title Page......Page 3
Title Page......Page 5
Copyright Page......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 11
1.1. Articulation of Chapter 1......Page 15
1.2. Knowledge management......Page 16
1.3.1. Knowledge-based KM......Page 20
1.4.1. Step 1: analysis of a knowledge capital and development of a KM plan......Page 24
1.4.2. Step 2: organization of knowledge resources......Page 25
1.5. The MASK method......Page 26
1.5.1. MASK II: analysis of a knowledge capital......Page 27
1.5.2. MASK I: capitalization of a knowledge corpus......Page 29
1.5.3. MASK III: sharing the knowledge base......Page 30
1.5.4. MASK IV: evolution of a knowledge capital......Page 33
1.6. The KM process repository......Page 36
1.7. Critical success factors for a global KM project......Page 37
1.7.1. The water lily strategy......Page 38
1.7.2. Key stages of change......Page 41
1.8. Overview......Page 44
2.2. Introduction to the strategic analysis of knowledge capital......Page 47
2.2.2. Step 2: analysis of critical knowledge......Page 48
2.2.4. Step 4: developing the action plan......Page 49
2.2.5. The knowledge criticality analysis grid......Page 50
2.3. Chronopost: observing professions......Page 51
2.3.2. Project context......Page 52
2.3.4. Approach adopted......Page 55
2.3.5. Procedure......Page 57
2.3.6. Strategic alignment......Page 67
2.3.7. Project assessment......Page 69
2.3.8. Lessons learned......Page 70
2.4.2. Presentation of Hydro-Québec......Page 71
2.4.3. Presentation of the study conducted and the principles of the method used......Page 72
2.4.4. Implementation of the method at Hydro-Québec......Page 73
2.4.5. Conclusion......Page 81
2.5.1. Presentation of the study......Page 82
2.5.2. The progress of the KM project......Page 86
2.6.1. Introduction......Page 93
2.6.2. Method used......Page 94
2.6.3. Strategic analysis......Page 95
2.6.4. Analysis of professional knowledge......Page 98
2.6.5. Conclusion......Page 101
2.7. Lessons learned from the four case studies......Page 102
3.2. Introduction to knowledge capitalization......Page 103
3.3. The case of INRS: a consulting approach to improve safety when using woodworking machines......Page 108
3.3.1. Introduction......Page 109
3.3.2. Analysis of a reported incident or accident on a woodworking machine......Page 111
3.3.3. The dangers of woodworking machines......Page 114
3.3.4. Classification of woodworking machines......Page 116
3.3.5. History of INRS’ involvement in the safety of woodworking machines......Page 117
3.3.6. Conclusion......Page 119
3.4.1. Introduction......Page 120
3.4.2. Reference framework for the development and use of codes......Page 121
3.4.3. Two new ways to manage knowledge on codes......Page 123
3.4.4. Example of an Euler buckling code......Page 126
3.4.5. Example of the description of an option in a code......Page 128
3.5.1. Introduction......Page 132
3.5.2. Knowledge book process......Page 134
3.5.3. Examples of knowledge books......Page 135
3.5.4. Feedback on the production of knowledge books......Page 151
3.5.6. Problem of the evolution of knowledge books......Page 153
3.5.7. Perspectives......Page 154
3.6. Lessons learned from case studies......Page 155
References......Page 157
Index......Page 161
Other titles from iSTE in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management......Page 163
EULA......Page 175

Citation preview

Knowledge Management in Innovative Companies 1

Smart Innovation Set coordinated by Dimitri Uzunidis

Volume 23

Knowledge Management in Innovative Companies 1 Understanding and Deploying a KM Plan within a Learning Organization

Pierre Saulais Jean-Louis Ermine

First published 2019 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address: ISTE Ltd 27-37 St George’s Road London SW19 4EU UK

John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA

www.iste.co.uk

www.wiley.com

© ISTE Ltd 2019 The rights of Pierre Saulais and Jean-Louis Ermine to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019944511 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-78630-320-2

Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ix

Chapter 1. The KM Project in an Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

1.1. Articulation of Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2. Knowledge management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3. A reference framework for a knowledge-based KM . 1.3.1. Knowledge-based KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4. The virtuous cycle of knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.1. Step 1: analysis of a knowledge capital and development of a KM plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.2. Step 2: organization of knowledge resources . . 1.4.3. Step 3: implementation of KM processes . . . . . 1.4.4. Step 4: evolution of a knowledge capital . . . . . 1.5. The MASK method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5.1. MASK II: analysis of a knowledge capital . . . . 1.5.2. MASK I: capitalization of a knowledge corpus . 1.5.3. MASK III: sharing the knowledge base . . . . . . 1.5.4. MASK IV: evolution of a knowledge capital . . 1.6. The KM process repository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7. Critical success factors for a global KM project . . . 1.7.1. The water lily strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7.2. Key stages of change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 2. Strategic Analysis of an Organization’s Knowledge Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.1. Articulation of Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2. Introduction to the strategic analysis of knowledge capital . 2.2.1. Step 1: analysis of critical capacities . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2. Step 2: analysis of critical knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.3. Step 3: strategic alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.4. Step 4: developing the action plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.5. The knowledge criticality analysis grid . . . . . . . . . . 2.3. Chronopost: observing professions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.1. Presentation of the company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.2. Project context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.3. Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.4. Approach adopted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.5. Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.6. Strategic alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.7. Project assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.8. Lessons learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3.9. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4. Hydro-Québec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.2. Presentation of Hydro-Québec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.3. Presentation of the study conducted and the principles of the method used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4.4. Implementation of the method at Hydro-Québec . . . . 2.4.5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5. The IPEN’s Radiopharmacy Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.1. Presentation of the study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5.2. The progress of the KM project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6. Sonatrach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.2. Method used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.3. Strategic analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.4. Analysis of professional knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6.5. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7. Lessons learned from the four case studies . . . . . . . . . .

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Chapter 3. Capitalizing on the Organization’s Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89

3.1. Articulation of Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2. Introduction to knowledge capitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

89 89

Contents

3.3. The case of INRS: a consulting approach to improve safety when using woodworking machines . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.2. Analysis of a reported incident or accident on a woodworking machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.3. The dangers of woodworking machines . . . . . . 3.3.4. Classification of woodworking machines . . . . . . 3.3.5. History of INRS’ involvement in the safety of woodworking machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3.6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4. The case of code systems: knowledge books for code management and code control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.2. Reference framework for the development and use of codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4.3. Two new ways to manage knowledge on codes . . 3.4.4. Example of an Euler buckling code . . . . . . . . . 3.4.5. Example of the description of an option in a code. 3.4.6. Conclusion and perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5. The IRSN case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.2. Knowledge book process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.3. Examples of knowledge books . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.4. Feedback on the production of knowledge books . 3.5.5. Problem linked to the dissemination of knowledge books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5.6. Problem of the evolution of knowledge books . . . 3.5.7. Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6. Lessons learned from case studies . . . . . . . . . . . .

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References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Preface

Knowledge management (KM) is a field that is now reaching maturity. In the academic world, KM has established itself as an autonomous field, with a constant and impressive growth in the number of academic publications devoted to it, with dozens of international scientific journals dealing with the subject, with a large number of congresses throughout the world and with the creation of dedicated learned societies. In France and in the French-speaking world, it is AGeCSO (Association pour la Gestion des Connaissances dans la Société et les Organisations) that brings together research laboratories interested in this field. I helped to create this association and had the honor of being its first president. This active association is now recognized and it organizes an annual congress (in France or Quebec), the 12th of which will be held in France (Clermont-Ferrand) in 2019. In the economic world, KM has gradually taken its place in companies and organizations. In some organizations, new knowledge management processes have been put in place, specific structures have been created around this theme, specific expectations have been integrated into strategic objectives, etc. Gradually, the economic world is adapting to this famous “knowledge economy“, which represents the economy of the future. After hesitant and often chaotic beginnings, KM is also maturing in companies. A strong structuring element is the arrival of international standards, which now guide the KM approach of companies around the world. These include section 7.1.6 of ISO 9001:2015, the IAEA’s nuclear safety standards and, above all, ISO 30401, which defines the requirements for a knowledge

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management system. The ISO 30401 standard was published in November 2018 for the English version and in January 2019 for the French version. The road towards KM maturity has been long and sometimes difficult. I started it more than 20 years ago, first at the University of Bordeaux, until 1991, when I started with artificial intelligence, then at the CEA (Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives), where I was in charge of a knowledge management unit from 1994 (we were not yet talking about knowledge management at the time!), until 2000. It is in particular by working on large and fascinating projects in this organization that the first versions of the MASK method discussed in this book were developed. From 2003, I was able to continue my work on KM at the Institut Mines-Télécom and collaborate on the NKM (Nuclear Knowledge Management) project of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In 1999, I participated in the creation of a professional association, the Club Gestion des Connaissances, a French knowledge management club which I chaired for 17 years. This association, whose founding members are PSA Peugeot Citroën, Microsoft France, Cofinoga and Bull/Osis, brings together some 50 very diverse companies in 2019. Its objectives are to promote inter-sectoral exchanges, develop a network of contacts and build a shared operational reference system. After 20 years of existence and work, the Club has developed a KM methodological reference framework widely used by its members and which has served as a working document in the IAEA and ISO 30401 standardization commissions. It can therefore be said that the Knowledge Management Club has contributed, at both the national and international levels, to the maturity of the field in general. At the dawn of the 2020s, which are beginning to change the (almost paradigmatic) framework of knowledge management, it seemed useful to me to draw the lessons learned from this journey, so as not to reinvent elements that have already been the subject of much reflection and experimentation. It is a bit like applying the principles of knowledge management to yourself! A first step was to establish, in the light of these lessons, a theoretical and a practical framework for the field. This is the subject of the first book “Knowledge Management: The Creative Loop” published in 2018 by Wiley/ISTE [ERM 18a]. This book does indeed have two distinct parts: one on the theory of KM and one on the practice of KM.

Preface

xi

To go further and satisfy even more KM practitioners in organizations, it seemed useful to Pierre Saulais and myself to illustrate this first book with real cases, which I experienced with other actors in research, industry and/or the Club Gestion des Connaissances. This was not an easy task. It was necessary to search for documents sometimes well buried in the corners of hard disks, in storage places more or less improbable or to call upon more or less recent memories (including mine)! It was necessary to compile, reread, rewrite and structure the content according to the plan in Part 2 of the book [ERM 18a], in order to ensure its true illustration. Two tools have helped us considerably in this task. The first tool is the basis of the CNRS’s open HAL archives, where I have deposited the original writings concerning the corresponding cases included in this book. Thus, the reader will be able to freely consult the additions desired by referring to the HAL identifiers provided in the bibliography. The second tool is, of course, the Club Gestion des Connaissances’ KM methodological reference framework, which includes many case studies and from which we have extracted some of the most significant studies. To make the link with [ERM 18a], we have written an introductory chapter using the KM framework and, at the beginning of each chapter dedicated to a case study theme, we have taken it upon ourselves to provide a brief introduction to the subject dealt with in that theme. We still have to thank the many people who are mentioned in the references, with whom I collaborated and/or who created these applications, leaving behind testimonies that will undoubtedly inspire the next generation of KM. We hope that this set of cases will be enlightening for KM practitioners, who will be able to discover the innovative possibilities offered by structured and equipped approaches, outside the box. Périgueux, August 2019 Jean-Louis ERMINE Honorary President of the Club Gestion des Connaissances and Honorary President of the Association pour la Gestion des Connaissances dans la Société et les Organisations.

1 The KM Project in an Organization

1.1. Articulation of Chapter 1 The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the concepts of knowledge management (KM) in organizations, the concepts of operational methodology, as well as the need for a global and shared vision of a company’s KM project. In section 1.2, we recall the foundations of KM in organizations. Section 1.3 is dedicated to the reference framework for a knowledgebased KM, which is based on the daisy model. In section 1.4, we show how to obtain an operational instantiation of the daisy model in the form of the virtuous cycle of knowledge. The four steps of the MASK method (Method for Analyzing and Structuring Knowledge), which will instrument the virtuous cycle of knowledge, are described in section 1.5. This operational approach will structure the rest of the book: the four steps (MASK I to MASK IV) of the method are respectively at the heart of Chapters 2–5, while the design and deployment of a global KM project based on these four steps constitute the heart of Chapter 6. Section 1.6 illustrates how a KM project can be fed by a process repository dedicated to the organization’s knowledge capital.

Knowledge Management in Innovative Companies 1: Understanding and Deploying a KM Plan within a Learning Organization, First Edition. Pierre Saulais and Jean-Louis Ermine. © ISTE Ltd 2019. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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The study of the critical success factors relating to the design and operational deployment of a global KM project is discussed in section 1.7. Finally, section 1.8 summarizes Chapter 1. 1.2. Knowledge management Every company has always managed its knowledge and expertise by explaining it in documents and procedures, by disseminating it, for example through training, by organizing all kinds of exchanges with their employees, etc. In the case of know-how (the ability of an agent to carry out an activity based on the application of methodological knowledge), for example, the interest of KM is threefold: formalize, memorize and reuse. Formalization makes it possible to reach a stage of maturity in the field of the know-how concerned, by compelling the agent to structure thinking or to observe the physical elements manipulated and to describe them through models. The memorization function allows the formalized know-how to be preserved from a temporary or permanent unavailability of its owner. The reuse of expertise is the economic argument for the knowledge management approach, because, once formalized and memorized, this know-how can be implemented by other qualified agents, but in the absence of the person who possessed it. C. Sargis-Roussel confirms that, although knowledge management is at the heart of a recent craze, it is nothing new in companies [SAR 02]. “Industrial families” passed on their knowledge from generation to generation: master painters trained apprentices and workers exchanged their expertise [HAN 99]. In the more recent past, specialists in armaments, nuclear or civil aviation have been implementing KM practices for several decades. However, it was only in the early 1990s that the term “knowledge management” truly emerged in the literature and that business leaders and researchers began to question the place of knowledge in the organization and how to manage it. Alongside the emergence of these questions, we can observe the development of information systems (which make it easier to codify, store and transmit certain information and knowledge), as well as the increase in questions on the possibilities and conditions of KM [FER 06].

The KM Project in an Organization

3

For J.-Y. Prax, KM should meet four specific expectations of organizational agents seen as information users, the answers to these four expectations being constitutive of efficiency: – providing at the right time the information that agents need, without their having to request it; – satisfying requests, because knowledge management adopts a useroriented logic, while the information system approach focuses on the accumulation of information; – building a process for the creation, enrichment, capitalization and validation of knowledge and know-how involving all agents; – contributing to collective performance and its sustainability [PRA 00]. However, KM also consists of providing employees with the necessary support for knowledge exchange, an exchange that allows them to go beyond their intrinsic cognitive limits, to value and develop individual and organizational knowledge. Knowledge management is therefore constructed at the crossroads of decision support systems, human resources management and the formal information system. It therefore comes to ask questions about organization. Moreover, particularly in recent decades, knowledge has suddenly taken on a crucial and decisive importance (particularly in its market dimension) in our society, which has been described as post-industrial and largely intangible, as a new driving force of growth, combined with the unavoidable imperative of innovation [BOU 12]. As a result, in recent years, with both sudden and unexpected force, knowledge management has emerged as a major challenge in companies. A new dimension has emerged, the strategic dimension of knowledge, as a resource for competitiveness, performance and risk prevention. A set of strategic elements contributes to this emergence: knowledge is an economic capital [FOR 09]; knowledge is a strategic resource, whose control is an attribute of the company [TAR 98]; knowledge is a factor of company stability, because it is slowly changing [TAR 98]; knowledge brings a decisive competitive advantage, etc. According to [FOR 09], since the late 1990s, we have been moving into a knowledge-based economy. In this context, the production of knowledge becomes, first of all, a challenge to construct a new industrial policy capable of combating the deindustrialization of many Western countries. Thus, at the Lisbon European Council meeting in March 2000, European leaders decided

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“to make the European Union the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”. At the same time, companies are gradually becoming aware of this economic evolution: knowledge is becoming a crucial resource. They understand this all the more acutely as the entry into the knowledge economy coincides with the emergence of organizational dysfunctions linked to the loss of knowledge held by retiring baby boomers. Some industries, such as aeronautics, are finding it difficult to maintain their aircraft. Others, such as the steel industry, see technical know-how disappearing completely in a few years, creating risks for the safety of installations. The management of this resource then becomes an imperative to ensure the company’s competitiveness, as well as the quality of service and the safety of the installations. These situations make it clear that KM and production are no longer solely the responsibility of research or innovation centers. The company’s knowledge in all its fields of competence (research and development or R&D, production, marketing, accounting, finance, etc.) becomes a resource to be managed in the same way as an industrial park or the skills of employees. To face this challenge, companies are often required to implement specific management approaches (KM approaches). However, knowledge is not a resource like any other. By becoming a key resource for companies, it will obviously lead them to change their organizational methods. In-company knowledge is often inseparable from the individual. It develops according to a particular process (Nonaka and Takeuchi’s spiral of knowledge, associating the individual with the organization [NO 95]). It is very largely tacit [POL 67], integrated into work situations and practices [WEI 95], [WEN 98]. It is this property that creates the value of a company’s knowledge and also makes it neither controllable nor manageable according to traditional business resource management methods. While companies have greatly evolved the classic organizational model (Taylorian and Weberian models) to adapt it to changes in the economic and competitive environment, they remain organizations built around the “myth” of rationality and control. The organization of collective action, i.e. the planning of each actor’s tasks and the use of resources, is based on a rational and optimal decision that makes it possible to achieve the collective objective. The corollary is that any organizational resource, whatever it may be, must be controlled by the organization. Knowledge,

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which has now become crucial for organizations, but cannot be controlled, obviously disrupts this organizational logic. Beyond that, in this traditional organization, hierarchical legitimacy is based on this capacity to control resources and on the rationality of the resulting division of tasks. As the “knowledge” resource is not controllable, by becoming a crucial resource for the organization, it also calls into question the legitimacy of the hierarchical logic and specialization of tasks. As Hatchuel, Le Masson and Weil point out, considering knowledge as a key corporate resource thus leads to a real crisis of collective action, which heralds the necessary reassessment and transformation of relationships in companies and should lead to an organizational transformation like the one they experienced at the beginning of the 20th Century [HAT 02a]. Just as there is a knowledge economy, there is a new perspective to be adopted on management with the emergence of knowledge as a key resource for companies. As Dorothy Leidner writes, the issue of KM as a key resource for organizations introduces “a new theoretical perspective for understanding and interpreting organizational phenomena. It is like glasses that we put on to better understand the nature of the managerial problems we face and until such an important new perspective emerges, KM will continue to play this essential role in management research and in understanding organizational phenomena” [LEI 08] (author’s translation). To best manage the company’s knowledge capital, which is now considered as a strategic resource, company managers will have to define global objectives based on three key points: – capitalizing: “knowing where you come from, knowing where you are, to better know where you’re going”; – sharing: “moving from individual to collective intelligence”; – creating: “creating and innovating to survive”. KM, now in the reality of the company, is therefore a new and complex approach. But understanding what KM really is in an organization is not an easy task, as it cuts across almost every component of it. Indeed, it concerns: – strategy, because it is really a new type of management that responds to a new socio-economic environment and a new vision of the organization;

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– the structure of the organization, because knowledge is made and broken down through complex networks, connected to the environment, which can challenge traditional structures; – many processes already in place in organizations (fortunately, human beings have always managed their knowledge!), but which need to be reviewed in new perspectives of optimization or development; – the organization’s staff, who are at the heart of the problem, so much so that knowledge is only created, shared and developed through people, who must mobilize themselves personally and collectively for this objective; – information and communication technologies, which are powerful vectors for knowledge management, provided they are used effectively. While, as we have already pointed out, KM in companies is not new, what has changed is this new strategic dimension of knowledge as a resource for competitiveness and performance. This requires the company to adopt a global, conscious and reasoned approach to its knowledge capital. Such a global approach, capable of managing the company’s knowledge capital, is therefore a long-term task. This work must be carried out gradually, building on all the KM actions that have already been carried out in the organization (most often “like Mr. Jourdain”), broadening their scope of action and focusing on strategic issues. It is also a cultural work, which must gradually become part of working habits and not as a revolution that must turn everything upside down. In a word, it is a long-term project, built around a continuous improvement approach, based on what already exists. After 20 years of maturation, KM has now entered an operational phase. The objective for companies now is to plan, establish and maintain an effective KM program. 1.3. A reference framework for a knowledge-based KM 1.3.1. Knowledge-based KM The nature and driving forces of companies have evolved considerably since the beginning of the industrial era. In the past, the company focused on two essential elements: the productive tool and work in the Taylorian sense [ERM 03]. In 1911, Taylor thought he had demonstrated that business management can be made a science by codifying all the actions of the company and removing all uncertainty through the division between those

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who specify tasks and those who perform them [TAY 11]. The main functions of the company, at the top of the hierarchical pyramid, were production, R&D, sales, accounting, etc. Apart from these two initial points of view (production tool and Taylorian division of labor), important levers have emerged as the world’s macro and microeconomic evolution has progressed. These are, for example, customer relations, the information system, economic intelligence, quality, etc. New professions crucial to the company have emerged (purchasing, marketing, communication, strategy, etc.). The company has continuously reorganized itself in relation to its environment to meet new economic challenges (and continues to do so), particularly through the development of processes, according to the concept of business process management [TAR 95]. For many years, the company has enhanced its process repository to take into account all these changes. As a company project, KM must link the classic visions of the basic professions with these new challenges and these new requirements. The aim of the KM project is to bring together, in coherent processes of its own, the critical knowledge, essential resources for the production of goods and services and that which comes from the increasingly important economic and competitive environment. According to the basic assumption formulated in [ERM 18a], coherence is organized around the company’s knowledge capital, to which all key KM processes must contribute and through which they cooperate. This is called knowledge-based KM. These key processes are organized according to a model, known as the daisy model, described in the following section. 1.3.1.1. The daisy model This section is based on [ERM 03]. The processes that strategically contribute to the management of the company’s knowledge capital are internal, such as capitalization and sharing or creativity and learning, as well as external, such as economic intelligence or surveillance, which must be nourished by internal knowledge to better return to it or like customer relations and marketing, which act as a filter on the immense potential for creating and developing companies’ knowledge.

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KM is the management of these processes and the consideration of their relationship to the company’s knowledge capital. They can be described in four main classes, which correspond to the “petals” of the daisy, plus a class that corresponds to the heart of this model: – the capitalization and sharing of knowledge class. It carries out the virtuous cycle of knowledge and ensures the sharing (recycling) of the knowledge resource within the company; – the interaction with the environment class. A system isolated from its environment is a dead system. This is particularly true for knowledge that feeds on the ever-increasing flows of information from the company’s environment. The class contains complex processes that transform these information flows into a capital of useful knowledge for the company. These include, among others, the processes of surveillance or economic or strategic intelligence (business intelligence). The interaction with the environment class currently focuses mainly on the external information aspect, but little on the interaction with the company’s own knowledge; – the learning and knowledge creation class. This class contains endogenous and collective processes that form the basis for the evolution of knowledge. It includes the issues of the learning organization and creativity; – the selection by the environment class. Evolutionary par excellence, this class ensures the selection of the knowledge created, by introducing market criteria, acceptability criteria, etc., criteria that are both economic and socio-technical. This class addresses marketing, customer relations, etc. The problem of KM is integrating this type of problem into a strong relationship with the company’s critical knowledge, particularly business knowledge, for example; – to these four classes, a fifth can be added, which is entirely internal to the knowledge capital, since it concerns the evaluation of it (qualitative evaluation, quantitative evaluation, financial or managerial evaluation for strategic management, etc.). More than a tool, evaluation is seen here as a real process, which requires sophisticated implementation and monitoring and which generates transformation within the organization.

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Figure 1.1. The daisy model: key processes of knowledge management

It should be noted that none of these process classes are absent in organizations, in one form or another, in an intuitive or formalized way, in simple or sophisticated forms. Fortunately, knowledge management has always been present in companies. What is new is its generalized and strategic aspect, due to new challenges and the willingness to cooperate in a common objective of activities hitherto perceived as disparate and often located on the periphery of the company’s experience. In a very caricatured way, we could entrust the capitalization process to documentation service, or even an archive service, the sharing process to an IT service, the interaction process to a surveillance service, the learning process to a training service, the creation process to an innovation service and the selection process to a marketing service. These services may well never talk to each other and work without close or daily contact with the company’s business lines. Unfortunately, it seems that this situation is not just a caricature! The objective of a KM project is to define a set of consistent methods and tools to manage all these process classes and, thus, fully achieve the objective of KM. The four petals of the daisy, mentioned here, are only a starting point. If they are detailed, they can be separated into many other petals. Implementing a knowledge management policy will then consist of “picking the daisy petals”.

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1.4. The virtuous cycle of knowledge We now wish to complete the daisy model approach with a more operational approach allowing us to set up a real KM project in the company. The knowledge-based approach illustrated in this book is implemented in a four-step cycle, called the virtuous knowledge cycle, as shown in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2. The virtuous knowledge cycle

1.4.1. Step 1: analysis of a knowledge capital and development of a KM plan Since a company’s knowledge resources are its key advantages, building on these knowledge capitals and maximizing its potential are essential conditions for developing and achieving sustainability. However, these resources are vulnerable and may be threatened, for example, by the loss of knowledge (mainly a significant loss of tacit knowledge). Therefore, it is essential to plan for the preservation, transfer, evolution and creation of knowledge throughout the company’s activities and its interactions with its

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environment. The KM plan must be designed and integrated as a strategic business process. The construction of a KM plan requires answers to the following questions: – What are the essential knowledge areas for the company? – Are they strategic? – What are the main threats and risks to these areas? – Who owns this knowledge? – What are the possible and relevant operational actions to manage this knowledge? – How can we ensure that the action plan is aligned with the company’s strategic objectives? To answer these questions, it is necessary to carry out an analysis of the company’s knowledge capital, guided by the strategy defining the company’s missions. The proposal for a KM action plan for preservation then comes with the objective of sharing and developing knowledge in accordance with this strategy. 1.4.2. Step 2: organization of knowledge resources For the strategic knowledge areas identified in the first step, a wide range of knowledge resources can be identified, hence the need to put them in order and determine how they should be organized and structured. Usually, this huge body of knowledge is scattered in various places, tacit knowledge is not sufficiently made explicit, links between blocks of knowledge are often missing, etc. There is no complete view of the body of knowledge (tacit or explicit) associated with each knowledge domain and it is far from being easily accessible. It is difficult to map resources, to design a coherent repository to facilitate their organization, to allow their maintenance and to ensure their availability. This often involves adding new knowledge resources and tools to this repository.

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1.4.3. Step 3: implementation of KM processes The next step is to organize the use of knowledge resources in the daily work of actors: how to share, transfer, acquire, etc. their knowledge in order to be effective in their operational or decision-making tasks? As business processes are implemented to support business activities, KM processes must be implemented to support the use of knowledge in these business processes, as required by the KM plan. 1.4.4. Step 4: evolution of a knowledge capital The ultimate objective of KM is to transform the company into a creative organization. Thus, the ultimate goal of KM processes is to foster innovation. KM develops the company’s ability to strategically develop all its knowledge resources by creating new and relevant knowledge. To do this, KM must use all the resources created in the previous steps to promote the evolution of the company’s knowledge. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that KM continues to focus its efforts on the right resources and thus remains relevant. A good way to do this is to put in place a mechanism (survey, supervision, evaluations, etc.) to measure how knowledge is used and how it benefits the organization. 1.5. The MASK method The MASK method (Method for Analyzing and Structuring Knowledge) is a knowledge management method developed by Jean-Louis Ermine, first at the Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA), to solve knowledge capitalization problems (this part is now called MASK I). The method was then extended to the general problem of KM. It is based on a formal theory of knowledge, a structured methodology and a set of tools [ERM 18a]. This method respects the principles set out above and is therefore an example of illustrating the virtuous knowledge cycle, on a (non-exhaustive) set of crucial topics in a KM approach. It is this set that will provide a large number of the case studies presented in this book.

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The MASK method is organized into four modules, covering the four steps of the KM cycle. Note: the numbering of the MASK I to MASK IV modules corresponds to the chronology of their development. Thus, the first module developed, MASK I, for knowledge capitalization deals with step 2, while the second module developed, MASK II, for strategic knowledge analysis deals with step 1.

Figure 1.3. The complete MASK operational approach. For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

We briefly recall here the MASK approach [ERM 13]. 1.5.1. MASK II: analysis of a knowledge capital The knowledge capital analysis process is an audit of the company’s knowledge in order to create a KM action plan to manage this corpus asset. 1.5.1.1. Step 1: analysis of critical capacities In a nutshell, this capacity will be defined as a collective one that integrates a set of individual skills to achieve the organization’s strategic objectives. Critical capacity analysis consists of identifying and qualifying the capacities required by the company to successfully carry out its missions and achieve its operational objectives.

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To do this, it is first necessary to identify the objectives that the company (or unit of the company) concerned is trying to achieve. An objective map is built, which is a clear and simple representation of the operational strategy of the company or unit in question. It formulates the missions in the form of objectives to be achieved for the organization. The next phase consists of identifying and qualifying the capacities required by the company to achieve the objectives mentioned in the strategy map. Each of the identified capacities is qualitatively assessed by its criticality level. A capacity can be assessed as very critical, moderately critical or non-critical, knowing that it is more or less critical depending on whether it is more or less rare, useful for the company, difficult to acquire or difficult to implement. 1.5.1.2. Step 2: analysis of critical knowledge The analysis of critical knowledge consists of identifying and qualifying the different areas of knowledge present in the company. In a simplified way, we will define a knowledge domain as a body of business knowledge perceived as homogeneous. This knowledge is carried by people realizing one or more activities characteristic of the company and constituting the company’s “knowledge network”. They are materialized by a set of documents or they gather a set of tacit knowledge and know-how. The first phase of knowledge criticality analysis is the construction of the knowledge domain map (or knowledge map). Then, for each knowledge domain, the criticality analysis must be performed. The criticality assessment of a domain consists of assigning a criticality score by evaluating several criteria: the more critical the domain, the higher the score. Each domain is evaluated independently of the others. 1.5.1.3. Step 3: strategic alignment The objective of this step is to compare the strategic visions developed in the first step (capacities required to achieve the objectives and their criticality) and the field business visions developed in the second step (knowledge necessary for the businesses in their activities with their criticality).

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This step also makes it possible to formulate relevant recommendations on the knowledge management actions/systems to be implemented. These recommendations result from the intersection of the analysis of critical capacities with that of critical knowledge. This crossing of strategy and business lines activity is called strategic alignment. In particular, it makes it possible to identify “strategic dissonances”: on the one hand, cognitive biases in the representation of strategic objectives by business actors and, on the other hand, cognitive biases in the representation of the impact of the objectives set on the business activities by strategy actors. In addition, the considerable material collected during the interviews with strategy and business actors can be summarized in light of this strategic alignment, to make recommendations on a knowledge capital management action plan. Examples of how this method of knowledge capital analysis can be applied are provided in Chapter 2 of this book. 1.5.2. MASK I: capitalization of a knowledge corpus In the audit carried out in phase 1, there are very often critical and strategic domains of knowledge where knowledge is very tacit in the heads of a group of “knowers”. This knowledge is threatened (by the departure of some people, for example) and must be transferred to others. The aim of MASK I is to collect this knowledge in an explicit form, in order to have a structured and tangible body of knowledge, which should be the essential resource of any knowledge transfer system. This is called “capitalization“, because it involves putting a previously invisible capital of knowledge into tangible form. These actions therefore involve a process of converting tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. This process, often referred to as “externalization” or “codification”, is central to the creation of organizational knowledge, as Nonaka points out: “it is a process that is the quintessence of knowledge creation because tacit knowledge becomes explicit in the form of metaphors, analogies, concepts, assumptions or models” [NON 95, author’s translation]. The MASK I approach chooses to use graphical models and diagrams. It is a method based on the explicitation of knowledge using knowledge models. Knowledge modeling is a technique that developed in the 1970s and 1980s for artificial intelligence purposes and has since grown considerably to become the basis of a new engineering discipline, called “knowledge

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engineering“. The approach takes up and adapts known knowledge models and proposes more original ones. To analyze, represent and structure knowledge with models, the method is based on a theory of knowledge (adapted to engineering) which is described in detail in [ERM 18a]. Knowledge is perceived as information that takes on a given meaning in a given context. There are therefore three fundamental points of view for modeling knowledge: information, meaning and context (we use the symbolic equation K = IMC). Each point of view is broken down into three other points of view: structure, function and evolution. This gives nine points of view, each represented by a specific model. The point of view of information is classic: the structural aspect is modeled by data structures, the functional aspect by data processing, and the evolution aspect by dating and version configuration. The method focuses on the other six points of view. For the point of view of meaning (semantics), the structural aspect is modeled by networks of concepts, the functional aspect by cognitive tasks and the evolutionary aspect by lineages. For the contextual point of view, the structural aspect is modeled by phenomena, the functional aspect by activities and the evolutionary aspect by histories and lineages. Examples of the application of this method of knowledge capitalization are provided in Chapter 3 of this book. 1.5.3. MASK III: sharing the knowledge base When we talk about knowledge sharing in the company, we are essentially thinking of two contexts. The first context is that of the very diverse social communities within the company (business communities, communities of practice, project communities, etc.), where a great deal of knowledge and know-how are exchanged. The second context concerns the transfer of knowledge through a wide variety of mechanisms, ranging from training to networks of people. 1.5.3.1. Knowledge communities or communities of practice In practice, in any organization, people interact with each other. They thus create the conditions for the circulation and dissemination of their tacit knowledge, without necessarily resorting to their codification. This very often leads to the creation of specific social networks of knowledge and

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communities of people sharing certain knowledge. It is therefore becoming essential for organizations that want to manage their knowledge to organize these knowledge networks and support their operation. In KM, in companies, the most popular way to implement the knowledge sharing process is through the use of “communities”, which are very specific social networks. There are many types of communities and many definitions. Here are two main definitions: – a knowledge community is a group of people in the company who engage in knowledge sharing activities with a common work objective (shared responsibility for a process, a product or a service, a project, etc.). The knowledge community can include people from different disciplines within the company and even participants from other companies or the surrounding environment (service providers, logistics partners, customers, etc.); – a community of practice is a group of people who share a common professional interest in a practice and who regularly interact to learn how to progress in their practice. Not every group of people, every social network, with a common interest, is necessarily a community of knowledge or a community of practice. Most networks of people in a company are essentially set up to exchange information. 1.5.3.2. Knowledge transfer Knowledge transfer is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another. It aims to organize, capture, create or disseminate knowledge and ensure its availability for future users. Knowledge transfer can be understood in a very broad sense, sometimes even equivalent to KM. Here, it will be seen as a process that involves a set of interactions between individuals and groups to communicate and share knowledge, so that the final recipients of the transferred knowledge acquire the understanding and ability to apply it.

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Before being implemented, a knowledge transfer process must be clearly defined in terms of: – justification of knowledge transfer needs; – knowledge to be transferred; – expected benefits and indicators of success (to measure the effectiveness of knowledge transfer); – context of knowledge transfer; – actors (knowledge holders, knowledge beneficiaries, etc.). The knowledge transfer process can be illustrated by the model shown in Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4. The knowledge transfer process

There are many methods and processes for knowledge transfer. The choice of one or more knowledge transfer processes in a given context is therefore difficult. Let us give some examples of knowledge transfer mechanisms: – training; - face-to-face training; - autonomous e-learning; - supervised e-learning; - virtual classes; – learning.

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Learning is the process of acquiring practices and knowledge in situations through observation, imitation and repetition: – learning through mentoring; – alternating learning; – educational games/role-playing games; – knowledge networks; – project groups (includes working groups); – communities of practice; – network of experts. Knowledge transfer processes are multiple and diverse. They can be a transfer from one person to another, from one person to another group, from one group to another group, within a group, etc. A transfer is not necessarily in a given direction, from a transmitter to a receiver. This may depend on the knowledge to be transferred, the context of the transfer. The transmission of information should not be confused with the transfer of knowledge. There are countless ways of transferring knowledge within a company: many of them are traditional, and have been in the company for a long time. Others are in development or emerging, mainly due to the arrival of new digital technologies. KM must take into account all this diversity. It can propose and manage a number of innovative transfer systems, but, above all, it must ensure that the systems set up are oriented towards managing the company’s knowledge capital. It must ensure that the system works on an identified and evaluated part of the knowledge capital and must assess its impact on the knowledge of the target audience. It is by adding value to the company’s global knowledge capital that any knowledge transfer process fulfills its objective in the sense of KM. Examples of the application of this method of knowledge transfer are provided in Chapter 4 of this book. 1.5.4. MASK IV: evolution of a knowledge capital The exploration of the evolution of a knowledge capital will be carried out through the implementation of two action concepts: knowledge-based surveillance and knowledge-based innovation.

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1.5.4.1. Knowledge-based surveillance The company’s surveillance activity consists of transforming external information into useful knowledge for the company (scientific and technical surveillance, environmental analysis (strategic, competitive surveillance, etc.)). This requires organizing the collection and collective interpretation of information from the external environment. A knowledge search process is divided into three main phases: – Analysis of information needs and formulation of requests It is a knowledge-based phase, which is based on the state of the art of knowledge in the field concerned in the company. – The search for information This phase ranges from the collection of requests to the development of information corpus. – The creation of knowledge It is a matter of summarizing the corpus of information obtained, making it understandable and giving it shared representation, and then activating a process of interpretation and creation of knowledge that must be useful to the company for the purpose intended by the search for knowledge process. This phase is, by nature, a knowledge-based phase. KM can therefore provide significant added value in environmental surveillance activities, which are often strategic for the company. A relevant questioning can be supported by the good management of a knowledge capital already existing in the organization. The analysis of external information can be translated into useful and operational knowledge if this analysis is carried out by mobilizing the knowledge actors and the existing knowledge capital that needs to be enriched. 1.5.4.2. Knowledge-based innovation From KM’s point of view, the knowledge creation process is the part of the innovation process that requires KM support, because it is strongly knowledge-based.

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Most innovation models and methodologies propose, in part or in whole, an eight-phase process (Figure 1.5).

Figure 1.5. The innovation process

Only processes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are linked to KM processes. For example, process 1 requires the support of a search for knowledge process, as discussed in the previous section. Processes 4 and 5 deal with creativity and inventiveness, which are two parallel activities: “idea generation”, on the one hand, and “elaboration and qualification”, on the other hand. Creativity is considered as a generation of ideas while inventiveness refers to the creation of knowledge from these ideas (design knowledge). There is often no distinction between creativity

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and inventiveness. Creativity techniques practiced in the company are often not correlated with existing knowledge or the creation of new knowledge, materialized as new knowledge resources (e.g. patents or documents). The correlation with the company’s creativity and knowledge resources is called knowledge-based innovation [SAU 12]. The process of knowledgebased innovation has two main phases: – Knowledge drilling as a support for creativity. – Creation of innovative knowledge as a support for inventiveness. Chapter 5 of this book gives some examples of knowledge-based innovation processes. 1.6. The KM process repository The virtuous cycle of knowledge can be implemented through a set of processes that constitute a KM repository. The latter must be integrated into the company’s process repository. We give here an example of such a reference system, as developed in the Club Gestion des Connaissances supervised by Patrick Coustillière [CLU 17]. It is structured around eight fundamental processes: – P1: assessing and managing the knowledge capital This process examines the state of the company’s knowledge capital in terms of content and control. – P2: bringing knowledge capital to life and ensuring its application This process ensures that the knowledge capitals are maintained and applied. – P3: managing and controlling knowledge acquisition systems This process ensures the increase in knowledge and recruitment. – P4: supporting creative initiatives This is a knowledge-based innovation process (KBI or Knowledge-Based Innovation).

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– P5: supporting design processes This process supports knowledge-based design in the company. – P6: transforming external information into knowledge for the company This process ensures links with all kinds of external surveillance monitoring processes. – P7: equipping KM processes This process implements an information system and appropriate uses. – P8: controlling the KM system This process ensures a sustainable system, and the progress loop that governs its evolution. Since each company is unique and has a specific maturity in the management of its knowledge capital, such a process repository must be customized, but the principles remain the same if we are to set up processes that effectively manage the company’s knowledge capital. 1.7. Critical success factors for a global KM project As a global corporate project, KM is a vast undertaking. It must mobilize very diverse resources; it must be managed at the highest level and involve all levels of the company. It must work on a completely new subsystem of the company: the knowledge system. In a way, setting up a global KM project is above all an operation of profound change in the company, which aims to achieve cultural evolution, social evolution and structural evolution. In other words, there are many pitfalls and maturity in this field can only be acquired gradually, in a long process of continuous progress. We wanted to show here that, in the long term, it is possible to envisage an operational management of knowledge on a daily basis, through controlled processes, in ways that do not upset the company’s fundamentals, but that make them evolve positively. However, much feedback, particularly in regard to failures, indicates that the changes involved in these projects are not sufficiently taken into account. Change indicators and change management methods are still poorly identified: what relationships are induced by KM

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projects? What are the motivational levers, the obstacles to success? We will give some suggestions based on real-life experiences. 1.7.1. The water lily strategy One of the keys to change in a KM project is the project deployment strategy. This is a radical change from a traditional project. Deployment strategies of the “master plan” type for a knowledge management project (like information systems projects) have often proved to be failures. They are too linear and do not take sufficient account of motivational factors. A “socio-technical” strategy is necessary. A deployment strategy radically opposed to that of the master plan can be recommended under the name of “water lily strategy”, an expression resulting from a childish guessing game on the exponential growth of water lilies. This term takes up the idea expressed by “steady organic growth”, which refers to the mode of cell growth (morphogenesis), which is carried out by successive cellular divisions to create viable and complex structures. The “water lily” type deployment is the most appropriate for a KM project. It is the one that best takes charge of the process of change, the motivational factors and the emergence in complexity, such as the growth model of living cells: a process of reasoned and persevering growth. The water lily strategy is a strategy of constant effort and cumulative effect, which is perfectly suited to the cumulative economic nature of knowledge. In particular, it indicates that, while efforts can be considerable to start the project (in human or material terms), they will not necessarily increase tenfold as the project is deployed. Motivation factors being essential, we benefit from a ripple effect. Material costs are not necessarily the most important, so they do not increase linearly, etc. One of the major benefits of this type of approach is minimizing costs and risks. The first “water lilies” are not too expensive. Decisions, often unavoidable on medium-term projects, are not detrimental. Failure does not necessarily call into question the whole process.

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The water lily strategy generally consists of three phases: 1) The pilot project(s) The first “water lilies” are “conviction” projects. They are autonomous projects, concerning a limited part of knowledge capital. It is often possible to identify such projects that have already emerged spontaneously in the company for a long time, as it is true that KM has (fortunately!) always been practiced in a pragmatic way. Among their characteristics, we can mention: – they concern a limited but significant domain of knowledge; – they are led by people who are convinced of the need to act on their knowledge and who are therefore likely to be the driving forces behind a global approach; – these are projects that are decided and implemented locally in the units. They are not necessarily supported by hierarchies (however, at a minimum, what is called the “benevolent neutrality” of the hierarchy is required). This avoids making everything depend on a “strong management commitment”, which is often a prerequisite for strategic projects, but which is sometimes a delaying or even blocking factor; – they are an example of the possibility of working on knowledge capital. The pilot project(s) are the catalyst for a comprehensive and strategic approach to KM. A pilot project must show that it is useful to work on knowledge and provide original added value compared to a more traditional project (quality, documentation, IT, etc.). It is a concrete and pragmatic start to communication with the company’s managers and other people, who can contribute to raising awareness in this area. 2) The federation of knowledge management projects The first water lilies grow through an emergence phenomenon specific to the complexity of the knowledge system. This emergence phenomenon must be carefully managed in the first phase. We then enter into an evolutionary cycle. Coordination tasks must be undertaken to bring together and federate the various projects, the strategic and global dimension is not yet preponderant, but it acts implicitly. Then come cooperation tasks, where it is a question of giving an official color to this federation of projects which is

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organized in a network (the company’s KM network). Several points in this regard should be highlighted: – the definition of common objectives that give meaning to all projects and a shared vision. This provides a persuasive and driving force for the entire company; – formalization through communication and explanation actions with the relevant hierarchies. This makes it possible to give a formal structure to the network of actions and the means to structure it, as well as a strong legitimacy to the project; – regular and consistent communication on KM within (perhaps also outside) the company. 3) Deployment With the “water lily” network now in place, the aim is to ensure its “reasoned and persevering” growth, in order to cover all the company’s needs for the management of its knowledge capital. This deployment can usefully be based on a mapping of critical knowledge. All critical areas and corresponding actions to be carried out can thus be defined and covered by an action plan. KM processes must be put in place, with evaluation tools corresponding to their objective of enhancing the value of knowledge capital. Global management tools must also be put in place. The communication and motivation systems attached to the knowledge management project must be particularly studied, as a global project must mobilize a large number of people to enrich and sustain the KM system put in place. The latter generally leads to a profound change in habits and beliefs. Motivation is not always of a classic type and often involves more intellectual or intangible satisfaction than material rewards. The critical success factors are also (and perhaps most importantly) in these motivating factors, which are the essential driver of change in this type of project.

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1.7.2. Key stages of change A KM project, whether localized (a “water lily”) or global in the company, involves building a system that: – materializes, explicitly (through information) and/or tacitly (through knowledge communities) a company’s capital of critical knowledge; – manages the “cognitive” flows of the actors who use and bring knowledge to the system. A KM system is complex to construct and implement. The construction of a KM system can only be done with the actors. How then to motivate the actors concerned to bring their knowledge to the system, to use it, to feed it and to make it evolve continuously? We give below some elements, validated according to significant industrial practices. 1.7.2.1. The mirror stage The mirror stage (which can also be called the mirror effect, although common sense gives it a less powerful meaning than here) is so named in reference to the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan, who referred to a stage of cognitive development in early childhood, where babies suddenly recognize themselves as structured personalities, as a whole, distinct from their environment. When constructing a KM system, a similar phenomenon occurs (or should occur) with the people who provide the knowledge to be put into the system (experts, specialists, various contributors, etc.). They recognize themselves, thanks to the work done on their knowledge, which is often a work of reconstruction, restructuring, as a “knowing” personality structured in their field, of which they were not really aware before, at least not from this angle. They also realize the volume and quality of the knowledge they have accumulated in their professional experience, which is generally not easy to recognize (for the holders themselves, professional knowledge and know-how are self-evident). They therefore recognize themselves in the mirror provided by the KM system, which gives them a structured and rewarding vision of the knowledge they have deposited there. The mirror stage is a prerequisite for the success of the implemented KM project. With few exceptions, if this phenomenon does not occur, the project has a high

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probability of being a failure: this leads to the rejection of the pieces of knowledge included in the system by the very people who are supposed to deposit them. It is the work of restructuring knowledge that reveals to each contributor that their knowledge forms a global, rich and structured system. The mirror stage phenomenon is a personal, but not a collective, experience. The people who have provided their knowledge for the system then become the first bearers of the KM project. Without this first stage of change, they become the first gravediggers! The change due to the mirror stage can be identified by information that the contributor will express, such as: “I didn’t know I knew so much” or “it’s a good summary image of my field”. It also makes the expert understand the potential, the power, contained in their knowledge corpus. In emotional terms, this also translates into (great) satisfaction due to the expert’s discovery of an unsuspected inner richness. 1.7.2.2. Consensus The consensus building step is to establish a shared agreement on the content of the knowledge management system (all contributors, possibly with their teams). This is the first step of collective appropriation, after the individual appropriation represented by the mirror stage. Agreement is reached on the content and presentation. To do this, it is necessary to present to all contributors both the formatting and the overall structuring of individual contributions in a complete version, even though it must be provisional. This presentation usually leads to discussions, negotiations, explanations and mutual corrections. A final agreement on content is reached, through mutual learning thanks to the integration of everyone’s contributions. This leads to a collective acceptance of the contributions to the project as well as a collective appropriation of the content. The change brought about by the consensus building phenomenon can be observed through the progressive understanding of the representation of the other and the emergence of a common vision, the objective of this step. It often leads to a strengthening of identification with professions and/or a sense of identity. It is a consequence of a shared, constructed and explicit vision.

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Without the change created by consensus, the knowledge contained in the system will remain valid knowledge for a few individuals and will not have the status of collective knowledge, defended by a corporate knowledge community. 1.7.2.3. Legitimization Legitimization is a phenomenon of “peer validation”. Peer validation aims to legitimize the knowledge contained in the system in the organization. In fact, it is recognition of system content (knowledge and know-how involved in a profession) by peers, recognized for their competence in the field. These “reviewers” are often co-opted by the contributors themselves as able to validate the knowledge, which does not detract from the legitimacy obtained. Once the process of legitimization has been completed, the system content can be established as the state of the art of the profession (or part of the profession) in the organization. Without the change created by legitimization, the knowledge contained in the system is only recognized as that of a closed community (or even jealous of its knowledge) and, in any case, it leads to this, as has often been seen in knowledge communities that are not legitimized by external perspectives. 1.7.2.4. Approval The main objective, at this stage of project development, is approval by the decision-making authorities, which will lead to the deployment and sharing of the knowledge management system in the organization. It is a more classic stage in project management, but it has some specific characteristics. Explicitation and presentation of the system to the entire steering committee normally leads to an understanding of the approach, which until now has been (in general) only informal, as well as a reaction and discussion of the content. These discussions allow a new understanding of the objectives and an awareness of possible action on the whole knowledge capital. The expected consequences are essentially a decision to deploy or deepen the reflection. In the same way, they allow progress in managerial awareness on this type of problem.

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Without the change linked to this managerial awareness, the system, even though valid and legitimate, will not be used by the recipients, because it will not seem to correspond to a “natural” strategy of the organization. 1.8. Overview A KM plan implemented in a company must necessarily result in the implementation of processes. The processes that can be identified as “managing knowledge” are countless. We could even say (and some people do not deprive themselves of it!) that any process in the company is a KM process. In this respect, it is very difficult to defend a KM strategy, to set up an appropriate organization and to have coherent management tools. We must therefore have a vision of reference that allows us to put things in their place and act. The strong assumption underlying all the proposals and examples in this book, that KM is the management of the company’s knowledge capital, provides a filter that makes the task easier. A process is included in the KM repository if its added value to the knowledge capital can be identified (and evaluated). In concrete terms, we can already see whether it uses the knowledge corpus and whether it enriches it in one way or another. The daisy model is a proposal to provide a unifying framework and to build a KM process repository to implement and manage in a company. For a number of these processes, there is nothing new, except perhaps a different perspective on their purpose and management. For others, these are truly innovative processes, which require an often unusual implementation and always on a significant time scale. Operationally, in the company, this knowledge-based approach results in a loop of continuous progress, called the virtuous cycle of knowledge. This cycle consists of four main steps: analysis, organization, sharing and evolution of a knowledge corpus. It makes it possible to define a reference frame of KM processes necessary for the implementation of a complete KM program in the company.

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The MASK method is an operational method based on a formal theory of knowledge, a structured methodology and a set of tools. With its four components, it respects the principles set out in this chapter and therefore provides an example of illustrating the virtuous cycle of knowledge, on a (non-exhaustive) set of crucial subjects in a KM approach. This example of illustrating the virtuous cycle of knowledge will provide many of the case studies presented in this book.

2 Strategic Analysis of an Organization’s Knowledge Capital

2.1. Articulation of Chapter 2 The purpose of this chapter is to conceptually and practically explore the first stage of the knowledge management (KM) virtuous circle described in Chapter 1, which is dedicated to the strategic analysis of an organization’s knowledge capital. In section 2.2, we recall the main concepts of this strategic analysis. The practical exploration of strategic knowledge analysis will then be carried out through case studies of Chronopost (section 2.3), Hydro-Québec (section 2.4), the IPEN’s Radiopharmacy Center (section 2.5) and Sonatrach (section 2.6). Section 2.7 summarizes the lessons learned from these four case studies on the strategic analysis of an organization’s knowledge capital. 2.2. Introduction to the strategic analysis of knowledge capital This section is a summary of the strategic analysis of knowledge capital presented in [ERM 18a]. The knowledge capital strategic analysis approach is an audit of the company’s knowledge in order to create a KM action plan to manage this said capital.

Knowledge Management in Innovative Companies 1: Understanding and Deploying a KM Plan within a Learning Organization, First Edition. Pierre Saulais and Jean-Louis Ermine. © ISTE Ltd 2019. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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This audit is carried out in four stages: – critical capacity analysis; – critical knowledge analysis; – strategic alignment; – development of an action plan. The analysis of knowledge capital is based on the representation, by actors, of the objectives of their unit and that of the knowledge available in that unit. The choice of representation mode is that of mapping. Mapping is an abstract process that involves selection, classification, simplification and symbolization. In the analysis of knowledge capital, we will use two maps: the objective map and the knowledge domain map (or knowledge map). A more detailed description of the representation of the mapping of critical knowledge domains is provided in [AUB 03]. 2.2.1. Step 1: analysis of critical capacities Critical capacity analysis consists of identifying and qualifying the capacities required by the company to carry out its missions and achieve its operational objectives. The missions are formulated in the form of objectives to be achieved for the organization and represented in the form of an objective map, consisting of a tree of strategic axes, objectives and sub-objectives, with a limited number of axes (generally four to six). The next phase consists of identifying and qualifying the capacities required by the company to achieve the capacities present in the map. Each of the identified capacities is qualitatively assessed by its criticality level (is this capacity very critical, moderately critical or non-critical?) based, for example, on the themes of the CKF (Critical Knowledge Factor) capacity grid described in section 2.2.5. 2.2.2. Step 2: analysis of critical knowledge The analysis of critical knowledge consists of identifying and qualifying the different domains of knowledge present in the company. The first phase of knowledge criticality analysis is the construction of the knowledge domain map (or knowledge map). Some domains should first be identified. This

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consists, on the basis of reference documents and interviews, of bringing out knowledge domains through the successive analysis of activities, projects, products, etc. Criticality analysis is systematically carried out with a criticality grid such as the CKF grid shown as an example in section 2.2.5. The criticality assessment of a domain consists of assigning a score according to each criterion for each domain: the more critical the domain, the higher the score. 2.2.3. Step 3: strategic alignment The objective of this step is to compare the strategic visions developed in the first step (capacities required to achieve the objectives) and the field business visions developed in the second step (knowledge required by the business lines in their activities). This step begins with the development of an influence matrix and the weighting of criticalities by alignment. To identify the potential influence of the strategic vision on the business vision (and vice versa), a double entry table, an “influence matrix”, is constructed, in which the influences between knowledge domains and capacities are indicated. Since each domain and each capacity has a criticality score, a simple weighted average can be assigned to each element. This note is characteristic of the strategic importance and criticality of the element. The more critical a strategic capacity is, the more knowledge domains it impacts, while the more critical these areas are, the more important this strategic capacity is. Similarly, the more critical a knowledge domain is, the more strategic capacities it is concerned with, while the more critical these strategic capacities are, the greater the importance of that knowledge domain is. Finally, knowledge domains and strategic capacities can be classified in increasing order of importance. 2.2.4. Step 4: developing the action plan The arguments collected throughout the criticality analyses of knowledge and capacities are very rich and, in most cases, they include many suggestions and recommendations. The areas of reflection concerning the KM actions to be implemented are defined for each knowledge domain and

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each capacity. To give a better visibility, these different axes of the action plan can be grouped into themes: – organization, when it comes to managerial actions; – training, when the actions concern learning systems; – capitalization/transfer, when it comes to preservation, collection, sharing, documentation actions, etc. 2.2.5. The knowledge criticality analysis grid The criticality of a knowledge domain is defined as an assessment of the risks/opportunities that this knowledge domain presents for the company. Criticality is identified according to criteria grouped into four thematic axes. Thematic axes

Criteria

Rarity

1) Number and availability of holders 2) Outsourcing 3) Leadership 4) Originality 5) Confidentiality

Usefulness for the company 6) Adequacy with missions 7) Creating value for the parties 8) Emergence 9) Adaptability 10) Use Difficulty in capturing knowledge

Difficulty in using knowledge

11) Difficulty in identifying sources 12) Mobilization of networks 13) Tacit nature of knowledge 14) Importance of tangible knowledge sources 15) Obsolescence rate 16) Depth 17) Complexity 18) Difficulty of appropriation 19) History of knowledge 20) Dependence on the environment

Table 2.1. Criticality criteria grid (CKF)

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Table 2.1 provides an example of a generic grid of criticality criteria that was developed by the Club Gestion des Connaissances, called CKF (Critical Knowledge Factors). The CKF library has 20 criteria grouped into four thematic axes. Each criterion is evaluated on a level scale from 1 to 4 and represents the degree of achievement of the criterion. To facilitate analysis and scoring, the levels of each criterion are briefly described. This is a “rating description” and not a normative description. Each criterion evaluation is based on a question. Each level is expressed by a clear and concise sentence, avoiding vague and confusing terms (see an example in Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1. An example of a criticality criterion and its rating scales

2.3. Chronopost: observing professions This section is based on the study written by Thierno Tounkara and JeanLouis Ermine (Études de cas – Club Gestion des Connaissances – 2010 – Internal Document).

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2.3.1. Presentation of the company Chronopost was created in 1985 as an initiative of the La Poste group, in reaction to the arrival of American integrators on the French market. As new needs appeared in companies with just-in-time development, a new market was created: that of express transport. Under the name SFMI (Société française de Messagerie Internationale), the subsidiary company of La Poste and the TAT group took its place on the market. It holds 10% of the national and international express mail market, serving France and 45 other countries. Over the years, new services have been launched and infrastructures developed. In 1992, a new corporate name appeared (Chronopost SA) and the company became a member of the GDEW (Global Delivery Express Worldwide) network, giving it access to an international network equipped with powerful air assets and information systems. It continued to expand and strengthen its positions, in particular by taking control of Taxicolis (highstakes, personalized urgent transport) and Top Chrono (urban deliveries). It is establishing itself in Europe, Africa and the North American continent. Since January 2007, through its operational alliance with TNT, Chronopost International has access to one of the most efficient intercontinental air networks, capable of delivering to 230 countries and territories. Based on complementarity, this alliance allows the French group to strengthen its network in Europe and optimize the quality of its service on the Asian and American continents. This same alliance allows TNT to benefit from Chronopost International’s domestic collection and delivery networks. At the beginning of 2007, Chronopost processed an average of 240,000 items every day. In 2006, Chronopost had 60 specialized agencies in France, 3,000 relay points, 14,000 post offices, five hubs and 4,000 vehicles. 2.3.2. Project context Tension in the express transport market has been reinforced by the massification of supply with greater variety, increased competition, lower prices and the potential diversity of cost structures.

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New regulatory constraints have emerged, which require major adaptations: – the speed limit of 90 km/h for heavy goods vehicles under 12 tons; – reduction of night flights; – enhanced airport security; – access conditions in the city center. Chronopost’s know-how in the field of express transport is undeniable, and it wishes to remain the reference in this market. It is necessary to be able to convince a market where offers are trivialized and where price becomes the first criterion of choice for increasingly demanding customers. Chronopost has therefore initiated a reflection on a new model for the company, aimed at differentiation and profitability. With this in mind, Chronopost wanted to carry out a prospective pilot project in 2005 as part of its “Competence Management Procedure” project. Its aim was to enable the company to have a forward-looking vision of the business lines and skills in line with Chronopost International’s strategy. It was based on a shared vision of HR issues: the management and control of key skills was a strategic approach of HRM policies, while synergy and cooperation between units and human resources were the conditions for the performance of each and every person. The framework of the project was set by the law on lifelong learning and the Medef agreement of December 2003. It was a continuous improvement project, which, based on environmental data and constraints, was carried out in three phases (Figure 2.2): – identification of strategic professions and skills; – evaluation of the skills implemented; – development and implementation of action plans for skills management and development.

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These three phases were respectively supported by three operational means: – skills and capabilities observatory; – skills reference data; – a skills management industrialize, remunerate).

procedure

(recruit,

develop,

outsource,

Figure 2.2. The “skills management” procedure

The project described here is part of the development of the skills and capabilities observatory. It aims to provide a method and an operational framework for identifying strategic trades and skills.

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2.3.3. Objectives The objective of the project is twofold: – identify the professional International’s strategy;

know-how

affected

by

Chronopost

– reflect on the evolution of critical skills in the future of Chronopost International. 2.3.4. Approach adopted 2.3.4.1. Step 1: analysis with strategy stakeholders This analysis was carried out with members of the management committee and/or strategy managers (France sales, customer service, human resources, quality, France operations) in two phases. Phase 1: construction of the Chronopost strategy and procedure maps A study of various company documents (e.g. Plan stratégique: Défis Stratégiques 2007, Énergies 2007, Manuel de Management de la Qualité, Repères) made it possible to draw up two representations of the basic elements of the company’s strategy, in the form of maps: – a strategy map, which presented in a tree form the company’s strategic axes, to refine them into actions relevant to the professions; – a procedure map, which visualized the company’s main procedures as recently defined, to which were linked, as much as possible, specific professional know-how that was useful for the operation of these procedures. Phase 2: analysis of Chronopost’s strategic skills The two maps were used as tools for mediation and reflection with the strategy stakeholders, who were mobilized during an interview of about two hours. These two maps made it possible to visualize and systematically reflect on the issue “what is the impact of each strategic axis on each procedure (in terms of know-how) that could emerge, develop or be threatened?”

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2.3.4.2. Step 2: analysis with professional stakeholders This analysis was carried out on a pilot unit chosen for the experiment: the “Traitement de l’express international” (international express processing) at the Roissy hub. It was conducted with the managers of this division (French customs, method quality, international routing department, international transit division manager) in two phases: construction of the knowledge domain map and criticality analysis. 2.3.4.3. Step 3: bringing the strategic and professional vision closer together A first reconciliation of these two visions was achieved. The aim was to identify the potential influence of strategic vision on professional vision, and also, conversely, the potential influence of professional vision on strategic vision. This was done by highlighting the knowledge domains identified in the trades map that was affected by the strategic skills identified in the strategic map. This therefore provided a double entry table, in which the correspondences (trades/strategic skills) were indicated. Each professional activity was affected by several strategic skills, the latter being more or less critical. Conversely, a strategic skill could be linked to several professional activities, the latter being more or less critical. The more a professional activity was concerned with strategic skills, the more critical these skills were, and the more strategic the professional activity was to the company’s strategy. Conversely, the more a skill was involved in the professional activities and the more critical these professional activities were, the more strategic the skill was towards the professional activities. This allowed them to visualize the reciprocal influences of strategies on the professional activities and vice versa. In the study carried out, we analyzed the reciprocal influence between Chronopost’s strategy and the “Traitement de l’Express International” professions. 2.3.4.4. Project schedule The project ran for about five months sequentially (different phases could have been carried out in parallel). The delay was mainly due to the difficulty

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in scheduling meetings or milestones and then managing the availability of people. In practice, this project actually required a few dozen days of work, not including the time of the people who were involved in the interviews: – the analysis of the documents used to develop the necessary maps for phase 1 of the project was carried out during the first two months of the project; – step 1 of the project, with the strategic stakeholders, and step 2, with the stakeholders of the “Express International” unit in Roissy, occupied the following two months; – the last month made it possible to finalize and close the project. 2.3.5. Procedure 2.3.5.1. Strategic analysis The strategy map The company’s strategy was presented in documents describing the strategic plan in detail and available to all Chronopost employees. In the “Observatoire des métiers” project at Chronopost, a reformulation of the “Energy 2007” strategic plan made it possible to draw up a strategy map. This strategic plan was structured into six axes: – production management; – quality policy; – human capital management; – the environment; – trade policy; – positioning within the group. Each area was analyzed in terms of strategic orientations, which were all themes that could be translated into action plans. This structure was very easy to use for map representation. A simplified representation of this strategy map is shown in Figure 2.3.

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Figure 2.3. Strategic map (simplified)

The procedural map The purpose of this step is to represent, in the form of procedures, the company’s main activities.

Figure 2.4. Partial view of the procedural map developed at Chronopost

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The strategic skills map The objective of this step was to identify, at the level of each procedure, the skills strongly related to the strategy and to characterize them by evaluating their level of maturity and their level of criticality. The result of the comparison between the strategic orientations (represented in the form of a strategy map) and the professional procedures implemented in the company (represented in the form of a procedure map) was a map called a “strategic skills map”. This map made it possible to group together all the strategic skills according to procedure.

Figure 2.5. Illustration of the procedure for identifying and analyzing competencies

Based on the data collected during the interviews, the skills identified for each procedure were classified into three levels: very critical, critical and somewhat critical. Among these skills, some (about 15) do not currently exist at Chronopost or are emerging. A visualization in map form made it possible to understand all the data at a glance. This map therefore provided an important decision-making tool regarding skills development. A document gathered all the arguments and all

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the additions that made it possible to refer to the analysis during the reflection. In software form, all the data were available by navigating the map. This software used the MindManager tool (Figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6. Focus on Design of complex transport network, with description of skills and with aurgumentation synthesis

The study identified about 35 critical skills, with associated arguments. Among these, about 15 skills were assessed as very critical and found in almost all procedures. 2.3.5.2. Analysis of professional activities The method of analyzing critical professional know-how was divided into three main phases. Phase 1: analysis of Chronopost’s strategic skills: identification and construction of the professional know-how map (or knowledge domain map) Business mapping made it possible to define five professional activities in international express transport processing: customs, operational security,

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hub processing, operational after-sales service, road transport and air transport. Some 30 know-how domains were attached to these core professional activities. The simplified map is shown in Figure 2.7.

Figure 2.7. Example of a knowledge domain map

Phase 2: criticality assessment of knowledge domains A simple Excel tool was used to process and represent criticality data in graphical form, including a Kiviat diagram (Figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8. Example of criticality by domain. For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

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The result of the analysis of the data collected during the interviews was reflected, for each knowledge domain, by: – all criticality diagrams (by criterion and theme) corresponding to those of the actors interviewed for the knowledge domain; – a final diagram allowing them to have a visual overview of the collective perception of all actors questioned on the criticality of the knowledge domain; – a summary sheet including: - the arguments collected on each theme of the criticality grid; - the salient points identified: these were recurring elements highlighted during the interviews and characterizing the criticality of the field (e.g. need for a knowledge sharing tool, inadequate training system, lack of a knowledge capitalization system, high technicality of the knowledge field, etc.). Phase 3: additional analysis In this project, some criteria were grouped or distinguished to allow a more global analysis. Indeed, it seemed relevant to cross-reference some data for specific problems that may have arisen. The purpose of the crossreferenced analysis was to highlight certain specificities concerning, for example, current and future know-how niches, domains to be developed, the most critical domains, etc. The cross-referenced analysis was done by selecting the following criteria or group of criteria. This made it possible to construct four combinations based on the criteria and groups of criteria defined above. The results of the cross-referenced analysis are given in the following table.

Strategic Analysis of an Organization’s Knowledge Capital

Criteria/ criteria groups

49

Evaluation objectives

Criterion 1: number and availability This criterion partially assesses the scarcity and of holders availability of expert resources Criterion 2: outsourcing

This criterion makes it possible to assess the degree of specificity of knowledge in the field with a view to subcontracting to other internal entities or to other external bodies

Criterion 3: dependency

This criterion makes it possible to measure the degree of dependence of the knowledge domain on the external environment

Criteria group 1: usefulness for the This group makes it possible to measure the company usefulness of the knowledge domain according to the following criteria: – fit in with assignments and objectives – value creation for stakeholders – emergence – use Criteria group 2: attractiveness of the This group makes it possible to assess the degree knowledge domain of attractiveness of the field of knowledge both within and outside Chronopost. It consists of the following criteria: – originality – adaptability Criteria group 3: nature of knowledge This group makes it possible to assess the degree of complexity of knowledge in the field. The criteria constituting it are as follows: – depth – complexity – difficulty of appropriation – tacit nature Criteria group 4: access

This group assesses access to knowledge in the field through formal or informal sources. It is based on three criteria: – difficulty in identifying sources – importance of tangible sources – mobilization of networks

Table 2.2. Selection of criteria

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Combinations constructed

Specificities highlighted

Combination 1: number and availability of holders versus usefulness

This combination makes it possible to highlight current and know-how areas

Combination 2: number and availability of holders versus attractiveness versus usefulness

The objective of this combination is to highlight the domains of knowledge to be developed because of their usefulness, their high attractiveness and the scarcity of expert resources

Combination 3: number and availability of holders versus usefulness versus outsourcing

The objective of this combination is to highlight: – either the potentially very sensitive/fragile areas due to the scarcity of expert resources and the difficulty of subcontracting due to the strong specificity of the domain – or the “flexible” domains due to possible subcontracting, even though expert resources are rare internally

Combination 4: nature versus access

The objective of this combination is to highlight areas of knowledge that are in urgent need of adaptation or even implementation of the means of training, learning and/or knowledge transfer, appropriate in view of the complex nature of knowledge and the difficulty of access to sources

Combination 5: usefulness versus dependence

This combination makes it possible to highlight areas of knowledge, which are very useful for Chronopost, for which it is appropriate to implement risk reduction strategies linked to strong external constraints

Table 2.3. Criteria combinations

Current niches of know-how

Domains to be developed

Very sensitive domains

Customs

X

X

X

Operational safety

X

Flexible domains

Domains sensitive to external constraints

X

X

Hub processing

X X

Operational aftersales service

X

Road transport

X

Air transport

X

X X X

Table 2.4. Results of the cross-analysis

X

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The overview of the domain characterization is as follows. Current niches of know-how These are the very useful domains of knowledge for Chronopost with scarce expert resources. In these areas, there is therefore a challenge to further develop know-how. The general recommendations for this type of domain, which must, of course, take into account the specificity of each domain, are: – expert knowledge transfer programs (e.g. paired operations); – rather specialized training programs on some aspects of the field; – capitalization and structuring of certain specialized knowledge in the field; – recruitment of internal and/or external resources with a strong learning capacity and a strong appetence for knowledge. Domains to be enhanced These are the areas of knowledge that, by being useful with a small number of expert resources, are original and adaptable to other contexts. The general recommendations for this type of domain are: – communicating through working groups on the know-how that differentiates Chronopost from other express courier companies, etc.; – strengthening/developing collaboration with other organizations to be more innovative; – possibly developing consulting activities for companies that need expert skills: knowledge in the field could have a monetary interest if Chronopost could sell it to other companies. To do this, this activity should be formalized as new knowledge is acquired to facilitate the transfer of this knowledge. Very sensitive/fragile domains These are the domains that need to be monitored and for which preventive solutions should be provided due to the scarcity of expert resources and the difficulty of outsourcing due to the high specificity of the field.

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The “flexible” domains These are domains with expert resources that are scarce internally, but with the possibility of outsourcing to external organizations. It could be interesting to monitor highly competent companies to which the activity of the fields concerned could be entrusted. Indeed, given the non-existence of internal expert resources in this field, Chronopost could need, in the event of the failure of the current service provider company, other external skills to carry out this activity. Thus, it would be necessary to: – study the offer of market players to identify those who could meet Chronopost’s needs in the field; – monitor the evolution of the domain through regular surveillance (evolution of organizations practicing the domain). Domains requiring a great need for adaptation of training and learning resources These are knowledge domains that require significant adaptation or implementation of appropriate means of training, learning and/or knowledge transfer in view of the complex nature of knowledge and the difficulty of accessing sources. For example, in the case of the activity “International Express Processing”, even though the knowledge is of a complex nature in the different fields, the learning systems seem to be adapted. In addition, access to information sources (human networks, documentary databases) also seems not to create any particular difficulty. To reduce the complexity of the different fields of knowledge and to further facilitate access to networks of contacts, the following suggestions for improvement can be made: – encourage an explicitation/formalization of some tacit knowledge to facilitate learning. However, this requires valuing the know-how possessed by individuals;

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– socially represent internal and external networks, based on those of old ones, to facilitate the development of a network of contacts for newcomers. However, incentives may be needed for people to agree to formalize their networks of contacts; – capitalize and structure the history on a regular basis for the operational after-sales service, road transport and air transport domains: these are domains in which history plays a very important role in understanding and mastering knowledge. Areas requiring the implementation of risk reduction strategies related to external constraints These are the areas which, while very useful for Chronopost, present real risks linked to the high dependence on the external environment (changes in legislation, new measures taken by airlines, etc.). The general recommendations for this type of domain are: – having a regular surveillance activity to anticipate regulatory developments and measures likely to be taken by some stakeholders such as airports, airlines, etc.; – developing a lobbying activity to be able to put pressure on these groups of stakeholders and influence some of their decisions that could be binding on the domains concerned. 2.3.6. Strategic alignment In the following double entry table, we have put in columns the professional activities (M1 to M6: air transport, road transport, after-sales service, security, customs, hub processing) of the “International Express Processing” and in rows the strategic skills (C1 to C10: transport network design, transport design, transport supervision, distribution, sorting, advanced tools, environmental constraints, customer, outsourcing, maintenance) which are concerned with this business, with their criticality coefficient from 3 to 1 (highly critical, critical, fairly critical). The correspondences are indicated by a cross. The last column (SM) contains the weighted average by domain, reflecting the influence of the strategy on this domain. The last line (MS) contains the weighted average by strategic skill, reflecting the influence of the domain on this skill.

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This makes it possible to rank professional activities and skills in ascending order according to their strategic importance: – the more a skill is involved in the professional activities, the more critical these professional activities are and the more strategic the skill is towards the professional activities; – the more a professional activity is concerned with strategic skills, the more critical these skills are and the more strategic the professional activity is towards the company’s strategy. C1

C2

C3

C4

C5

C7

Criteria

3

3

3

1

1

3

M1

X

X

X

X

X

X

M2

X

X

X

X

X

X

M3

1

C6

X

M4

X

X

M5

X

X

X

M6

X

X

X

X

MS

39.9

47.4

10.7

2.5

16.2

C8 3

C9

C10

SM

2

1

X

X

45.9

X

X

X

54

X

X

X

24.3

X

20.8 19.6

X 5.4

23.7

X 15.6

21

30

10.4

Table 2.5. Results of strategic alignment

Strategic professions According to this grid, the professional activities can be classified in order of importance. The most strategic professional activities are, in descending order: – road transport (M2); – air transport (M1); – hub processing (M6); – operational after-sales service (M3); – operational safety (M4); – customs (M5).

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Of course, this classification is purely indicative and it would not be wise to consider it as definitive and totally reasoned, in view of all the qualitative and intuitive choices that made it possible to build it. However, it offers interesting opportunities for reflection. In addition, depending on the strategic choices that can be made regarding the management of certain business areas, reference can be made to the analysis and recommendations made in the second part of the project. Strategic skills According to this grid, critical skills can also be classified in order of importance, according to their impact on the business areas: – transport management competence (C3); – design of complex transport networks (C1); – control of environmental constraints (C7); – control of outsourcing (C9); – ecodesign of transport (C2); – client-oriented mind (C8); – program management on the preparation for distribution (C4); – first-level maintenance (C10); – know-how in the use of advanced tools (C6); – sorting competence (C5). Once again, this classification is indicative, but the arguments attached to critical skills should be able to refine the analysis, confirm certain points and provide elements for the management of critical skills in conjunction with the professions concerned. 2.3.7. Project assessment The pilot project was carried out with the active cooperation of the steering committee, on the one hand, and an operational unit, on the other hand. It provided all participants with elements for reflection on the strategy and professional activities. This reflection enabled the Roissy processing unit to refine its human resources management policy in line with the

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orientations identified by the analysis. The project was completed in December 2005. It was presented to the company’s president at its initialization and the results were presented to the management board, which approved the action and asked to gradually generalize it to constitute an observatory for all the company’s professions. 2.3.8. Lessons learned Initially, the project made it possible to: – represent Chronopost’s “strategic image”, in accordance with its procedural analysis (quality management manual), strategic analysis (Energy 2007) and skills repository (Repères et al.); – provide, with the latter, tools for reflection and analysis that have led, in a reasoned and validated manner, to the description of the skills needed to implement Chronopost’s strategy. In the second phase, the project made it possible to: – represent a significant business unit of Chronopost: international express services; – analyze opportunities and threats to the state and evolution of this business unit know-how. Finally, the project made it possible to link the professional activities studied with Chronopost’s strategy, by linking the skills identified in the strategic analysis and the relevant domains identified in the professional activity analysis. The two analyses (strategic and professional) were carried out with the full collaboration of the stakeholders concerned who expressed considerable interest. The conclusions were validated by these people. The reconciliation between the two analyses was possible and provided results that are a priori in line with intuition, but with full traceability and argumentation. This project was a pilot project at Chronopost to assess the feasibility of the approach and its value.

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What remains to be done is to: – refine the link between strategic and professional analysis; – deploy to other professional domains; – adapt deliverables to specific needs and people; – organize Chronopost’s appropriation of the approach. 2.3.9. Conclusion The project was very well received by the stakeholders, both at the level of the general management and at the level of the pilot unit in Roissy. For the operational unit, it clarified the areas on which efforts should be focused and led to (re)thinking about various skills management actions. General management expressed the wish to deploy this action in other professional activities, in particular sales. 2.4. Hydro-Québec This section is based on the study written by Thierno Tounkara, Imed Boughzala and Jean-Louis Ermine [TOU 05]. 2.4.1. Introduction This case study was conducted within a unit of Hydro-Québec (Canada). The study conducted at Hydro-Québec was part of a larger study, “Plan de Gestion de la Relève” (an expertise management plan), led by the Human Resources Department in collaboration with CEFRIO (Centre de liaison et de transfert, which includes more than 140 academic, industrial or official fellows). 2.4.2. Presentation of Hydro-Québec Hydro-Québec is a major producer of electricity and a major energy distributor in North America. It is a state-owned commercial corporation whose sole shareholder is the Government of Quebec.

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Hydro-Québec employs approximately 21,000 people and is facing massive numbers of retirements in all professional groups, particularly among the most experienced employees: – more than 500 retirements took place per year between 2003 and 2008; – more than 800 retirements took place per year between 2008 and 2011. 2.4.3. Presentation of the study conducted and the principles of the method used The objectives of our study were to: – identify strategic knowledge; – diagnose the vulnerability of strategic knowledge; – assist in the choice of optimal strategies to ensure the capitalization, sharing and transfer of knowledge and know-how. The project was particularly interested in Hydro-Québec’s research center, IREQ. Since Hydro-Québec acquired IREQ (Institut de recherches québécois), the company has striven to direct the Institute’s research towards its fields of activity while ensuring project profitability. Today, the institute seeks to increase the profitability of its projects and reduce the overall cost of research. It is in this context that IREQ began to map its various fields of expertise in June 2003. The priority objective was to quickly identify the domains that would or would not need to be strengthened according to their respective contributions to the company’s future developments. The overall approach of the study, which lasted six months, was as follows: – for each unit, we created and validated a map of the knowledge domains with the field actors; – we conducted interviews to assess the criticality of the different knowledge domains, using the CKF grid, with experts from each unit. We conducted a total of about 30 interviews; – based on the data collected, we conducted analyses and developed recommendations for the expertise management plan to be implemented.

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2.4.4. Implementation of the method at Hydro-Québec 2.4.4.1. Construction of the first version of the knowledge map This step dealt with the construction of the physical representation of the knowledge map. The framing and identification of the knowledge domains allowed for an in-depth analysis of the company’s activities. The construction of the map was an iterative procedure. We carried out a permanent feedback loop in three phases: – appropriation of the problem; – co-construction of the representation; – map validation. In this context, it was essential to have a strong and consistent representation structure that allowed ideas to be set and interviews to be effective. Validation was carried out gradually by department managers. These managers had the necessary experience to locate the domains within the organization and knew the functional needs. Above all, they modified the representation and made it their own as the interviews progressed. This first version of the validated knowledge map was used as a basis for individual or group interviews of persons (experts) concerned by the knowledge domains. The knowledge map shown in Figure 2.9 was the first version that was made for one of the units at Hydro-Québec: it was refined as the interviews for the criticality collection progressed. 2.4.4.2. Development of criticality criteria and sampling The CKF criteria grid was adapted, taking into account the specificities of the organization, the expectations of the mapping project and the vocabulary used in the company, sometimes using context-specific expressions (such as Quebec-specific expressions in the context of the Hydro-Québec project). Depending on the needs, the adaptation of this grid consisted of adding thematic axes, adding criticality criteria in these said approaches or simply modifying the scale of a criterion and/or adapting their definitions.

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Figure 2.9. Example of a knowledge map

The choice of the stakeholders interviewed to complete this grid is an essential task for a successful mapping project. In this step, a representative sample of each knowledge domain was selected with the help of operational managers. The diversity of profiles is an important element in the analysis, interpretation and cross-referencing of the data collected. The distribution of these profiles allowed trends to be studied and the representativeness of the sample to be verified. For each expert, we prepared a document to include information such as: – profile (diplomas, certificates, qualifications, etc.); – position, age, year of joining the organization; – past experience (before joining the organization); – experience in the knowledge domain; – role in the knowledge domain (contributor, user, etc.). 2.4.4.3. Data collection and analysis Data collection procedures are difficult. Both effectiveness and relevance were pursued, without overburdening operational managers and experts in the domain. Interviews with experts were individual or collective (see Table 2.6). Simplified communication operations and analysis documents were useful aids to the success of the operation. The collection was conducted,

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with nearly 80 interviews with knowledge actors, innovation managers and program managers. Advantages

Disadvantages

Individual Experts are more comfortable interviews (one More qualitative data collected expert)

Lots of interviews to be done (more time) Additional step for comparing the views of experts

Collective interviews (group of experts)

An expert can sometimes supersede others (risk of impoverishment) Difficulty in supervising interviews A collective interview takes more time than a personal interview

Exchanges and discussions between experts Guarantee to ask the same questions to all experts in the group Analysis of the knowledge domain facilitated

Table 2.6. Advantages and disadvantages of individual or group interviews

The analytical data collected may represent a considerable volume depending on the number of knowledge domains and subdomains, as well as on the number of actors interviewed. A tool was therefore very useful for the processing and representation of this data in graphical form, particularly in the form of a Kiviat diagram. Automatic analysis Once the data collection was completed, we automatically analyzed the criticality of knowledge domains using the “Excel” tool for criticality analysis developed by the Club Gestion des Connaissances. This tool allowed us, for a given knowledge domain, to transfer all the scores of the interviewees in the field to a single table, and to automatically obtain the average of all interviewees by criterion and theme. From this table, the tool created: – comparison curves that enabled visualization of the differences between the different individuals based on the same criterion (Figure 2.10). The objective was to highlight the criteria on which it was necessary to have additional information before moving on to the interpretation phase. – all Kiviat diagrams (by criteria and theme) that corresponded to those of the interviewees for the knowledge domain

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– a final Kiviat diagram that allowed a visual overview of the collective perception of all interviewees on the criticality of the knowledge domain.

Figure 2.10. Example of comparative curve generation by the EXCEL tool (in French)

The criticality of a domain according to a criterion was calculated by averaging the ratings assigned by each evaluator. The calculation of different averages by modifying the value of the weighting coefficients made it possible to rank and sort the domains according to several parameters (overall criticality, by criterion, by evaluator, etc.). Other elements of analysis emerged from the table. Crossreferencing different data also facilitated the detection of evaluation biases. However, it was important to avoid systematically weighting the criteria, because, for wide-scale use, the sense of weightings was quickly lost and the criticality averages were no longer significant.

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Figure 2.11. Example of criticality by domain. For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

The advantages and disadvantages of automatic analysis are listed in Table 2.7. Advantages

Disadvantages

First global vision

Does not take into account discrepancies due, for example, to:

Less effort required

– the different interpretation of criteria from one expert to another

“Affordable”

– the level of interviewees’ know-how

A good basis for debate

– the position and role of experts (short/long-term vision, technical expert/manager)

Table 2.7. Advantages and disadvantages of automatic analysis

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Smoothing (dealing with discrepancies) Smoothing is an interpretation of the differences between the different experts. In this step, analysts had to: – take into account the position, role and level of know-how of the actors interviewed; – listen again to the recorded interviews. All significant differences were resolved by consensus. It was quite easy to obtain a score that was appropriate for all evaluators. 2.4.4.4. Cross-analysis Cross-analysis was an interpretation obtained on the basis of combinations of criteria and/or groups of criteria chosen in relation to the objectives of the criticality study. The aim was to highlight some specificities concerning, for example, current/future niches of expert knowledge, domains to be developed, very sensitive areas, etc. The methodology used to perform the cross-analysis can be seen using the following activity model (Figure 2.12).

Figure 2.12. Cross-analysis methodology

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Choice of relevant criteria for cross-analysis To perform the cross-analysis, it was first necessary to select the criteria and groups of criteria relevant to the objectives of the criticality study. Each criterion and group of criteria was defined in relation to its evaluation objective. Construction of relevant combinations for cross-analysis The aim here, based on the criteria and groups of criteria chosen for the cross-analysis, was to construct combinations that would make it possible to highlight specificities concerning the different fields of knowledge: for example, current/future niches of expert knowledge, the capacity for enhancement, the flexibility of some knowledge domains. Table 2.8 provides an illustration of groups and combinations of criteria. Criteria group

Evaluation objective

This group makes it possible to assess the degree Criteria group 3: nature of the knowledge of complexity of knowledge in the field. The criteria constituting it are as follows: depth complexity difficulty of appropriation tacit nature Criteria group 4: access to knowledge

This group assesses access to knowledge in the field through formal or informal sources. It is made up of three criteria: difficulty in identifying sources importance of tangible sources mobilization of networks

Combination nature versus access

The aim is to identify knowledge domains that require improved means for training and/or knowledge transfer

Table 2.8. Example of groups and combinations of criteria

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Qualitative/quantitative assessment of knowledge domains To analyze the different knowledge domains from the combinations of criteria/criteria groups constructed, we used the cross-analysis graphs (see Figure 2.13) that were automatically created by the Excel tool from the scores of each criteria group. 4,0 Prévision de la charge Alimentation de la charge

3,0

Attrait

Gestion des actifs Automatisation Production Privée

2,0

Architecture Connaissances Organisationnelles Connaissances équipements

1,0

Fiabilité Qualité de l'onde Champs électromagnétiques

0,0 0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

Nombre de détenteurs

Figure 2.13. Example of a knowledge domain assessment graph in French which represents attractiveness as a function of the number of holders

Results of the cross-analysis Using the different cross-analysis graphs, the objective was to list the knowledge domains concerned by the specificities sought through the combinations of criteria. The criticality analysis made it possible to carry out a strategic analysis of the institute’s knowledge, thanks to cross-analyses between some criteria. This cross analysis was represented by point plots whose coordinates were the respective scores for each criterion. Each graph was significant for a strategic analysis: – the value creation versus relevance graph showed the key domains with high potential; – the utility over the 10-year horizon versus difficulty in capturing knowledge graph showed the domains to be supported; – the rarity over the 10-year horizon versus difficulty in capturing knowledge graph showed the domains to be developed in partnership;

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– the utility over the 10-year horizon versus rarity over the 10-year horizon graph provided a vision of what IREQ’s knowledge domains could be in about 10 years’ time. Based on a summary table and for each combination of criteria, a more detailed analysis was made with recommendations/ways forward for improvement. Here is an extract (anonymized) from the summary table regarding the Hydro-Québec case. Domains of critical know-how

Emerging niches of know-how

High future added value

Risks of loss of There is a strong need to unique know- adapt training methods and how transfer

Domain A

X

X

X

Domain C

X

X

X

Table 2.9. Example of the results

An overview of the recommendations was proposed at the end to summarize the list of reflection axes to be investigated and actions to be taken, and thus propose improvement axes in the knowledge domain. 2.4.5. Conclusion Knowledge mapping is a new issue, the importance of which is growing with the need for knowledge management. The methodology and tools presented here have proven to be of interest and credibility. The project presented made it possible to identify a coherent approach and validate it. The foundations are now in place for new developments in mapping and criticality studies. The mapping tool is interesting in itself. In addition to the analysis of critical knowledge, it can be used as a portal to access knowledge capital, pointing, by domain, to the relevant persons, publications or documents.

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The criticality analysis performed as part of this project made it possible to: – develop a refined and highly reasoned strategic vision of all the areas of know-how developed by the institute; – put these areas in a perspective given by the parent company; – identify a large number of potential actions, often original, that could be carried out to enhance the value of all IREQ’s knowledge capital, ranging from the creation of communities of practice to the capitalization and modeling of various points of view on some knowledge domains. 2.5. The IPEN’s Radiopharmacy Center This section is based on the study written by R.I. Ricciardi, A.C.O. Barroso and Jean-Louis Ermine [RIC 06], and the article written by the same authors [RIC 11]. 2.5.1. Presentation of the study 2.5.1.1. History and background of the Radiopharmacy Center IPEN (Energy and Nuclear Research Institute) is the largest Brazilian Research Institute of the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). It has 1,200 employees, 65% of whom are researchers or engineers. Over the past 40 years, Brazil has developed a considerable amount of knowledge in the nuclear field through long-term investment in research and technology transfer. Today, as in many other countries, the nuclear sector is facing longterm problems due to a lack of research funding, weak support for public policy and a lack of interest from young students. As a result, this important body of knowledge is, to some extent, in decline, as its rates of use and dissemination are steadily declining. Moreover, it is not sufficiently renewed, since investment and the number of people involved in R&D have also decreased. Of course, with some notable exceptions in some specific applications, there is a high risk that knowledge will not be maintained. The Radiopharmacy Center was created, within IPEN, by transforming a research center into an industrial production center completed by some profit center elements. It has been certified according to ISO 9001/2000 standards and its mission is “to produce and distribute radiopharmaceutical

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products for nuclear medicine (diagnosis and therapy)”. Today, it is the most important entity of IPEN from a social and economic point of view, which provides some 300 hospitals and nuclear medicine clinics in Brazil, covering about 98% of demand for radiopharmaceuticals in the country. Geographically, 64% of demand is concentrated in the southeastern region, 14% in the south and northeastern regions, 6% and 2% respectively in the center-west and northern regions of Brazil. It should be noted that: – the center’s employees are public sector workers, where management autonomy is limited; – the production of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals is still a government monopoly in Brazil; – demand is increasing by 10% per year, but there has never been a shortage problem; – Figure 2.14 shows the IPEN organization chart, where the position of the Radiopharmacy Center can be seen.

Figure 2.14. IPEN’s organizational chart (in Portuguese). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

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The Radiopharmacy Center is structured into three departments: Production, Quality Control & Assurance and Research & Development of New Products (CRP, CRQ and CRPD respectively). The CRP department is divided into services dedicated to specific product lines or functions performed for production in general: primary radioisotopes and 99m Tc generator (technetium-99m), labeled compounds, lyophilized agents (kits) and support. 2.5.1.2. Knowledge problem at the Radiopharmacy Center The history and initial objectives of the Radiopharmacy Center have had a significant influence on its characteristics, particularly in terms of knowledge. In the past, due to IPEN’s mission, the center’s activities were focused solely on R&D in its area of interest (radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals). Staff focused on following new discoveries in this field and mastering its underlying procedures with a view to a possible future application of emerging technologies for the benefit of the Brazilian community. For these reasons, most efforts have consisted of seeking new technologies from other countries and adapting them to the reality of the country. For each product, much research and many experiments were carried out and many prototypes were tested until it was possible to produce them at the center. However, the circumstances that led the center to move from the configuration of a research center to that of a production center, by industrializing research results obtained in the laboratory, did not allow it to deal with the issues of its intellectual capital in advance. Over the past 15 years, the increase in demand for radiopharmaceutical production, with the degree of reliability required by customers, has led the center to adapt its organization to its new missions: staff have thus had to devote almost all their time to production activities. More recently, with the growth of the center’s facilities, the increase in its production and the diversification of its products, it has been necessary to increase the center’s personnel by encouraging internal transfers. However, the transferred persons did not have an initial training fully adapted to the needs of the center, nor did they have all the specific skills and capacities, as they came to the center before its transformation into a production center.

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Nowadays, however, it can be said that almost all employees master the major knowledge and skills required, which they have acquired through training or on the job. By analyzing this historical context and keeping in mind the initial vocation of research, it is clear that the center has built up a large knowledge capital related to the R&D of current products. Many of the researchers responsible for most of the projects that have produced this knowledge are still working at the center. Some of this knowledge has also been structured and codified through ISO certification. However, a very large proportion remains unstructured, some knowledge may be explicit (personal notes, scientific publications), but most remains tacit in the minds of researchers and engineers, some of whom are very close to retirement age. It can be said that there is a significant amount of knowledge that is at high risk of being lost, at least partially. This characteristic is, to some extent, common to research centers that have not been concerned about the management of their knowledge, even though they have subsequently become production centers. Most procedures involving production, quality control and radiation protection are included in the quality assurance system’s operational procedures and work instructions reference document and are available at the operator’s workplace, online or offline. This set of documents constitutes a substantial part of an “Organizational Memory” (OM), describing in the form of operational procedures “what is done in CR” and “how it is done”. However, the essential part (which corresponds to the “why and how it is done”) is neither formalized nor recorded, whereas it is very important that it appears in this organizational memory: it is necessary to record, in a didactic and objective way, the knowledge and reasons why the procedures have evolved towards their current form, the reasons why the products in the current portfolio have been developed, without forgetting the tracking of technological developments with the reasons for the choices made. It should be noted that there does not appear to be any barriers among staff to sharing knowledge, although this sharing usually occurs informally and on demand. In addition to its production departments, the center has recently created an R&D department in charge of developing new radioisotopes and radiopharmaceutical components. This department must also contribute to the development of improvements and modifications to production activities, which are always under the control of production personnel. To accelerate the interaction between R&D and production, it is vital to define and

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implement a KM action plan, which would facilitate the systematized documentation and collection of all the knowledge created. Such initiatives would transform organizational memory into an active reference document and a very useful tool for organizational learning, which would also reduce the time required to develop improvements and modifications. This analysis reveals the main axes where knowledge management would bring significant gains. To do this, the identification and evaluation of knowledge is a prerequisite. 2.5.2. The progress of the KM project A five-phase approach was adapted for this pilot project. An internal analysis was first carried out to identify and understand the main procedures. The second phase consisted of identifying the knowledge underlying these procedures (enabling knowledge) and their depositaries, according to the two phases proposed by [BAR 01] and used by [SIL 02]. The third phase involved the organization of this knowledge in a knowledge map-based representation. The fourth phase consisted of a criticality analysis based on a set of selected criteria adapted to the center’s context. The last phase used the previous results to propose a KM action plan adapted for the center. 2.5.2.1. Analysis of procedures The objective of this analysis was to better understand the foundations of operational procedures and their interfaces. The identification of knowledge was achieved through a study of the center’s procedures and their underlying activities. Various additional means were used: the review and analysis of the documentation, interviews with management, writing summaries and validation with experts. The procedures define how input data are processed and how existing resources are used to carry out the organization’s missions. In fact, this work was facilitated by the extensive documentation developed as part of ISO certification: the internal logic of the procedures and their interfaces was already studied from the perspective of information flows.

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The procedures of the Radiopharmacy Center were described in a classic way using flow diagrams. Macro-procedures were identified from the quality assurance system documentation (integrated management standards, operational procedures, work instructions and other documents) and then broken down into procedures in their respective activities. 2.5.2.2. Identification of the knowledge underlying the procedures Once the center’s procedures were well understood, a discussion with the actors of these procedures helped to more accurately identify what knowledge and operational skills were necessary and sufficient to achieve the appropriate outcome of each procedure. This detailed analysis made it possible to build table-relating processes, linking procedures, activities and knowledge (with some additional product information). This pilot project focused mainly on production and R&D procedures, but ultimately few secondary procedures were excluded. For reasons of confidentiality, the detailed results of this detailed analysis cannot be reproduced here. 2.5.2.3. Creating the knowledge map The construction of the knowledge map began with a central node that corresponded to the main purpose of the organization. Then came a set of axes from this node, each representing a strategic knowledge theme, usually associated with one of the main missions. Depending on the level of detail that was desired, the main axes may have given rise to secondary axes representing sub-themes, these branches representing the knowledge domains. The center’s knowledge domain map was represented using eight diagrams. The first provided an overview of the main axes or strategic knowledge themes, as follows: planning, production, R&D, quality, radiation protection and specific procedures; plus a support axis (standards and regulations). The other seven were used to detail the domains belonging to each of the main axes down to the domain or subdomain level. Figure 2.15 shows the general view of the map of the Radiopharmacy Center’s knowledge domains. Figure 2.16 shows the map of the knowledge domains of the production theme.

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Figure 2.15. The Radiopharmacy Center’s knowledge map

Figure 2.16. Production theme knowledge map

2.5.2.4. Criticality analysis In this project, an analysis model was created, based on the work of the Club Gestion des Connaissances, using evaluation criteria aligned with the organization’s objectives and needs. Two criteria were used to assess the relevance of the knowledge domains: – quality and complexity of knowledge; – importance related to the organization’s strategic objectives. Three criteria were selected for the vulnerability assessment: – difficulty in acquiring knowledge;

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– sharing knowledge capacity in the context of the Radiopharmacy Center; – rarity of knowledge. A three-level scale (0, 1.5 and 3) was used for each criterion. Scheduled questionnaires and interviews were used for the analysis. The experts to be involved in the evaluation were selected based on their leadership, experience and competence in the field of the knowledge being evaluated. The score (relevance or vulnerability) was the average of the scores for each individual criterion. A knowledge domain was considered critical if its score was greater than or equal to 1.5 and at least one of the criteria was scored 3. About 30% of the domains were classified as critical. The themes of the knowledge map presenting critical knowledge were production, planning, specific processes and R&D. For example, Table 2.10 details the result of sub-themes of the production theme. The fields and subdomains of knowledge were mentioned, with the identification of those considered critical H = High, A = Average, H/A = Average/High, etc. Critical knowledge in CR Preparation of cyclotron irradiation Preparation of irradiation reactor Splitting of radioactive material Separation of impurities Dilution (calculations) Dissolution of radioactive material Marking with radioactive elements Purification Preparation of reagent conjugation for lyophilization Lyophilization Preparation of alumina internal columns Molybdenum splitting Shipment of molybdenum in alumina internal columns Celas or glove-box cleaning

Nature H H/A H/A H H/A H/A H H H H H/A A H/A H/A

Vulnerability Results H H H/A H/A H/A H/A H H A H/A A A H/A H H/A H H H H H H H/A H/A A H/A H/A A A

Table 2.10. Critical knowledge domains of the production theme

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2.5.2.5. Strategic analysis We used the Radiopharmacy Center’s strategic plan and attempted to identify and classify its main strategic functions: the strategic objectives were grouped according to their common objectives and listed in these functions. Figure 2.17 shows the Radiopharmacy Center’s strategic map, comprising the main strategic axes (representing the strategic functions), from which the sub-axes describing the strategic objectives of each function were derived. The content of the maps was validated by the Radiopharmacy Center’s Management, in charge of preparing the strategic plan. to sustain the position of main market supplier to carry out the R&D program to keep technicaly updated to develop new products to keep the researchs for nationalize imported products

to keep production of products in the catalog to produce new products developed from P&D

PRODUCTS

RESEARCH & DESELOPMENT

to meet demand to increase income proportionally do the increase in production

to disseminate knowledge from P&D to offer undergraduate and graduate courses at IPEN

to maintain customer satisfaction

TEACHING CLIENTS

to keep the number of HR personnel and specializations to increase specialized personnel on GMP

HUMAN RESOURCES

to offer on the job training program to implement Security and Environment Management

to increase production of current products

CR

to cut down non-compliance issues to maintain non-compliance number above to 0,2% to implement Good Manufacturing Practices - GMP

REGULATIONS REQUIREMENTS

to obtain product certification and registry from ANVISA to obtain a licence for handling radiative elements from CNEN

SOCIETY AND ENVIRONMENT QUALITY MANAGEMENT

to maintain ISO certification

Figure 2.17. Map of the Radiopharmacy Center’s strategy

2.5.2.6. Identification of the Radiopharmacy Center’s strategic skills This step was carried out through interviews with two senior managers of the Radiopharmacy Center, so that we could have a truly managerial and strategic vision of the organization. The head of the R&D department assessed the research and development strategic axis because of his in-depth knowledge of all the center’s research projects. The head of the Quality Assurance department, who assessed the other strategic axes, was chosen because of his participation in the formulation of the Radiopharmacy Center’s strategic plan and his in-depth knowledge of the center in general.

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We used the strategic map and the knowledge map. For each strategic objective of each strategic function (Strategy Map sub axis), we developed a summary list of existing knowledge for each axis of the knowledge domain map, in order to identify the knowledge considered strategic and to assess the importance of its contribution to the achievement of the objective. We also identified knowledge that did not exist in the center, but was considered strategic and therefore needed to be developed or acquired. To assess the strategic importance of the identified knowledge domains (for existing knowledge as well as for knowledge to be developed or acquired), we used a three-level scale associated with High (H), Average (A) and Low (L) strategic relevance. The knowledge domains rated H or A were taken into account for the cross-analysis. 2.5.2.7. Cross-analysis The results of the strategic analysis and the “criticality” analysis were cross-analyzed, revealing knowledge that was both strategic and considered critical to the development of its processes and operational activities. To do this, we used a color code (Table 2.11).

Table 2.11. Color code used for cross-analysis (source: [RIC 11]). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

Table 2.12. provides some results for the strategic R&D function. It shows both strategic and critical knowledge that influenced the achievement of the objectives of the strategic R&D function.

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AXIS

Production technology

Logical medical processes and BPF

Planning

CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE

Preparation of the White p Irradiation Cyclotron Preparation of the White p Irradiation in the Reactor Splitting of Radioactive Material Separation of Impurities Dilution (calculations) Dissolution of Radioative Material Marking with Radioactive Elements Purification Preparation of Conj. P Lyophilization Reagents Lyophilization Preparation of Internal Alumina Columns Splitting of Molybdene Movement of the wheel in Internal Alumina Columns Eluision Celas or Glove-Box cleaning Manipulation of Radioactive Elements in Cells Preparation of Classified Environments (clean Rooms)

CRITICALITY COEFFICIENT A A MA MA MA A A A MA M M A A A A A A MA MA M M MA MA MA MA M M MA MA M M

Control

Contamination management for Injectable Manipulation

M M

A

A A MA MA M M M M A A M M MA MA A A

M M M M M M M A

R&D

A

M M

A

Determination of Radionuclear Impurities

MA MA

A

Déeermination of Chemical Impurities

MA MA

A

Chromatography

MA MA

A

Management of Final Product Samples

M M

A

Management of Raw Material Samples

M M

A

Splitting Management of Injectables

M M

Management of Clean Rooms

MA MA

A

A A

A

Improvements and Modifications in Je le - 99 - Tc99m Generator Production

ST

A A A

M M

Technical Specification Estimation of Annual Volume Raw Material Conference Transport Management Systems Development Design and Assembly Project Process Validation Study of Biodistribution

IND CRI

A A A A A A A A A A A A A

Contamination management in the Manipulation of Principal Matter

Determination of Pyrogene

Quality

COEFFICIENT OF STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE

Table 2.13. Results of the cross-analysis for the strategic R&D function. For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

2.5.2.8. Development of a KM action plan The identification, mapping and analysis that were carried out as part of this project provided a clear understanding of the critical knowledge domains, their criticality level and the reasons for their criticality. This resulted in a short list of adapted actions, as mentioned below: – creation of a knowledge base (video and audio) with critical specificities on procedures (critical topic: production); – creation of a “problems and solutions” database (critical theme: production); – launch of a “Le Centre enseigne au Centre” program – training and tutoring sessions (critical theme: production); – launch of a virtual community of practice (critical theme: production); – launch of an internal contamination control program and best manufacturing practices (critical theme: specific procedures); – launch of a KM-oriented functional development program (all themes); – building an organizational memory (critical theme: R&D); – creation of a knowledge portal (all themes).

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2.6. Sonatrach This section is based on the study written by Djilali Benmahamed and Jean-Louis Ermine [BEN 06]. This study is based on a practical application in Sonatrach, which was funded by the company. The part of this study presented here concerns the strategic analysis of knowledge. The section describing the elements of a business expertise transfer strategy for the Sonatrach oil group will be presented in Chapter 4 on knowledge transfer and sharing. 2.6.1. Introduction Sonatrach is an Algerian company engaged in research, exploitation, pipeline transport, processing and sales of hydrocarbons and their derivatives. It is also active in other sectors such as electricity production, new and renewable energies and seawater desalination. Its activities represent about 30% of Algeria’s GDP. It employs more than 120,000 people. The organizational principles and operating logics adopted by the Sonatrach group structure its activity around its core business, with a strengthening of the general management’s capacities in terms of strategic development, effective decentralization and simplification of its operations. The Sonatrach group’s general management launched the knowledge management project as a strategic project. This project was based on a global vision of the company (supported by the general management) as well as on local, concrete actions aimed at producing significant profits in the short term. It aimed to preserve the strategic potential of the knowledge acquired over the years, which remains tacit among its holders. The knowledge mapping studies initiated during the first stages of the project constituted the backbone of a future observation of the Sonatrach group’s experiences. Similarly, knowledge management has proven to be a powerful and indispensable tool for the future Sonatrach Corporate University.

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Our research first aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of a capitalization approach in the oil industry, as well as to describe the conditions for success in such environments. The reusing of the strategy and devices and their deployment throughout the group was one of the company’s expectations. Our exploratory study focused on the operational activities within Sonatrach, in particular the upstream activity (research, exploitation and production of hydrocarbons). It seemed more appropriate to us to focus it on this activity, given the size and complexity of the company. We therefore decided to limit ourselves to targeted knowledge by choosing a structure that constituted a nodal point and an essential upstream activity, involving strategic and critical know-how: the PED (Petroleum Engineering & Development) department. 2.6.2. Method used The central principle of the method was to identify the most relevant professional knowledge and practices and then formalize them into models. Our experimental work brought into play: – group work sessions involving people involved in a discussion on a particular topic; – individual interviews with about 20 people involved in the various procedures (business knowledge actors); – interviews with management to clarify elements of the strategy; – reading the reference documents. Of the knowledge actors surveyed, 80% had an average of 20 years’ experience in their field of competence with highly qualified professional profiles. The interviews and group work sessions took place in the PED department and in Sonatrach’s general management. During the interviews, some support tools were used (such as knowledge criticality evaluation grids, profile cards, recordings, etc.) as well as interview techniques. The fact that the interviewees worked for the company facilitated contacts and interviews. During the group work sessions, we used brainstorming techniques to help the group converge their points of view, with projections (video projector) to enable higher levels of sharing of

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information. Once formalized, all the results were validated with the participants. 2.6.3. Strategic analysis 2.6.3.1. Sonatrach’s strategy map The company’s strategy map was developed to prepare for strategic alignment. This alignment aimed to align the knowledge management strategy to be introduced with the company’s strategy, particularly in terms of business knowledge. After a number of meetings, interviews and readings of background documents, we extracted a number of contextual factors that represented parameters for Sonatrach’s strategy. The current context not only implies an increasingly competitive situation, but also offers different opportunities, such as the possibility to exploit gas–electricity convergence or to export gas to markets with high prices and/or low reserves. This is therefore both a strategic element for the Sonatrach group (aimed at improving its exploration strategy and consolidating its reserve potential) and capital (competitive positioning, flexibility in natural gas/liquefied natural gas, possibility of rapidly increasing production, etc.). At the end of this first phase, we obtained a consolidation of the Sonatrach group’s business objectives. This analysis is represented in the form of a “strategy map” (Figure 2.18), which can be summarized as follows: 1) Development of the level of reserves (discoveries and re-estimations); 2) Production targets of 1.5 million barrels per day in 2010; 3) Target of 85 Gm3 of natural gas exports per year by 2010; 4) Improvement of liquefied petroleum gas and condensate; 5) Optimal use of refining, distribution and petrochemical assets; 6) Seeking partnerships to reduce risks; 7) International development on all segments of the chain.

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Figure 2.18. Sonatrach strategy map

2.6.3.2. The PED department, a significant source of strategic knowhow The Petroleum Engineering & Development (PED) department, which operates in almost the entire E&P (Engineering and Production) value chain, is the upstream entity that manages the widest variety of petrotechnical data. One of its main roles is to collect and store relevant data generated by other departments. This position places the PED department at the center of interactions with various entities in the upstream activity. Thus, the PED must fulfill missions such as: – basic engineering studies and definition of development options in each field; – planning and surveillance of operations (drilling and workover) and production; – technical surveillance and implementation of new techniques (“short radius”, horizontal drilling, etc.); – design and definition of development and exploitation plans for the deposits (operated by Sonatrach and in association); – realization of technical and economic studies to develop existing or discovered reserves;

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– evaluation of reserves in all oil fields throughout Algeria, preparation of production and injection forecasts based on the reserve situation, the level of development of the oil fields and the capacity of the facilities; – evaluation of opportunities for the acquisition and development of capital, through own efforts and/or project partnerships in Algeria and other countries. The PED department is a nodal structure and very important for the upstream activity within Sonatrach. It constitutes an important source of strategic know-how. This amply justifies the choice of this department to test this research project. 2.6.3.3. Strategic skills of the PED department The Sonatrach strategy map (Figure 2.19) has been detailed for the PED department. Using these results, we tried to highlight the skills that correspond to the vision of the managers of the PED department. We facilitated several meetings and interviews to develop the strategic skills map in the PED department. Figure 2.19 illustrates the results. Optimal valorization of feed-stocks by developing transformation capabilities Maintenance capabilities for oil pipes Non-invasive diagnosis of oil tanks

Pursue the rehabilitation of the current production capacity

Petrochemical

Modeling the production process

Conclude the rehabilitation of the current capacity to produce Added value analysis of different scenarios Etc.

Optimal valorization of the crude oil through arbitrations between export of the crude oil or refined products

Refined products

Figure 2.19. Strategic skills of the PED department (example). For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

This set of skills is linked to the domain strategy and identifies core business skills. The strategic analysis highlighted the strategic skills required to achieve the company’s objectives. One of the main factors for the success of a knowledge management approach is the active participation of knowledge actors, who remain the fundamental resources of any operational knowledge management system. However, the strategic vision is not sufficient to ensure the success of the

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method. It is essential to cross-analyze this strategic vision with that of the actors in the field of business knowledge. This is in fact the objective of the next step. 2.6.4. Analysis of professional knowledge 2.6.4.1. Professional knowledge map and criticality analysis We chose the criticality grid developed by the Club Gestion des Connaissances. Once the map of the knowledge domains was set up, we estimated these criteria for each professional knowledge domain. 2.6.4.2. Results During this phase, our contacts were professional experts from the PED department. The principle adopted was to group the various activities into knowledge domains, to structure them by means of a critical representation, then to complete and validate with these experts, in an iterative manner, the map thus being produced. The progress of the map development followed the pace of the interviews. The interviewees’ ownership of the issue gradually increased. The different versions of the maps were validated. This iterative validation took the form of a co-construction to ensure ownership by the interviewees. Once this step was completed, we obtained the map shown in Figure 2.20.

Figure 2.20. Knowledge map of the PED department

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This map represents a description of the know-how of the PED department at the macroscopic level. It provides a system for addressing know-how to facilitate access. On the basis of this map, a criticality study was carried out. The criticality assessment of a domain consists of assigning a score based on each criterion of the analysis grid for each domain: the more critical the domain, the higher the score. Each area was assessed independently of the others. The results for each domain were summarized graphically in a Kiviat diagram (Figure 2.21).

Figure 2.21. Knowledge criticality diagram of the “Reservoir Modeling” theme. For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/saulais/knowledge.zip

The results of this criticality study allowed us to establish a new map, in which the most critical areas were identified by color coding (red, orange and green). This visualization was very useful when we presented it to the general management. It has the advantage of being simple and easy to trace, in the sense that any element can be justified by a complete analysis file (verbatim of interviews, scoring system, summary notes, Kiviat diagrams, etc.).

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At this stage, we obtained two results: – a strategic skills map involving the general management, obtained on the basis of the analysis of the company’s strategy; – a map of critical professional knowledge, obtained by an analysis involving the technical managers of the units. Without being contradictory, these two maps represent different points of view. The next step, strategic alignment, aims to synthesize these two points of view. 2.6.4.3. Strategic alignment Comparing critical professional knowledge and strategic skills involved matching the results shown in Figure 2.19 with those shown in Figure 2.20. To achieve this, we proposed a two-level cross-analysis. Domains

Geophysics

Geology

Economy

Reservoir engineering

Hydrocarbon reserves

X

Production

X

Drilling, exploration and seismic activity Call for tenders for exploration blocks

X

X

Production engineering

X X

X Table 2.14. Cross-analysis: first level

A first filter on the main branches of the two maps made it possible to link the professional knowledge domains to strategic skill domains. Table 2.15 provides this first level of our cross-analysis. In the second step, each identified link (highlighted by an X in Table 2.15) could be analyzed by exploiting the main branch breakdown in the maps. Below is an example of an analysis of the links between “Reservoir Engineering” versus “Hydrocarbon Reserves”, which is shown in Table 2.15. From a qualitative point of view, the results represent professional knowledge identified as critical by operational managers and meeting the skills required by the strategy.

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Hyd. Res. Reservoir management

Reservoir surveillance

Petrophysics

Res. Eng. PVT

X

Reservoir simulation

X

EOR-assisted recovery

X

Reservoir management

X

Well tests

X

X

X

Table 2.15. Cross-analysis: second level

Remember that we were only interested here in the most critical professional knowledge. It was therefore necessary to weight the analysis by the knowledge criticality factor. Thus, in this example, the know-how appearing on the last line was not taken into account, because it was not critical. Lines 1 to 4 represent both critical know-how and strategic skills, but it is only line 2 that represents critical know-how involved in the maximum number of strategic skills. Our analysis then made it possible to select “reservoir simulation” as the most critical know-how as it best meets strategic requirements. 2.6.5. Conclusion All the critical know-how selected is reliable and verifiable, because it is the traceable result of a global methodology (strategic mapping, knowledge mapping, criticality analysis, strategic alignment, etc.) involving all the company’s stakeholders. It makes it possible to discriminate between knowledge within very important initial knowledge capital (the case study retained 15% of the knowledge initially identified), on the basis of objective criteria open to discussion. The criticality analysis revealed the very tacit nature of a large number of professional skills.

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2.7. Lessons learned from the four case studies In a knowledge-based economy, it is crucial for organizations to control their knowledge capital. However, in reality, it often happens that these organizations have a very limited view of the knowledge they have internally and its importance in the strategy. We have seen through the examples in this chapter how to overcome this deficit with a few simple tools, even though they require a significant investment from some of the organization’s stakeholders. The proposed approach (called MASK II) is based on three tools: a strategic map that highlights the objectives expected of the organization’s operational services (now called the operational objectives map), a knowledge domain map (or knowledge map) that visibly represents the knowledge capital present in the organization but a priori invisible and a criticality analysis grid, which makes it possible to evaluate the knowledge domains, the operational objectives, to align the two evaluations and to deduce the appropriate actions to implement for the most critical domains. This approach, adapted to each particular case, has been validated in many operational cases, in many companies and in various countries.

3 Capitalizing on the Organization’s Knowledge

3.1. Articulation of Chapter 3 The purpose of this chapter is to conceptually and practically explore one aspect of the second step of the knowledge management virtuous circle described in Chapter 1, which is dedicated to capitalizing on the organization’s knowledge. In section 3.2, we recall the main concepts of these capitalization operations. The practical exploration of knowledge capitalization will then be carried out through case studies of the INRS (section 3.3), code systems (section 3.4) and IRSN (section 3.5) respectively. Section 3.6 summarizes the lessons learned from these three case studies on capitalizing on the organization’s knowledge. 3.2. Introduction to knowledge capitalization An organization’s knowledge is a real asset that must be managed as well as possible. It is often interesting to make this wealth tangible in terms of information, i.e. to make the knowledge capital visible. Increased visibility in terms of knowledge capital has many advantages. This seems obvious with regard to the objectives of knowledge management: capitalization (in the non-economic sense, close to “memorization”), sharing (better

Knowledge Management in Innovative Companies 1: Understanding and Deploying a KM Plan within a Learning Organization, First Edition. Pierre Saulais and Jean-Louis Ermine. © ISTE Ltd 2019. Published by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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transmission, especially on a larger scale), what is visible and creation, particularly in interaction with flows from the environment. There are many approaches that can improve visibility of knowledge capital. One of the most common is to work on the concept of information capital, which is already tangible. This is the lineage of new information technologies, with electronic document management, Intranet search engines, data warehouses, data mining, big data, etc. Another approach is to work on your organization, focusing on cooperative relationships between actors (which also brings relatively few gains in visibility). This is the lineage of communities (community of practice, knowledge, etc.), tools such as “groupware”. A further approach is to structure this knowledge capital in terms of skills, professions, etc., and another one is to organize the partial transcription of capital (quality assurance, feedback, writings, etc.). In short, the toolbox is very broad and all these approaches are often used in an interlocking way. However, they have one common characteristic: they do not address the problem of knowledge in a specific way, but through a means that is quickly assimilated to knowledge itself (knowledge/information, knowledge/skill, know-how/procedure, etc., to mention only the most common ones). For some of them, they lead to hasty solutions, which may be inappropriate, for example with a very instrumental vision (the massive and thundering arrival of new information technologies is no stranger to this phenomenon). We can try to take a different approach by raising the problem of the content of knowledge capital when knowledge is tacit. This requires answering two questions: what is the nature of this knowledge? How can we capture and share this knowledge? The first question is theoretical in nature; the second is an engineering question. The answer to these questions makes it possible to envisage a strategic operation of knowledge capitalization over a part on knowledge capital, which was previously analyzed as critical. The MASK method (“Method for Analyzing and Structuring Knowledge”) has its own capitalization method (called MASK I), which is based on previous work [ERM 93] and was first applied to the CEA (Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique) in 1993 [LEB 94]. It has since been tested on large-scale projects and is used or has been evaluated by a large number of companies or various kinds of organizations, including SMEs or public bodies, in France and other countries. It is a method of collecting tacit knowledge from interviews with experts or specialists (“academics”) which

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leads to a formalization of this knowledge in a form symbolically called a “Knowledge Book”. It is this method that will be mainly illustrated here. Knowledge books are a collection of strategic knowledge that is intended to gather and represent a company’s strategic knowledge, particularly that which may be critical, because of its tacit component. The main purposes of a knowledge book can be defined as follows: – to memorize the knowledge, detailed functional processes and knowhow, representing the “state of the art” and the history of a profession in key areas, thus avoiding the loss or dilution of strategic knowledge by structuring their formal capitalization; – to be a working tool that facilitates the reuse of effective solutions in other contexts and the creation of new knowledge, particularly for knowhow, studies and research, thus contributing to increasing their relevance; – to provide a concrete and structured basis for updating and further enrichment following the evolution of knowledge in the field; – to provide a basis for self-training for learning about new areas of knowledge; – to be a material for dialogue and exchange, especially to strengthen inter-service transversality in a professional area. The knowledge contained in each knowledge book is modeled from a professional activity perspective. The books are therefore focused on the contribution to activities and integrate the contributions of different sectors into the subject of the knowledge book. Moreover, knowledge is a complex and evolving system. It is necessary to model it in order to be able to represent, store, transform and reuse it. This raises the question of its representation in its entirety, its constituent subsystems, its purposes and its evolution. It is therefore necessary to choose a modeling method that meets these objectives, based on a scientific approach to the representation of complex systems. It must be easy for engineers and technicians to use and easily adaptable to the company’s context so that everyone can use it to contribute to the capitalization of strategic knowledge. The uniqueness of the method is an important element to facilitate visibility and strengthen the process of knowledge appropriation.

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The MASK I method meets all the requirements described above. It is applied to the production of each knowledge book. When it comes to representing and clarifying knowledge to write a book (in the broad sense), the first reflex is to use what will be called a method of knowledge transcription: some tacit knowledge can be explained simply, by transcribing it, in a more or less structured way. However, this method has well-known limitations: – it leads to an accumulation of texts in which one ends up losing oneself; – the documents produced are difficult to reuse for other purposes; – transcription does not provide a general or sufficiently rich vision of knowledge. A second type of approach to explaining knowledge is knowledge modeling: some knowledge can be explained using modeling tools. Modeling is in fact an activity practiced by many people who very often illustrate their achievements with structured explanatory diagrams. However, these are always ad hoc, specific and often hand-made. MASK streamlines this type of activity by providing modeling tools that are applicable to all domains, that correspond to very general thought patterns and with which everyone can identify. A model is built from a “graphic language” (i.e. with drawing rules) that allows us to draw diagrams. It is therefore always richer and more explanatory than a transcribed text. It provides an instant and global view. It is a fundamental tool for communicating knowledge if it is intuitive to build and read. We can model knowledge: – either by observing the systems studied and making a formal (physical mathematics, automatic, etc.) or semi-formal (functional analysis, systems analysis, etc.) model; – either by directly questioning the “sources of knowledge” (essentially experts and specialists or a corpus of documents that are analyzed) or by implementing specific representation techniques; this is how the MASK method works.

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A knowledge domain cannot be reduced to a single model, because it has many dimensions. We cannot represent with the same symbolism knowledge about activities, skills, knowledge about history, etc. Hence, there are always several types of models in a knowledge book. Having a relevant and global vision of a field of knowledge raises a priori issues: size (“too big”) and assimilation time (“too slow”). Splitting it into sub-parts and simplifying it is not possible without losing information. This is the problem of complexity. MASK I enables the control of these problems by providing a number of models to create a knowledge book, according to a number of necessary and sufficient points of view: – complexity control is achieved by analyzing any field of knowledge from different points of view, thus giving relevant inputs to a system that is a priori very difficult to address; – all the points of view are naturally recomposed into a coherent whole when reading the knowledge book, thus restoring to the readers the global vision sought; – because of the intuitive nature of the models used, this vision is both simple and evocative and allows the concerned readers to distinguish between all of them and increase their skills in the field, in one way or another (learning, creativity, etc.). In the MASK I method, up to six models are used (at most), which describe six different perspectives to understand a knowledge domain: – the fundamental, scientific, technical or other knowledge, which is the very basis of the knowledge domain, is represented by phenomena models or domain models, which we seek to control in an expert activity, either to promote or inhibit them; – knowledge about the conduct of the expert activity is represented by activity models. It is a breakdown into major phases (sub-activities) of the professional activity considered, these major phases being articulated between them by exchanges of data, flows, materials, etc. This is a top-down “functional” analysis, where each activity is hierarchically broken down into lower-level sub-activities;

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– the particular and remarkable know-how related to the activities is represented by task models. It is a representation of the strategy implemented to solve the problem(s) that arise in specific cases concerning the knowledge system under consideration; – the concepts manipulated in the expert activity under consideration are modeled using concept models. They reflect an expert’s conceptual structure, a person accustomed to working in a specific field. This structuring is given in the form of a classification of the concepts and objects of the domain; – the evolution of the field of knowledge, placed in its scientific, technical, social and other context, is represented by history models. It is therefore a question of integrating the evolution of a knowledge, a concept and an object into a contextual system that explains this evolution and allows a global understanding of the guidelines that have brought a knowledge to its current state; – another point of view for understanding the evolution of the field of knowledge over time is to reconstruct the “family tree” of solutions that have been designed in the field, indicating the justifications that have led to the transition from one generation to another. It is the model of lineages. A more detailed description is given in [ERM 18a]. The examples given in this chapter will illustrate the method. 3.3. The case of INRS: a consulting approach to improve safety when using woodworking machines This section is based on the article written by Nada Matta, Jean Louis Ermine, Gérard Aubertin, Jean-Yves Trivin [MAT 02] and internal INRS documents. INRS (Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité), created in 1947 under the aegis of the Caisse Nationale de l’Assurance Maladie des travailleurs salariés, is a French non-profit association placed under the supervision of the State according to the law of July 1, 1901. Its purpose is to contribute technically, by all appropriate means, to the improvement of occupational safety and health, as well as to the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases.

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INRS is managed by a joint Board of Directors made up of representatives of employers and trade unions. Its statutes, its ethical commitments, and also the scientific and technical independence to which its experts are subject, guarantee its impartiality and credibility. In 2018, INRS had 580 employees (209 in Paris and 371 in Lorraine) with a wide range of skills: engineers, doctors, researchers, trainers, lawyers and information specialists. Based on two sites (Paris and Lorraine), it offers tools and services adapted to: – business leaders and employees; – preventive workers in companies (CHSCT members, safety managers, etc.); – occupational physicians (and occupational health services), other prevention actors (occupational risk insurance network, labor inspectorate, technical centers, IPRP, etc.). The INRS is at the heart of the prevention system in occupational health and safety in France. 3.3.1. Introduction INRS decided to conduct a knowledge capitalization operation based on the knowledge book method with the team in charge of woodwork machine safety. This approach was carried out in agreement with the team concerned and on the occasion of the retirement of its manager, whose rare know-how had to be formalized, preserved and shared, in order to enable the team’s activities to continue. Several objectives were pursued: – to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to the person responsible for carrying on the activity; – to highlight the different components of the team’s know-how and the complexity of its activity; – to facilitate reflection to improve consultancy activity;

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– to place the evolution of knowledge in perspective over time, in order to better anticipate future developments; – to develop a tool for sharing and communicating knowledge outside the team. In wood industries, machine categories are used throughout the supply chain, from the first processing stage where, from the basic material, wood and semi-finished products (sawing, panels, veneer, etc.) are produced for use in secondary wood processing industries to produce finished products. The very nature of the materials themselves and the high cutting speeds of the tools can explain many accidents to the hands and/or those related to work organization. Tool failures can also lead to serious or even fatal accidents at work. The knowledge book capitalizes on several aspects of woodworking machine safety: – Dangers associated with woodworking machines Hazard phenomena are either potential hazardous events or risks that have already resulted in personal accidents in similar cases. They are mechanical and electrical in most of the woodworking machines covered in this knowledge book. Technological developments can lead to dangerous situations, particularly through the uncontrolled use of electronic components in the design of control circuits leading to conducted or radiated disturbances in the operation of these circuits. – The classification of woodworking machines This classification is based on the categories of machines processed by INRS in recent years: it is not, however, fully representative of the total number of machines in wood industries. For each machine category, the list of the most common hazard phenomena is associated. – Analysis of an undesirable event submitted to the INRS The INRS has a technical expert role in providing technical recommendations or advice whenever it receives a request about an undesired hazardous event related to an incident or accident on a woodworking machine. The process responds to a request from the client that needs to be reformulated. Once the request is framed, the analysis is

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carried out on the category of the machine, its use at the time of the undesired event, the intervention on the machine alone, its use or both. The conclusions must reflect a clear and precise analysis that makes it possible to provide recommendations on modifications to be made to the machine and/or its use. Advice may also suggest further investigation of the undesired event by conducting an on-site analysis before making these recommendations. – History of INRS’ involvement in the safety of woodworking machines History can be established from 1970 when INRS (mainly through the staff of its Lorraine center) was involved in the design of test benches to verify the effectiveness and reliability of marketed protective devices and sat on the Commission d’Homologation du Ministère du Travail, a commission part of the Ministry of Labor. This knowledge book focuses on a reading guided by the representation of the activity (the consulting approach). Links direct the reading to other types of representation, such as know-how corresponding to particular activities (particular know-how), knowledge useful for the proper performance of an activity (hazardous phenomena), etc. 3.3.2. Analysis of a reported incident or accident on a woodworking machine The analysis of an undesired event is carried out in three steps from the receipt of the processing request: – reporting and information, to review the request and make additional requests; – technical analysis of the undesired event, including a technical-legal analysis and the development of technical recommendations. This is the most expert phase that requires real know-how (Figure 3.1); – conclusion of the processing, which is the sending of the report to the client after internal approval. The processing is represented by a MASK I activity model, representing the three steps. The model shown in Figure 3.1 details one of these steps.

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Figure 3.1. Technical analysis of the undesired event

The processing of a request requires special know-how: – legal and technical analysis. This consists of reviewing the regulatory texts applicable to the: – manufacturer of the machine when it has been put into service in new condition (importance of knowledge of the year of manufacture and that of its commissioning); – company manager using this machine at the time of reporting the undesired event. Knowledge of these shared regulatory obligations makes it possible to guide, according to the question asked, the points on which it is first necessary to focus on the analysis of the event, in order to then be able to guide the safety recommendations to be developed by the company manager who may also be led to: – replace the manufacturer to have his machine modified under his responsibility or have it destroyed;

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– better fulfill its obligations as a company manager in the organization of work and in the training of its employees to provide them with safe production processes; – develop technical recommendations. This task requires that the data of the problem be well assimilated and that it be possible to distinguish between what is machine related and what is operating mode related. These recommendations aim to find elements to suggest an improvement in the (potentially) dangerous situation. A preference for machine modifications is to be noted. Recommendations should be suggestions rather than statements: INRS can help to solve the problem without having the responsibility to take direct corrective action in the field. Legal-technical analysis and the development of technical recommendations are described in the knowledge book by detailing expert strategies to successfully carry out these tasks. They use a MASK I task model. An example is shown in Figure 3.2.

Figure 3.2. Comparison of regulatory obligations and device

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3.3.3. The dangers of woodworking machines Dangers can be mechanical (cutting, crushing, burning, ejection, rejection) or electrical, or they can be due to physical difficulties (unintentional start-up, laser radiation effects on the eye, exposure to noise and dust). The danger phenomena are naturally expressed by the expert, with the appropriate MASK I model: the phenomenon model. There are eight of the most common, whose characteristics and phenomenology must be known in order to be properly analyzed: 1) cut-off, disconnection; 2) trapping, crushing, shearing, drive; 3) burning; 4) ejection; 5) discharge of wood; 6) unintentional start-up; 7) exposure to noise and dust; 8) effect of laser radiation on the eye. Figure 3.3 shows, for example, the model of the wood rejection phenomenon, which is typical of woodworking machines, supplemented by a specific sheet.

Figure 3.3. Wood rejection phenomenon

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Technical sheet about wood rejection Rejection is a particular ejection phenomenon typical of milling and sawing operations on woodworking machines. This is a special ejection during which either the piece of wood or the machine (usually mobile) moves in the opposite direction to its forward direction when cutting in opposition, or in the same direction when cutting in climb mode. We observe this phenomenon in general: – when solid wood is jammed on the circular saw blade; – in cases of insufficient mechanical clamping; – when the wood is picked up by the miller (called a wheel) when cutting in climb mode. In the latter case, it is a movement of the workpiece in the same direction as that of the tangent to the cutting cylinder of the tool and in the same direction as that of the cutting speed at the point of contact of the tool and the wood. Due to the freedom of advancing between two (saw) teeth, the piece of wood can move back for a short time when the wood is free. A high-speed rack phenomenon is generated, each tooth behaving like that of a pinion acting on a rack: given the cutting speed, which is generally high, the wood is ejected. The phenomenon is so intense that no one can control it. The collision of the operator or a third party with the rejected component can result in a work accident or near accident if the impact is not very severe. In some cases, this phenomenon can lead to death (bursting of the piece of wood and projection of pieces in the form of splinters). Anti-rejection devices such as riving knives and anti-kickback pawls prevent rejection during sawing. The efficiency of the clamping for the nominal capacity of the mechanized feed machine also reduces this risk. During design, the limitation of the advance by tooth of the cutter is an important factor in reducing the rejection of wood during milling. Finally, the rejection phenomenon can be reduced by observing regular maintenance of the anti-rejection devices: sharpening of the pawls, alignment of the riving knife, good choice of a thickness of the latter compatible with the cutting saw.

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3.3.4. Classification of woodworking machines All woodworking machines on the market (in fact, those on which the INRS has worked) have been described in the form of a classification according to a specific typology corresponding to the type of work performed by the machine (Figure 3.4). A glossary is provided to complete the classification scheme, developed with the MASK I model of concepts. This same diagram has also been completed by other diagrams that list the danger phenomena (explained in the previous section) attached to each machine.

Figure 3.4. Woodworking machines

Example of the associated glossary – Woodworking machine: generic term for all machines used to work solid wood, wood-based materials (panels, plywood, etc.) and similar materials. – Manual loading and/or unloading machine: machine for which the operator performs one of the following tasks in production: feeding the machine, guiding the part or holding it during machining, removing or

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storing the worked product. Most of the machines in this family can be equipped with a mechanical material feeder either at the design stage or later. However, they are still manually operated machines. – Automatic machine: woodworking machine for which the operator does not directly intervene with the material during the production phase. 3.3.5. History of INRS’ involvement in the safety of woodworking machines The history of INRS’ work in the field of woodworking machine safety has proved to be particularly important to describe, as, by accumulating knowledge and know-how over time, the institute has evolved from a mere technical advisory body to a European certification body. This remarkable journey had to be highlighted to inform INRS’ future strategy in this field. The history of the activity in this field being rich and complex, it was necessary to separate its description into four complementary points of view. 3.3.5.1. History of the approval and safety rules of woodworking machines INRS’ participation in the work of the Commission d’Homologation (Approval Commission) has evolved from a simple consultation to a technical expertise authority. The underlying objectives have also changed: advisory opinion on woodworking machine dossiers submitted by applicants for approval, drafting of a technical report after the testing of a machine and authority recognized when deciding to ban the placing on the market of machinery that is too dangerous. The application of the security rules in force ranges from the verification of the implementation on file to the issuance by the INRS of technical examination visas after validation of a specific model and construction file. In the 1990s, the latest national safety rules served as the basis for the development of European regulations. 3.3.5.2. History of machine types and evaluation bodies The analysis of the construction of woodworking machines highlights their evolution. We have moved from traditional manual feeding machines to complex multifunctional machines with mechanized or automatic feeding.

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The artisanal machines were equipped with basic safety devices. Specific studies, whether generic or dealing with the operator’s overall safety capability, have led to the integration of safety devices from the design stage of these machines. INRS, which is very involved in the evaluation process, has gradually been entrusted with a public service mission, first national and then European, to assess the level of safety of new equipment and authorize its placing on the market. 3.3.5.3. History of INRS activities and technological developments INRS’s activity began with comparative tests to assess the safety level of existing protective devices. Modifications were suggested and tests were carried out on prototypes, in consultation with manufacturers to validate their new performance. Studies were initiated in 1976 at the request of the commission. The examination of simple or complex machines led to research to improve their safety in use, in order to compensate for the observed shortcomings. The result was an increase in know-how capacity applicable to other equipment and the consideration of all technological developments and innovations. 3.3.5.4. History of INRS’s testing resources and skills At the beginning (1970–1975), the test methods were used to analyze specific events. These tests were used to explain serious accidents due to mechanical malfunctions of machine components. From 1985 onwards, the tests took into account the risks associated with the design of control diagrams for woodworking machines, which had become more complex. Improvements and proof of concept allowed the safety level of these machines to be improved. The results of studies on the anti-rejection function of milling tools are now taken into account by the European standard EN 847-1: 1997 and imposed by the Labor Code. Tool manufacturers are now meeting this requirement. Skills evolved from testing laboratory work to the ability to communicate with industry and regulatory authorities. Analytical methodological knowhow and technological knowledge are now acquired. This know-how

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provides the ability of decision-making and discernment, as well as the control of safety concepts and their application for machines in general. These skills are currently recognized at the European level. Each story has been described with a MASK I history model. An example is shown in Figure 3.5.

Figure 3.5. History of approval and safety rules for woodworking machines

3.3.6. Conclusion The consulting approach to improve the safety of use of woodworking machines has been part of a more global activity. Initiated by the INRS as part of the prior control of the most dangerous woodworking machines and decided by its Board of Directors, it was implemented under the leadership of its general management. It allowed the team to finalize its knowledge of how to use the machines and to clearly identify the boundaries between machine design and machine operation. Of course, there are still areas where know-how still needs to be built. It has led to the development of solutions to the most urgent mechanical problems, then to electrical problems for control diagrams.

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It naturally led this same team to generalize solutions that could be integrated from the design stage into new machines, through dialogue and persuasion. Today, we can see that the questions raised are more about the quality of the implementation than the principle or technological choices implemented. However, this does not mean that everything has been solved. Today, there are still occupational hazards in wood industries, mainly related to noise, wood dust and workstation ergonomics, and work organization, whose resolution exceeds the scope of the machine itself. This observation is at least European. The action to be carried out requires multidisciplinary studies for which the teams in place must be concerned with listening, understanding the other and the desire to achieve clear technical prescriptions to be implemented by manufacturers, and prescriptions relayed if necessary by regulatory support. The knowledge book is a starting point for rethinking and structuring INRS’ activity and missions in the field of woodworking machine safety, based on the experience accumulated over decades by the institute, which now has a competence recognized at the highest European level. 3.4. The case of code systems: knowledge books for code management and code control This section is based on the study written by Sabine Moisan and JeanLouis Ermine [MOI 05], and the one written by Stéphane Picard, Bruno Scheurer and Jean-Louis Ermine [PIC 99]. 3.4.1. Introduction The management of large calculation codes is currently a source of difficulty for more and more companies. This management is problematic at all stages of the code’s life cycle, from its conception to its use, including its evolution. We will therefore speak of “operational” management, because the aspects related to the concrete use of the codes are addressed.

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“Codes” are computer programs (software) of large size (up to several hundred thousand lines) that are essential resources in research, design, production, etc. However, the difficulty mentioned above goes far beyond the simple computer program: it essentially stems from the complexity of the system centered on this program, which includes a multiplicity of software components, actors, tools, organizations, etc. We will therefore use the term “code systems” to describe this heterogeneous and complex group. A code system brings a vast body of knowledge together: laws, equations, models, qualification data, knowledge of relevance limits, experience of use, software components, machines, etc., as well as related professional knowledge, in connection with the integration of codes into a production or research activity. This knowledge is created and nurtured over an often long lifespan – up to 20 years – by multiple actors: theorists, designers, programmers and users. This involves rarely formalized knowledge transfers. The absence or poor quality of these transfers can lead to additional costs in time and money (difficult modification, unexpected side effects, misuse). Software engineering offers solutions to some difficulties, but its tools are limited only to computer programs. However, the programs do not provide access to all important code-related knowledge. Similarly, traditional knowledge engineering methods (such as KADS or KOD) have not, to our knowledge, addressed the expert tasks and knowledge specific to code systems as we have defined them. We propose here a broad vision of the management and use of codes as systems, which takes into account the entire “continuum” between the knowledge of experts, computer designers and code users. In addition, we offer tools complementary to those of software engineering, for the management of the various aspects of this continuum, via knowledge books and code management. 3.4.2. Reference framework for the development and use of codes Computer programs do not reflect all the knowledge involved in the development and use of calculation codes. The documentation attached to them, the physical laws or mathematical equations they implement, and also the know-how linked to their use and their processing objectives in the

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context of a particular application, are all important factors for effective code management. Codes, considered as systems, can be positioned in a broader framework than that proposed in software engineering with the traditional life cycle of programs [PIC 99]. The reference document explains all the phases through which a code system passes, from its design to its operation. Such a repository places the code in a systemic environment (the “code system”) and makes it possible to identify the different actors of this system (engineers who design, programmers who code, researchers who study, technicians who use). The activity of these various actors throughout the life cycle of codes builds a considerable body of knowledge that is currently little or poorly exploited. Conceptualization is the prerogative of the people in the trade concerned (physicists, mechanics, engineers, etc.), which uses models (mathematical, physical, automatic or digital). These abstract elements make it possible to understand the software’s behavior. Conceptualization is confronted with reality (experimentation in the activity), through the exploitation of the code that qualifies the models, namely that they represent well what interests the activity in reality. Exploitation is the responsibility of code users, and also of designers. It confronts the real world in the activity concerned and validates whether it satisfies the users and beneficiaries of the activity related to the code. Verification is a link between exploitation and conceptualization, which does not involve real experimentation. It verifies whether the models are well implemented in the code. This reference repository shows that the usual life cycle of software engineering is essentially contained in the design and evolution part, and that it only partially addresses the problem of code system management. 3.4.2.1. Identification of the knowledge corpus associated with a code The complexity of a code system and therefore the difficulty in managing it comes from the multiplicity of actors and their wide range of know-how, which often have difficulty interacting (computer scientists, numericians, physicists, engineers, etc.). In fact, the proper management of a code system

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requires the management of knowledge related to that system, in the sense that it is now understood under the general term knowledge management. In the MASK method, dedicated to knowledge management itself, a preliminary step is to identify as precisely as possible the knowledge capital of an organization, in order to account for all the actors and their knowledge that must be mobilized in a global management of this said capital. Such an analysis has been done for code systems in the context of numerical simulation [PIC 99]. It shows that the body of knowledge required for given codes is vast and very diverse, and that business knowledge (which concerns any system that has users) is rarely integrated into the code systems themselves. The management of this knowledge on code systems therefore consists of integrating methods and tools into a global approach that makes it possible to take into account all the knowledge capital related to the system in order to optimize the performance, both in terms of efficiency and cognitive ergonomics, of the final products, whether they are software or other (documentation, for example). The objective here is therefore to ensure by different means the understanding and control of a set of codes from a global point of view, by following the codes from their design to their use. Each particular aspect must be taken into account, without compartmentalization between related points of view that require knowledge transfer. 3.4.3. Two new ways to manage knowledge on codes We propose to use two types of well mastered and mature techniques and to study the possibilities of automatic knowledge transfer between these techniques, in order to avoid the loss or distortion of information between documentation and operational exploitation. Knowledge books on codes The MASK I method of knowledge book design was adapted to code systems by S. Picard [PIC 99] and applied to large conventional power plant simulation codes for EDF or CEA numerical simulation codes.

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This method is complementary to existing code development activities. Its purpose is to provide users and designers with more elaborate documents. These documents aim to describe the software according to different levels of granularity (from the code, in general, to specific algorithms), different “professional” points of view (theorists, experimenters, numericians) and different time scales to understand the evolution of the code. It organizes models to describe a knowledge corpus linked to a code system. These models are developed either from technical documents or interviews with various experts (physicists, numericians, computer scientists, etc.). They have served as a working reference framework for developing a documentary structure (diagrams, sheets, references to technical and scientific documents, etc.), i.e. the knowledge book of the code system. Two points of view are dominant. The context point of view describes the context of the codes: the activities around the codes in the organization, different professional activity visions of the phenomena (physical, physicochemical, etc.) that are taken into account in the design or use of the codes and the history describing in broad terms the temporal evolution of the system, according to the evolution of the materials, techniques, experiments, objectives, etc., as well as the history of the design of a calculation code. The cognitive point of view seeks to describe an actor’s specific knowhow with regard to code, including the tasks of using the code in solving a particular problem and the concepts corresponding to the actor’s professional vision (classification of concepts useful for understanding the code in the given problem class). These models are classic in the MASK I method. In terms of the evolution of codes or their software components, successive lineages have also been described, the evolution of versions being, in the model, justified by criteria, advantages and disadvantages. Code control Code control techniques [THO 00],[CHI 96],[PAR 98] are designed to automate (fully or partially) the optimal use of a pre-existing code set, independently of a particular application domain. Control systems support the steps necessary to build a processing chain that solves a user’s objective. The purpose of piloting is not to optimize the codes themselves, but their use, which can be tricky for a novice user. Indeed, codes often only apply under certain conditions, which depend, for example, on the nature or content of their input data. Their call syntax can be complex and their

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execution often requires the prior determination of input parameter values or the formatting of certain data. Control systems store this type of knowledge on the use of codes and apply it to produce the best possible program sequence, adapting to the user’s data. This know-how integrated into a knowledge base then allows the programs to be applied in robust (semi-)automatic systems. The motivation for control systems is twofold: management of the operational use of codes and capitalization of skills on this use. Knowledge-based techniques, adopted in order to implement control systems, make it possible to achieve these two objectives. A pilot knowledge base mainly contains the representations of the codes themselves and (some of) their possible configurations, known to experts. The content of these representations must be sufficient to allow the engine to select the codes, initialize their parameter values, manage the data flows and produce a code sequence adapted to the user’s data and constraints. The representations of existing codes (called primitive) contain information that allows the execution of the associated programs. Reciprocal contributions of knowledge books and code control Knowledge books correspond to the “design” point of view of the code. It is currently a paper document that can be computerized, as this document is very structured. This computerization could generate a knowledge storage format accepted by code control tools. Indeed, knowledge books contain a large part of the knowledge incorporated into a code control knowledge base. For example, task diagrams correspond to the high-level decompositions of composite representations of known configurations, concepts are found in the representations of code arguments and computer descriptions of code options are found in the primitive representations of the codes themselves. Code control corresponds to the “use” point of view of codes, which comes after the production of knowledge books and where design knowledge is “compiled” to become operational. A more practical knowledge linked to the experience of use is also necessary. It can come from the cognitive point of view in MASK models, as well as from experts, directly. Conversely, changes in a code control knowledge base can be automatically reflected in the associated knowledge books. For example,

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changes in the version of the code, or additions of new codes, indicated by a change in the knowledge base will enrich the history model. 3.4.4. Example of an Euler buckling code We will show, using an example, the extent and diversity of the knowledge corpus associated with a code. The example chosen is a code to simulate a physical phenomenon on materials, called “Euler buckling”. The physical problem is to study the mechanical deformations of a physical structure subjected to load and boundary conditions (e.g. imposed by fasteners). By linear approximation of the physical equations for modeling mechanical deformations, buckling allows us to determine the bifurcations in these equations (i.e. the points of passage from one mode to another). This corresponds to a calculation of eigenvalues that represent critical values in increasing the load on the physical structure. In this example, we have a variety of knowledge. First, there are scientific and technical documents (publications, for example) that present the method. In addition, the description of what is useful to know in the use of the code and the know-how of use were modeled based on interviews with experts. Figures 3.6 and 3.7 show a simplified example of a concept network (MASK model) that structures input and output data, as well as a partial example of a usage task.

Figure 3.6. A network of concepts for a buckling code

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Figure 3.7. A task for using a buckling code (source: [MOI 05])

Knowledge models that describe the physics studied in such codes can be found in [PIC 99]. These models, published in the code’s knowledge book, contribute to its control by users and to the implementation of code control functions. A complete processing thus includes several steps, of which the buckling code itself is only one element. To simplify, this processing begins with the search for critical coefficients, and then, if one of them is less than 1, by a design of the physical structure (addition of stiffeners or thickeners), etc. This strategic, decision-making and structural knowledge is summarized in the code control hierarchy shown in Figure 3.8.

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Figure 3.8. A hierarchy of the code control knowledge base for buckling

3.4.5. Example of the description of an option in a code This section is based on the article written by S. Picard, J-L Ermine and B. Scheurer [PIC 99]. This description of a code option is based on three levels: the physical model, the numerical aspects and the development of the software code. Physical model of the option First, it is necessary to formulate the mathematical aspects of the equations of the physical model and the main discretization hypothesis: the coordinate system of the physical variables, the initial values and the boundary conditions. Then, there is the instantiation of the equations of the physical model by the physical variables calculated during a time step and the representation on one (or more) diagram(s) of the phenomena studied according to the knowhow specific to the organization or the industrial domain.

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Numerical aspects of the option The methodological choices relating to discretization must be explained, with the requirements and constraints imposed and specifying how far they are respected. This requires describing how physical variables are represented in the calculation grid and over time, specifying the nature of the calculation grid and the type of time diagram. Then, the procedure for sequencing operations is described, and the equations are detailed. In addition, an analysis of the satisfaction of the requirements and constraints allowing a correct numerical simulation to be run is carried out with regard to the conceptual aspect of the option. Development of the option code This part presents the software engineering elements: the algorithms of the option with functional diagrams, data structures, etc. In general, this part is already documented by the “standard” specifications and the design document. Example: a hydrodynamic option For example, we present the description of the physical model and the numerical aspects of a hydrodynamic option. The physical model of the hydrodynamic option In this hydrodynamic option, we integrate equations representing the conservation of mass, momentum and energy over a time step. The partial differential equations are: dρ dt

  = − ρ∇.U   = ∇.T + FQ

ρ

 dU dt

de dt

= ρ1 Tr ( E.T ) + eQ

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where Eij =

(

1 ∂U i 2 ∂x j

+

Lagrange derivative

∂U j ∂xi

) is the tensor of the total deformation rate, the

d dt

=

∂ ∂t

  + U .∇ and the total deformation tensor

Tij = S ij − pδ ij . We will then describe the hypothesis and coordinate system used to represent the physical variables, as well as the terms added to the physical model equations used in the option: dρ dt

  = − ρ∇.U

ρ

dU r dt

=

(

ρ

dUz dt

=

(

de dt

1  = − p dV dt + ρ Tr ( E.S ) + eQ

∂ ∂r

( − p + S rr ) +

∂S rz ∂z

+

2 S rr + S zz r

∂ ∂z

( − p + S zz ) +

∂S rz ∂r

+

S rz r

)+ F

Qr

)+ F

Qz

 The terms FQ and eQ are due to artificial viscosity. A “qualitative” description of this system could be given by the following phenomenon model:

Figure 3.9. Overview of the description of the physical phenomena simulated by the option

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The numerical aspects of the hydrodynamic option First, we describe the different steps of the discretization of space and time, i.e. how partial differential equations are converted into finite difference equations. The nature of the computing grid, the type of time integration scheme and the sequencing of operations are then described. Publications Documents

Publications Documents

Equations

Lagrange step

Motion grid step

Numerician Code designer

Files

Acceleration phase

Routines File

Files

Stress-strain phase

Calculate the acceleration by using the momentum equations

Files

Work phase

Routines File

Equations

Apply boundary condition

Equations

Advection step

Numerician Code designer

Routines File

Equations

Publications Documents

Equations

Numerician Code designer

EOS phase

Routines File

Equations

Integrate velocity

Equations

Intégrate the lagrangian coordinates

Figure 3.10. Functional decomposition of the discretization steps of the options

Figure 3.10 shows the main steps of the procedure and indicates the different designers involved, the physical location of the files, bibliographic references and design documents. Each step is divided into phases (Figure 3.10 illustrates the different phases of the Lagrange step), with the routines corresponding to each phase. Then, the phases are decomposed (Figure 3.10 shows a decomposition of the acceleration phase), with the corresponding discretized equations. Next, we describe the requirements for numerical methods to simulate fluid movement, for example entropic shocks, direction of correctly simulated shocks.

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3.4.6. Conclusion and perspectives The control and use of complex codes requires the understanding of a wide range of knowledge, from scientific and technical knowledge to design, experimentation, programming and operating know-how. In an organization where a large number of people develop and/or use codes, this requires an ambitious knowledge management program, with the objective of not breaking the “knowledge chain” between scientists, designers and users in the profession. Two new tools can help to master knowledge and be used in this particular task: knowledge books and code control. These tools are located at different points in the “knowledge chain” and are in continuity with each other. The first tool structures knowledge that is used operationally by the second. 3.5. The IRSN case The following case study, which was conducted at the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, is the result of an interview with the Director of Knowledge Management, Martial Jorel, and the publication by Jean Couturier and Martial Jorel [COU 16]. 3.5.1. Introduction IRSN is a French player in the fields of radiation protection, nuclear safety and security. It is a public body with industrial and commercial activities, placed under the joint authority of the Ministries of Defense, Environment and Industry and Research and Health. It is a technical safety organization that constitutes the French public expert in the field of nuclear and radiological risks. Its activities combine know-how (particularly for the French nuclear safety authorities) and research and development. These activities cover all related scientific and technical issues in many fields: nuclear reactor safety (nuclear power plants, research reactors, etc.), safety of nuclear facilities in the fuel cycle, transport of radioactive materials, waste treatment and storage, environmental radiation protection), emergency response, security and non-proliferation, medical treatment of irradiated persons, etc.

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IRSN interacts with all parties concerned with these risks (public authorities, in particular nuclear safety and security authorities, local authorities, companies, research organizations, stakeholder associations, etc.) to contribute to public policy problems relating to nuclear, human and environmental safety, protection against ionizing radiation and the protection of nuclear materials, installations and transport linked to the risk of malicious acts. IRSN employs about 1,750 people, including many specialists, engineers, researchers, doctors, agronomists, veterinary surgeons and technicians, as well as experts in nuclear safety, radiation protection and control of sensitive nuclear materials. The genesis of the requirement was closely linked to the decision of the IRSN Director General to create a position of Director of Knowledge Management at IRSN in 2012 (see Chapter 6). The objectives related to knowledge management are to ensure the development, sustainability and effectiveness of IRSN’s strategic knowledge, in order to maintain the quality and relevance of its skills – in anticipation of scientific needs – and to promote the transfer of knowledge between generations. Following contact with the Club Gestion des Connaissances, it was decided to launch a pilot project at IRSN to carry out a strategic analysis of its knowledge capital. The strategic analysis action plans highlighted the need to capitalize on the critical knowledge of some people (e.g. those approaching retirement), and revealed that, in some departments, subjects were only known by one person. A pilot project with a volunteer expert demonstrated the value of the principle of knowledge capitalization through the development of a knowledge book. The production of knowledge books then became widespread and many of IRSN’s knowledge areas were covered. The experts’ motivation to participate in the capitalization of their knowledge came partly from the fact that it was not very mobilizing in their time. They generally had no problems participating in some interviews. From then on, the expression of the need to capitalize on knowledge for a new specific knowledge book theme was the responsibility of operational managers.

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3.5.2. Knowledge book process For knowledge books, IRSN has developed a process, the role of which is to adapt the principle of the MASK I method to IRSN’s operational framework. Compared to the initial principle, the changes introduced concerned: – at the time of launch, the presence of the hierarchy of the “expert knowledge actor”, a hierarchy participating in the development of the launch forms and the framing with the “expert knowledge actor”; – after the interviews, the validation of the knowledge book with the “expert knowledge actor”; – after the validation with the “expert knowledge actor”, consolidation of the knowledge book with the “expert knowledge actor” and presentation to potential users; – in the end, the knowledge book was put online on an IRSN knowledge portal and made available on the collaborative platform, in order to allow it to evolve. The knowledge book process included the following steps: – launch of the knowledge book: choice of subject, title, objectives, presentation of the method, determination of the actors (reviewers, validators, users); – framing with the “expert knowledge actor” (choice of points of view and themes to be addressed, planned supply with documentary references, planning of appointments); – interviews with the “expert knowledge actor”; – validation of the knowledge book with the “expert knowledge actor”; – consolidation of the knowledge book with peers; – appropriation by the hierarchy and concerted choice of recipients (users); – presentation to users; – posting on the knowledge portal and access to the collaborative platform;

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– evolution of the knowledge book (identification and implementation of evolutions). Knowledge books were provided in hypermedia form via a PowerPoint slideshow (available with the PowerPoint Web App), with links to referenced documents. Document resources were documents referenced within the knowledge book (available for consultation with the Word Web App) or referenced or associated videos (available for consultation with a multimedia player). To understand knowledge books, different media were available: a guide to reading a knowledge book, an introductory slide show to the models of knowledge books, a presentation of the MASK method, a video presentation of knowledge books. The knowledge book campaign began in 2013 and has been ongoing on a regular basis since then. 3.5.3. Examples of knowledge books Assessment of the ability of a PWR’s1 control and command to perform its assigned safety functions The first knowledge book produced consisted of a kind of expertise analysis on development requirements and the product. This knowledge book concerned the principles of evaluation of digital control-command. It did not address the assessment of functional requirements by physical process specialists. The analysis was based on the system as it was performed and its design and verification documentation. The analysis sought to understand the way in which the operator developed controlcommand and ensure that it was able to fulfill its tasks under all the foreseen conditions. It was not a very detailed book, which remained software and control-command, i.e. in a technical field this book formalized reflections on questions such requirements of the software? How can we evaluate control-command system? 1 PWR = pressurized water reactor.

rather general, on that was not easy: as: what are the the structure of a

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Vérifier la participation de l’architecture à la défense en profondeur

Vérifier l’indépendance

Vérifier la diversification Afin d’éviter les DCC par défaillances coïncidentes pour les fonctions de sûreté importantes

Afin d’éviter les DCC par propagation des défaillances

Vérifier l’indépendance physique

Vérifier l’indépendance électrique

Vérifier l’indépendance de données



Plusieurs fonctions différentes peuvent réaliser un même objectif de sûreté.

Diversification fonctionnelle

Chaque fonction diversifiée de sureté

S’assurer que les fonctions diversifiées sont implémentées dans des parties indépendantes du système

Diversification technologique

Plusieurs moyens reposant sur des technologies différentes réalisent un objectif de sûreté : - technologies câblée et numérique - ou numérique et numérique (en débat)

Figure 3.11. Extract from the knowledge book: “Évaluation de l’aptitude du contrôlecommande d’un REP à remplir les fonctions de sûreté qui lui sont confiées” (Jean Gassino). This Task model presents the steps to verify basic conceptual principles (independency and diversification) of subsystems to meet in depth defense safety requirements

Assessment of the behavior of PWR metal components and their manufacturing technologies This is a knowledge book on defects in metallic reactor components. From commissioning to dismantling, the safety of an installation depends on the proper functioning of the various systems that constitute it. Mechanical systems are made up of elementary metallic components assembled together (pumps, valves, piping, containers, supports, etc.). The quality of their manufacture and assembly remains, along with the quality of their design, one of the pillars of the robustness of the first level of the defense-in-depth concept (prevention of operating anomalies and system failures). Verification and surveillance of the manufacture of mechanical equipment is not part of IRSN’s core business. However, the factors influencing good realization, as well as knowledge of the consequences of manufacturing on the local characteristics of a metal component, are important in safety analyses, particularly when these analyses concern the behavior of materials under specific conditions (irradiation, corrosion, etc.). These aspects become urgent when defects are discovered during operation.

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The expert interviewed worked at the Welding Institute for six years. He explained what a defect in a material was and how it can come from manufacturing, as well as what a defect during casting or forging was. Then, the expert detailed the operating procedures, the diagnostic technique, the context of the discovery of the defect and the control of the quality of the supplies. The bibliography is very detailed on the controls and achievements of the Flamanville power plant. The approach is very didactic and the expert interviewed came out saying that the development of defect family models had allowed him to truly clarify his ideas. For the operational reader, this saves a lot of time and makes it easier to discuss with specialists, knowing what we are talking about, rather than starting from scratch by asking for explanations. Défaut lié à la décohésion du matériau

Rupture

Fissuration lente Avec déformation

Fissuration par corrosion sous contrainte (CSC)

Fissuration par fatigue-corrosion

Phénomène invisible à l’œil, électrochimique et mécanique qui s’applique aux inox. Il a un temps d’amorçage puis propagation lente Cette fissuration se fait sans diminution d’épaisseur et cause une discontinuité du matériau Elle apparait sous des contraintes mécaniques de traction et en présence d’un fluide contenant des éléments corrosifs (par exemple des ions chlore)

Rupture ductile

Fissuration mécanique

Dépassement de la capacité de déformation (fragilisation)

Nécessite la présence de contraintes alternées et d’un milieu corrosif pour le matériau (rare)

Attaque inter granulaire (IGA)

Sans déformation

Rupture fragile

Vieillissement sous irradiation, Vieillissement thermique etc.

L’IGA est une corrosion préférentielle des joints de grains qui entraine des décohésions intergranulaires voire un déchaussement des grains

•Rapport DSR 57 (2005) •Avis DSR 2009-369 Fatigue thermique (∆T locaux)

Fatigue mécanique (vibrations)

Fluage

Avis DES 98-965 pp 20-23

Phénomène intergranulaire qui survient à haute température

Figure 3.12. Extract from the knowledge book “Évaluation du comportement des composants métalliques des REP et de leurs technologies de fabrication” (Bernard Monnot)”. This Concept model presents the characterization of the origin of defaults (splitting, rupture, corrosion) in mechanical components as a function of fabrication processes

Safety assessment for civil engineering of PWRs and other BNIs This knowledge book is dedicated to civil engineering and all that concerns concrete used for reactor containments and civil engineering works important to safety. This knowledge book concerns civil engineering techniques applied to BNIs (Basic Nuclear Installations) and their surroundings, giving a brief overview of the main phenomena to be taken into account and the standard

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approach to safety assessment. This knowledge book does not cover all areas of civil engineering. For the areas covered, it does not replace existing books. It is therefore important to refer to a bibliography, which is known by every engineer in the profession. It schematically presents frames of technical reasoning and useful ideas based on the experience of the IRSN’s Civil Engineering Evaluation Office. Chapter 1 describes the main physical phenomena encountered in safety assessments (static and dynamic behavior of structures, aging and pathologies). Chapter 2 presents the standard approach to safety assessment and then lays the foundations for a technical guide for the practical analysis of a dossier. Chapter 3 summarizes the history of EDF’s containment systems with a view to constantly improving safety. This knowledge book specifies how to take into account dimensioning in concrete with seismic behavior, and how to evaluate civil engineering safety, behavior requirements and permissible values for structures. These subjects have a long history, so the book provides a history of everything that has happened in containment systems, including fairly old documents that are still relevant to the behavior of these systems. > Historique des enceintes de confinement des REP du point de vue du génie civil et de la sûreté

2009 - 2014 •Avis IRSN 2014-00286 Etudes de protection des eaux souterraines •Fiche technique² en cas de percement du radier  Années 80 2012 Etudes de comportement des enceintes en cas Epaississement du radier de Fessenheim d’AG Evaluation du taux de f uite correspondant

TMI 1979

Etude d’accidents hors dimensionnement

Enceintes initiales

Enceintes renforcées - Systèmes d’éventage et recombineurs à hydrogène - Renforcement de la fermeture de l’accès matériel

Chute d’avion

Vieillissement

Publication TINCE 2013

Présentation SFEN du 11/12/1991 « Tenue des REP aux chutes d’avion »,

Enceintes initiales (1300 et 1450 MWe)

•Rapport DSR n° 54 •Rapport DES n° 458

 1990 Etudes pour les avions militaires  2001- 2010 Etudes pour les avions commerciaux

Démonstration de la robustesse des enceintes à la chute d’avion

 1990 f luage du béton plus important que prévu (sur les doubles parois) • Rapport IRSN 2013-010 Chapitre 2, § 1.3 • Annexes du rapport

Enceintes renforcées

- Prévisions de décompression à long terme - Renforcement de l’étanchéité des enceintes à double paroi

Parmi les 24 enceintes à double paroi, 5-6 évoluent plus vite que les autres, et sont en cours de revêtement complémentaire. Les disparités de fluage et de qualité de béton influencent l’ampleur des revêtements à ajouter.

Figure 3.13. Extract from the knowledge book: “Évaluation de sûreté pour le génie civil des REP et autres INB” (François Tarallo). This history model presents the history of reactor containments for PWR from civil engineering and safety points of view

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Design safety options for criticality risk This knowledge book on criticality options is very scientific. In BNIs (Basic Nuclear Installations) in which fissile materials are handled, processed or simply stored, the prevention of criticality risks is achieved by implementing provisions governed by ASN Decision No. 2014-DC-0462 of October 7, 2014, adopted pursuant to the “BNI” Order of February 7, 2012. These provisions leave designers and operators of installations with a very wide choice of means, each accompanied by various types of constraints: material, organizational, etc. These choices are the result of limitations directly affecting the “production capacity” of the installation, its potential for future development, its vulnerability to failures, the more or less easy nature of compliance with criticality rules and consequently the robustness of risk prevention itself. Unfortunately, there is no universal method to guide these choices and only an exploitation of feedback after a long period of operation of a given installation can confirm (or not) the adequacy and appropriateness of the selected prevention methods. IRSN collects, compiles and analyzes feedback on the safety of all operating installations. In its expert missions, IRSN is responsible for assessing the prevention of criticality risks in installations, which is particularly important when it comes to evaluating the design options for new installations. By engaging in a technical dialogue with designers and operators, conducted from the initial phase of projects before design options can no longer be modified, it can share its analysis of feedback and thus contribute to “advancing safety”. Some examples of fuel cycle installations that have led to positive feedback both in terms of performance and criticality risk control are illustrated in this knowledge book, which also provides a link to a short video. The book also contains a guide to accident analysis, as well as a document that lists all criticality accidents that have occurred worldwide. This theme of criticality is very interesting, in that it is part of the history of nuclear energy. As early as the 1950s, many accidents caused by criticality control problems occurred. These accidents very often resulted in fatalities among operators. Significant analytical and preventive work was undertaken worldwide, leading to the virtual disappearance of these accidents in the 1980s. In 1999, a criticality accident in Japan resulted in several deaths and about 20 severely irradiated people. It is a subject with an extremely heavy past, with a strong, established scientific knowledge, but

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which was lost in time: accidents and the importance of associated precautions may not be treated to their proper importance. This knowledge book explains what a criticality accident is, how critical environments are calculated, how criticality is controlled and gathers a very high level of know-how on the subject. In the bibliography, the expert highlighted a 1964 CEA document, which is more than 50 years old, but which is still relevant today. In the 1960s, engineers wrote well and simply, with diagrams, which makes this 1964 document a reference document, which the expert considered to be absolutely fundamental. This example illustrates an additional interest of the knowledge book, i.e. to capitalize on fundamental reference documents, regardless of their age. If a young engineer working on a project were to be provided with such a document on his own and without explanation of context, it is unlikely that he would take it into account on the grounds that it is 50 years old. The “expert knowledge actors” are often the only ones who have fundamental reference documents in mind, but which are forgotten or ignored by others. Applying a strong capitalization approach, the knowledge book is truly intended to accommodate the reference documentary memory listed. • La réaction peut durer et peut même ne pas être visible (cas du réacteur nucléaire naturel Oklo au Congo) • Les conséquences de ce phénomène ne sont pas catastrophiques (aucune victime…)

Phénomène de criticité retardé Accident de criticité n°1 Equipement et son environnement

Evénement initiateur : Production de neutrons : • Neutrons prompts (ou instantanés) • Neutrons retardés

Equipement

Contre-réactions à l’état critique retardé • Dégagement de chaleur Disparition de neutrons par fuite et capture

Flux : Neutrons

• Rayonnement s neutronique, α, β, γ

Conséquence : • Arrêt de la réaction naturel, puis nouveau départ de la réaction, d’où des oscillations • Autoréaction entretenue et stable • Production de rayonnement, de gaz de radiolyse, de gaz de fission

• Eff et Doppler

• Les neutrons prompts sont créés instantanément à la fission, leur durée de vie est de l’ordre de la microseconde • Les neutrons retardés sont créés par des fragments de fission instable. Leur temps d’apparition est de l’ordre de 80 secondes. Ces neutrons représentent moins d'un pourcent des neutrons émis par une fission nucléaire, mais leur présence est indispensable à la possibilité de la conduite d'un réacteur nucléaire. • Pourcentage des neutrons retardés, exprimée en 1 pour cent mille (10 -5) , appelé β , exemples : • β de l’ordre de 660 pcm pour l’U235 • β de l’ordre de 250 pcm pour le • On pourra se référer à l’article de Wikipedia « Fraction de neutrons retardés » : i/Fraction_de_neutrons_retard%C3%A9s P239

Il y a deux bilans neutroniques : • Le bilan total des neutrons prompts et retardés (Keff) • Le bilan des neutrons prompts (Kp) Les situations possibles sont : • Keff < 1 : état sous-critique (pas de multiplication des neutrons) • Keff = 1 : état critique retardé (multiplication lente des neutrons ) • Kp = 1 : état critique prompt (multiplication extrêmement rapide des neutrons, accident de criticité)

• Le dégagement de chaleur engendre une augmentation de la température donc une dilatation, et en général une diminution de la concentration • Le rayonnement engendre la production de gaz de radiolyse, il y a création de bulles et donc diminution de la concentration . • La diminution de la concentration a pour conséquence l’augmentation des fuites de neutrons, et fait donc baisser le bilan neutronique • L’effet Doppler se produit quand la température augmente : l’énergie des neutrons augmente, ce qui crée un élargissement des raies de résonance de capture des neutrons, qui augmente la probabilité de capture. Ceci augmente ainsi la capture des neutrons et fait donc baisser le bilan neutronique

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Figure 3.14. Extract from the knowledge book: “Options de sûreté en conception pour le risque de criticité” (Patrick Cousinou). This Phenomenon model (previous page) presents a criticality delayed accident described as a phenomenon with source, target, flow, initiating event and consequence The curve (this page) shows the time evolution of the criticality event during solution implementation

Study of incidents and accidents affecting the storage or handling of fuel in deactivation pools This knowledge book concerns the analysis of risks that can occur during the storage of irradiated fuels under water (awaiting treatment or in management reserves). The objective is to define the safety approach applicable to spent fuel pools and identify the lines of defense to be implemented in order to avoid the feared phenomena: dewatering, handling accidents and criticality accidents. The first chapter describes the feared phenomena, describing in detail their initiating events and potential consequences. Chapter 2 returns to the principle of defense in depth and describes its application to spent fuel pools. For each level, the lines of defense associated with the security functions are defined. Chapter 3 describes the procedure applicable to the safety examination of a spent fuel pool. It is an intellectual approach that integrates current questions to be asked in a safety study, including the most recent reflections. Chapter 4 briefly describes the evolution of this approach since the design of the pools equipping EDF’s PWRs, showing that it is an evolutionary and iterative approach that tends to be applicable to reactors.

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This rather operational knowledge book, an engineering document with a detailed bibliography, is accessible to any basic engineer. The expert has prepared a study document, without complicated elements and which puts everything in black and white without forgetting anything, by carrying out a very methodical analysis that lists everything that can happen, with examples of what has actually already happened. This document will be used for new study projects. Listing such a varied history, in this case that of spent fuel pools, illustrates the shift in project methodology from the deterministic approach at the beginning to the probabilistic approach of today. Démarche d’étude de sûreté sur les piscines Démarche d’étude de sûreté sur les piscines Les dispositions de mitigation correspondant au niveau 4, n’ont pour le moment jamais été mises en œuvre sur les piscines. Le niveau 4 ne concerne que les accidents de vidange et perte de refroidissement

Les 3 premiers niveaux de défense sont étudiées et renforcées

Niveaux 1 à 3

Ce sont les objectifs dont l’étude de sûreté doit permettre d’évaluer la réalisation

Niveau 4

Prévenir le découvrement du combustible, les accidents de manutention et de criticité Prévenir la fusion du combustible

Définir la méthode d’étude

Etudier les transitoires découlant de défaillances internes uniques

Etudier les transitoires découlant de défaillances multiples plausibles

Démarche déterministe

Démarche probabiliste

Limiter les effets d’une fusion de combustible

Etudier les transitoires découlant d’agressions

Figure 3.15. Extract from the knowledge book: “Étude des incidents et accidents affectant l’entreposage ou la manutention du combustible en piscine de désactivation” (Laurent Gilloteau). This Task model presents the safety approach applicable to deactivation spent fuel pools and the lines of defense to be implemented in order to avoid the feared phenomena: dewatering, handling accidents and criticality accidents

What do we know about radionuclide transfers to the atmosphere? This knowledge book describes the main physical phenomena that control the transfer (dispersion, deposition) of radionuclides into the atmosphere. On this transfer will depend the evolution, in time and space, of the radioactive gases and particles released by a nuclear installation in a chronic or accidental release situation. Chapter 1 describes the dispersion (transport and diffusion)

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in the atmosphere of a localized source of radionuclides and the deposition of these radionuclides at different interfaces. Chapter 2 discusses the main concepts used in atmospheric dispersion: turbulence, the parts of the troposphere affected by dispersion, the notion of atmospheric stability class, and the operational models used to describe atmospheric dispersion. Chapter 3 deals with the dynamic phenomena of transfer of atmospheric particles or aerosols: formation, coagulation, deposition in dry and wet weather on surfaces and resuspension. Chapter 4 describes the validation process for the operational models used in the field. Chapter 5 outlines the range of problems that remain to be solved in this area. This book is a pedagogical introduction to subjects that are also covered in great detail in scientific publications and in some reference books. It is therefore intended for a non-specialist audience, but nevertheless aware of the issues in the field. The expert made a video himself and on his own initiative by presenting and explaining the content of his book, in three small modules of 15 minutes each. Chapitre 2 : Éléments de physique de l’atmosphère

Classes de stabilité atmosphérique Classes de stabilité atmosphérique

Il s’agit d’une classification de type physique (dans une classification dédiée à la modélisation , il y a par exemple une classe « très stable »)

Classe instable

Jour sans nuages, avec du soleil (sol chaud)

Vitesse de vent faible

• Ces conditions s’appellent les « conditions convectives ». • Le f lux de chaleur est f ort et orienté vers le haut. • La composante verticale ascendante est importante par rapport à la composante horizontale

Suivant les turbulences et le gradient thermique, l’atmosphère est qualifiée d’instable, neutre ou stable. La caractérisation de la stabilité atmosphérique est très importante pour la description empirique des effets de la dispersion.

Classes de stabilité atmosphérique

Classe neutre

Présence de nuages

Classe stable

Vitesse de vent importante

• Pour cette classe, la composante verticale est af f aiblie et le transport horizontal est augmenté • Le f lux de chaleur est f aible et orienté vers le haut. • La propagation horizontale est dominante

• Propagation importante des polluants hors de la couche de surf ace

Illustration du phénomène de dispersion en fonction des classes de stabilité

Nuit sans nuage (flux thermique vers le sol)

Vent faible

• . Pour cette classe, il y a atténuation de la turbulence d’origine thermique. • Le f lux de chaleur est f aible et orienté vers le sol, • Faible f lux horizontal Peu de propagation. Les •phénomènes dans les Il y a une différentes couchesdans sont la couche de accumulation assez distincts surf ace

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Illustration du phénomène de dispersion en fonction des classes de stabilité Instable

Neutre

Z

Stable

Z

Z MA

GA

GA

GA

MA

MA T

T

T

Z : altitude, T : température, GA : gradient adiabatique, MA : masse d’air Le gradient adiabatique correspond à l’abaissement de la température d’une parcelle d’air qui s’élève, du fait de sa détente. Il est de l’ordre de 1°K pour 100 m. Si cette parcelle est plus chaude que la MA environnante elle continue à s’élever (instable). Dans le cas contraire elle redescend (stable).

Figure 3.16. Extract from the knowledge book: “Que connaissons-nous des transferts des radionucléides dans l’atmosphère ?” (Denis Boulaud). This Concept model (previous page) presents the different stability classes of atmospheric masses according to wind speed, presence of clouds and time of day. The set of curves (this page) illustrate the altitude dispersion of atmospheric masses with respect to adiabatic gradient as a function of stability classes

Safety aspects of FNRs: the case of Superphénix This knowledge book is intended to be a tool for the first appropriation of some safety aspects of the sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors (FNR) sector, through the experience acquired by the technical instructions of the safety dossiers relating to the Superphénix reactor (Creys-Malville Power Plant), with, as a backdrop, the achievements of R&D programs then particularly conducted at the IPSN (predecessor of the IRSN). It covers only a few topics, among those considered to be major: safety for sodium-cooled fast neutron reactors and, in the case of Superphénix, protection of the core against an accidental rise of the control rod, risks related to sodium fires and the containment design basis accident (core meltdown accident). The guiding idea is to memorize the safety approach on Superphénix reactors, a type of reactor that has shut down after some time in operation, but whose principles can be applied to new reactors. This approach is particular to external aggressions, with accidents very specific to these reactors, which are sodium-cooled and therefore raise the issue of a sodium fire: how can we limit sodium fires? The book includes a complete bibliography and one of the experts has produced a complete course (300 pages) on this subject, which has

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been linked. The bibliography also contains a 114-page report on an on-site start-up experience of these reactors, and a 243-page summary of 50 years of safety analysis. More than just know-how being demonstrated, this knowledge book aims to capitalize on the historical aspect. Dispositifs supplémentaires de limitation des conséquences des feux de sodium (1992-1994) L’étude de sûreté a montré l’insuffisance de capacité de résistance des galeries à tout type de feu de sodium, ce qui a amené à mettre en place des dispositifs pour limiter les conséquences des feux pulvérisés

Parcellisation des galeries

Découpage des galeries par des parois métalliques qui limitent naturellement le volume d’oxygène en cas de brèche. Ce n’est pas un cloisonnement.

Dispositifs supplémentaires de limitation des conséquences des feux de sodium

Exutoires supplémentaires

?

Bacs étouffoirs

Approche pour les conséquences chimiques

Protection du béton par des liners métalliques

Pour éviter le risque hydrogène L’inertage a été abandonné : 1) A cause de la chauffe problématique de l’azote par le sodium chaud (550° pour les boucles chaudes, 350° pour les boucles froides) 2) A cause de complications d’exploitation induite

Approche alors proposée par l’IPSN pour • Les conséquences sur l’homme et l’environnement • Les conséquences sur les équipements importants pour la sûreté du site : les groupes électrogènes peuvent se boucher en aspirant des aérosols; EDF a installé des laveurs d’air à l’aspiration des groupes électrogènes

Modifications effectuées sur les galeries secondaires en 1992

Modifications effectuées sur les galeries secondaires (1992-1994)

Figure 3.17. Extract from the knowledge book: “Aspects de la sûreté des RNR : le cas de Superphénix” (M. Natta, J. Couturier, D. Leinturier). This Concept model (top) describes the supplementary operational means able to limit the consequences of sodium fire. The drawing (bottom) illustrates the modifications brought to a secondary gallery

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Main risks related to the chemistry of the spent fuel treatment process The need for this knowledge book is based on the fact that, for all aspects of fuel fabrication, reprocessing and storage, there are as many facilities as there are types of fuel. What drives the fuel cycle is the chemistry of nuclear risks. The expert concerned has a very broad knowledge of many phenomena relating to process chemistry. The book is completely open to the problems of risks related to radiolysis (decomposition of a body under the effect of ionizing radiation). It does not contain historical content. Rather, it is a scientific content written by an expert describing the risks of explosions and explaining, in particular, the 1993 accident in Russia. This book is very important. It has a very particular typology, with a significant scientific support, a little transverse, illustrating the fact that the entry point is not constituted by the installations, but by the physical phenomenon. The framing of this knowledge book limits it to the phenomenology of risks, but the expert thinks he could have gone further and explained how these risks could be prevented and how to set up such a prevention system. Schéma de répartition simplifié de N3H dans l’usine de retraitement Formation de N3H au premier cycle d’extraction (Ateliers T2-R2)

Comportement du N3H en aval de la partition

?

Extraction Lavage

TBP 30%

PF

Vers concentration PF

HNO3 1,5N

HNO3 Ion

U, Pu

U, Pu, Tc

Lavage Tc Extraction complémentaire

TBP 30%

Vers Extraction 1CUpU/TEO

? HNO3 0,02N

U,NH

U, Pu, Tc ~ɛ

NOx

Tc

Réextraction Pu N3H = 1

N3H ~ 0,9

NOx

Réextraction U

Pu N3H ~ 0,1

U N3H ~ 0,2

Oxydation Dégazage

Concentration Intercycle

N3H ~ 0

N3H ~ 0

Vers 2CPu

Vers 2CU

N3H~ ɛ

N3H ~ 0,7

Traitement solvant

NaN3H~ 0,7

Vers RANT

Deuxième cycle de purif ication du Pu (Ateliers T4-R4)

?

Suite du procédé après le 1er cycle d’extraction

?

Concentration intercycle (Ateliers T2-R2)

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> Suite du procédé après le 1er cycle d’extraction > Acidification des CEB (Ateliers T7-R7)

Acidification des CEB (Ateliers T7-R7) L’acidification des CEB a lieu sur les ateliers de vitrification. Les réactions mises en œuvre lors de ces opérations sont les suivantes : • Acidification des carbonates et bicarbonates : HNO3 + CO32- → HCO3- + NO3HNO3 + HCO3- → CO2 + NO3- + H2O • Acidification des nitrites et azotures : HNO3 + NO2- → HNO2 + NO3HNO3 + N3- → HN3 + NO3• Destruction des azotures par les nitrites : HNO2 + HN3 → N2 + N2O + H2O • Désorption des nitrites en excès : 3HNO2 → H2O + HNO3 + 2 NO NO + 2HNO3 → 3NO2 + H2O • Lignes de défense La procédure d’acidification des CEB prévoit : - Ligne de défense 1 : de réceptionner les CEB dans une cuve exempte de solution acide - Ligne de défense 2 : de vérifier que le rapport NO2-/N3- est > 1,5 (bullage NOx dans la cuve si rapport < 1,5), garantissant la destruction des azotures avant l’acidification • Procédé : Acidification par injection d’acide nitrique concentré à température ambiante. Les CEB sont ensuite mélangés aux concentrats PF puis vitrifiés. Le NH3 résiduel est décomposé thermiquement ou détruit par les oxydes d’azote dans le calcinateur. • Nota : une opération de désorption des nitrites est réalisée en cas de transfert des CEB vers la STEL (exigence liée au bitumage)

Figure 3.18. Extract from the knowledge book: “Principaux risques liés à la chimie du procédé de traitement des combustibles uses” (Marc Philippe). This Task model (previous page) presents the different steps to remove undesired N3H in a reprocessing plant. The table (this page) lists the different chemical equations for N3H removal thanks to an acidification process

Environmental radioactivity (terrestrial environment) This knowledge book deals with the issue of the impact of radioactivity on the environment. It presents, in turn, the elements useful for understanding the problem, the phenomena of transfer and exposure, an example of fallout from atmospheric strikes, natural radioactivity, the influence of the normal operation of nuclear installations and exposure situations resulting from radioactive deposits. Before completing this very dense book with a very wide field, the expert was asked by the IRSN training school to set up and run a training course on this subject, which was very successful. This knowledge book has yet to be completed, but it is important to note that its development using models has inspired the “expert knowledge actor” in terms of pedagogical engineering for the development of the training: without this work on the knowledge book, the expert might not have done this course as well.

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Transfert aux produits animaux Un animal se contamine exclusivement par ingestion de denrées et d’eau

• Chaque radionucléide possède une période biologique pour chaque organe après laquelle il est éliminé. Par exemple, pour le césium la période biologique est 2 mois pour la viande et quelques jours pour le lait, elle est infinie pour le Pu et le strontium dans les os (il ne s’élimine pas quand il est fixé dans les os), pour le tritium l’élimination est très rapide. • La contamination diminue après ingestion par dilution. Dans le cas d’une ingestion continue, tous les modèles métaboliques montrent que la contamination est proportionnelle à la charge corporelle. Par accumulation, la contamination se stabilise (incorporation chronique et peu fluctuante). • Pour chaque radionucléide, on sait calculer le facteur de transfert qui donne la contamination en Becquerels par kg en fonction de la quantité ingérée en Becquerels par jour

Exemple de la contamination du lait de vache Corps

Estomac

Conséquence : Evénement initiateur :

• Catabolisme (dégradation des composés moléculaires des radionucléides) • Passage de la paroi intestinale (pour la plupart des éléments)

• Ingestion de denrées contaminées (calculé en Becquerels/jour)

• Métabolisation et distribution des radionucléides dans les diff érents organes selon leur af finité • Accumulation et dilution des radionucléides

Flux de radionucléides dans le sang

• Contamination du lait (iode, césium ), de la viande (césium), des œufs (U, Ra…) (calculé en Becquerels/kg)

• L’iode se distribue dans la thyroïde (50%% de l’iode incorporé dans la thyroïde en 24h), mais aussi dans les glandes mammaires • Le césium (en tant qu’analogue chimique du potassium) se distribue partout, mais notamment dans les muscles • Le strontium et les Pu se distribuent dans les os ou les coquilles d’œufs • L’uranium et le radium se distribuent dans les œufs

137Cs

100

Facteur de transfert à l’équilibre : Bq/L de lait par Bq ingérés /jour = Jour/litre

10

35

30

25

20

15

5

0

35

30

25

20

15

5

10

0,1

10

1

1

0,1

131I

100

10

0

Activité volumique Bq/L

Contamination du lait de vache suite à une ingestion d’activité ponctuelle ou chronique

Nombre de jours écoulés depuis la première ingestion Activité Volumique du lait (Bq/L) résultant d'une ingestion unique de 1000 Bq Activité Volumique du lait (Bq/L) résultant de l'ingestion par la vache de 1000 Bq/jour durant 14 jours et arrêt de cette incorporation dés le 15ième jour Activité Volumique du lait (Bq/L) résultant de l'ingestion par la vache de 1000 Bq/jour se poursuivant jusqu’à la mise en équilibre

Figure 3.19. Extract from the knowledge book: “Radioactivité environnementale (milieu terrestre)” (Philippe Renaud). This Phenomenon model (top) presents the phenomenon of contamination of cow milk due to the ingestion of contaminated food (Bq stands for Bequerels). The curves (bottom) show the volumetric radioactivity in Bequerels per liter as a function of the time (in days) from the first ingestion

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Non-destructive testing of metallic materials: controls and simulations This knowledge book, developed with a retired expert since then, first addresses the topic of defect characterization, inspection methods in a power plant, the descriptive part of the areas to be controlled and the timing of inspections during the entire lifecycle of the power plant. It then deals with non-destructive tests. What are the types of non-destructive tests, visual tests and magnetic tests, with their objectives and performance? How are nondestructive tests chosen according to the type of defect? How is a part inspected by ultrasound? This book follows a rather classic process, with a historical part of the control machines and a reconstruction of the machine lineages, specifying and explaining the changes made. Développement du parc nucléaire français et des machines d’inspection en service (MIS)  09/1971 : début de la construction de Fessenheim 1 Développement du parc nucléaire français

 11/1974 : début de la construction de Triscastin 1

Palier CP0 (Contrat Programme zéro)

Palier CP1

 1973 Développement ultra-sons (UT) pour les Machines d’Inspection en Service (MIS)

les premiers contrôles seront réalisés en 1976

Sondes focalisées UT

Palier CP2

 1973-1976

 1980

Développement de la 1ère MIS (MIS 1)

Développement des machines « chaudes » (MIS 2) et « froides » (MIS 3)

Développer des moyens de contrôles par UT focalisés en immersion des cuves (EDF & CEA)

-

 1976 : début de construction de Saint Laurent des Eaux

Equivalent pour la marine : MIC Les MIS 1 sont adaptées au paliers CP0 et CP1. Des contrôles ont été réalisé sur les premières tranches CP0 et quelques rares tranches CP1

Contrôlabilité des premières tranches

-

-

Contrôle des soudures et détection des défauts sous revêtement (DSR) dans les tubulures

La MIS2 est destinée au contrôles des cuves des installations ayant déjà fonctionné (machine « chaude »), et MIS3 est destinée aux contrôles des cuves des tranches construites dans les années 80 avant leur mise en service (machine « froide »). En 1980 ces MIS sont adaptées au pallier CP0 CP1 CP2. La MIS 2 et la MIS 3 sont les premières machines équipées d'un polyoutillage qui permet des contrôles successifs sans changement d'outillage nécessitant une remontée des machines en dehors de la piscine. En 1980 les machines sont adaptées aux contrôles des soudures et à la détection des DSR dans les tubulures

Figure 3.20. Extract from the knowledge book: “Examens non destructifs des matériaux métalliques : contrôles & simulations” (Gérard Cattiaux). This History model presents the time evolution of France’s nuclear power plants and correlatively the time evolution of in-service inspection machines

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How can we improve the prevention and limitation of the consequences of serious accidents? For more than 30 years, IPSN and then IRSN have been working to improve the safety of nuclear power reactors in terms of preventing the risk of core meltdown and limiting its consequences. The purpose of this knowledge book is to contribute to the dissemination of existing knowledge on this important subject, at a time of generation renewal for many engineers in the nuclear sector. It is primarily intended for IRSN employees who must quickly have a global vision of the subject without necessarily going into details. It first presents the phenomenology of serious accidents in order to better understand the measures to prevent and limit the consequences of a serious accident. It then describes how the prevention and limitation of the consequences of serious accidents have evolved over time since the commissioning of the first nuclear power generation reactor in France, with a focus on the maintenance of reactor containments, the limitation of radioactive releases and corium management. The particularity of this knowledge book is that it has been developed with two “expert knowledge actors”, an expert and a researcher, each representing a field contributing to the subject of the consequences of severe accidents on reactors. Such a subject is deemed to require two years for a newcomer to understand. This knowledge book already provides the global aspect as well as the overview of each phenomenon, with an explanation of everything that is happening. It therefore provides the macroscopic vision of the subject, which began in 1975 and for which the institute still has objectives set for 2035. This is an important historical panorama, in the form of a quadriptych, of the operating procedures in the installations, the associated equipment and the studies carried out. The description of the lineages is also important, with a comparative analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each lineage and the commented evolution of the technology for various issues.

Capitalizing on the Organization’s Knowledge

Evolution de la limitation des rejets

Moteur de l’évolution

Rejets gazeux

Conf inement des rejets dans l’enceinte

Préchauffage de la ligne d’éventage Moteur de l’évolution

Moteur de l’évolution

Robustesse des barrières

137

Objectif de sûreté : • éviter le risque hydrogène dans la ligne d’éventage

Objectif de sûreté : • Préservation de l’enceinte

Années 50 - TMI (79)

Eventage avec filtration externe après TMI 1979 -

Argumentaire

Argumentaire

Argumentaire

Préfiltration dans l’enceinte

Moteur de l’évolution Objectif s d’exploitation : • Maintenir l’habitabilité de la salle de commande • Opérabilité de la ligne d’éventage • Réduire la dose sur le f iltre à sable

1992-1995

1992-1995 Argumentaire

Filtres à barbotage Filtres sélectifs pour les espèces gazeuses d’iode

Argumentaire

Dans le f utur

Moteur de l’évolution

Argumentaire

Objectif s de sûreté : • Diminuer les rejets en iode gazeux notamment en iodures organiques

Filtres solides Argumentaire

Argumentaire

Système robuste d’évacuation de la chaleur de l’enceinte y compris pour les situations extrêmes (AES-U)

Moteur de l’évolution Objectif s de sûreté : • Noyau dur

Dans le f utur

Figure 3.21. Extract from the knowledge book: “Comment améliore-t-on la prévention et la limitation des conséquences des accidents graves ?” (G. Cénérino, D. Jacquemain). This Lineage model presents the lineages of filters and other operational means able to limit gaseous rejections

3.5.4. Feedback on the production of knowledge books Advantages of knowledge book design The decisive advantage of book design is its mode of operation. It involves a structured methodology and a cognitician or knowledge engineer. The latter captured the content of the interview (notes and recording), and then formalized it using knowledge modeling techniques. These formalizations were then submitted to the “expert knowledge actor” for one or more iterations of validation, good mutual understanding and completeness. The interview was the basis of the method (there were usually four or five of them, each half a day long). The interview was a discussion that seems informal, but was structured in an underlying way by the questions posed by model formalization. The interview was therefore very interactive, with a lot of listening and adaptation by the knowledge engineer to the “expert knowledge actor” and his understanding of what is expected of him.

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For the development of the various knowledge books at IRSN, the structured methodology with the representation of knowledge from graphic models is essential. It guarantees the homogeneity of interpreting one knowledge book from another, always using the same types of models. All the knowledge books are very varied, without two books being the same, with very different experts. But this is the result of the application of a single approach, with the same formalism and interview methods, with the same sharing between the expert’s contribution and the realization of the expert’s knowledge modeling by the knowledge engineer. Another advantage of the method is the ability of the knowledge book to structure and provide access to basic reference documents. Involvement of “expert knowledge actors” To ensure the success of a knowledge book project, the experts interviewed must be involved in the process, interactive while being guided and supported by the cognitician in identifying their knowledge and reference documents. In this way, “expert knowledge actors” can share their specific knowledge and references, without having the impression of carrying out an additional task outside their profession. Outsourcing or not A crucial question for the production of knowledge books concerns the alternative between outsourcing and the hiring by the company of an employee to develop them internally. This is not a simple subject. First, the general trend is more towards staff limitations, especially for interdisciplinary activities that are not directly productive. As is often the case, the company may have more flexibility to subcontract for a specific period of time. Second, it should be noted that the intervention of an external knowledge engineer is much more effective with the experts interviewed than with an internal actor. For the knowledge books produced at IRSN, the interviewed experts very quickly saw, with the knowledge engineer’s intervention, that he was an essential interlocutor with an objective external vision, who made the interview fluid, without having to repeat the same elements. Internal work may be possible in a much more collective dimension (see section 3.4.7), keeping the idea of structured methodology in a simplified application.

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3.5.5. Problem linked to the dissemination of knowledge books The dissemination of knowledge books can be a problem if it is not planned from the outset. Statistics on access to books provide very little information on the use in knowledge books. It is essential that the knowledge book has a holder who is not necessarily the “expert knowledge actor”. The experience of giving the books to new entrants to present to the expert has been very positive. The latter have shown their ability to quickly appropriate the content, to reproduce it and to discuss it with the expert, who is particularly satisfied to contribute to a successful knowledge transfer work. Another aspect of the problem concerns the cost/benefit ratio of these knowledge books. Proving the use and demonstration of the investment return of a knowledge book is not easy. However, it is almost certain that in the course of the passage of time and the resulting turnover of staff, the usefulness, ease and effectiveness of the knowledge book will be highlighted. The same applies in the event of the updating of an old subject (in the event of an incident, accident or need for assistance with installation design), for which the ease of use of a knowledge book will increase efficiency and credibility. However, in the event of a problem, these books remain reference documents that must be accessible at all times, as they contain the essential elements for understanding the problems. 3.5.6. Problem of the evolution of knowledge books IRSN has a collaborative platform, on which all the knowledge books have been placed, with the possibility of making a contribution with accompanying sheets. In practice, young engineers are reluctant to retouch a knowledge book created by a senior expert, for example. The “referent” character of the person and that of the knowledge book prevail over the idea of modification. Thus, no single intervention will change the knowledge books. The evolution of a knowledge book requires some formalization. For example, we can mobilize the “peers” in the field, with a preparatory meeting to review a book with questions such as: how should it be developed? What are the new elements? What are the obsolete elements? It is rare that the author of the book is the right person to keep the book alive, because he does not necessarily want to reinvest himself in it.

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3.5.7. Perspectives One of the perspectives currently being considered is to make collective books, with simpler operating modes, with assisting software, within a small team that reflects and exchanges. A preparatory document for a collective knowledge book on the interface between research and expertise in the fire domain has been written: what is the physics of a fire? How is the ventilation controlled? What do we do in terms of R&D? How is this done in facilities that are designed with fire sectors and containment sectors? The institute has full-scale premises, where researchers conduct fire experiments on electrical equipment, producing many experimental findings. The project aims to structure the knowledge of researchers who conduct experiments and the needs of experts who conduct safety analysis, by involving experts and researchers in the development of a collective knowledge book. The difficulty lies in the fact that researchers and experts have difficulty communicating, because they do not have the same analytical grids. The knowledge book could be used as an interface document between the two communities, structured with the knowledge models most used at IRSN (phenomena, lineage, history). The objective would be to adapt the knowledge book method to problems other than the capitalization of an expert knowledge actor, in this case the establishment of an interface between two professional communities, which is very difficult to achieve through texts, but much easier with the visuals of graphic models that allow better exchange. Another approach concerns the needs identified by the units for the writing of syntheses on subjects considered necessary. It was found that the decision to make a knowledge book on such subjects could lead to a conflict of priorities (in terms of human resources in particular). On this point, an experiment is being carried out to show that there is no competition of means, but rather a synergy that motivates the two actions to be placed in parallel. On the one hand, the reflection carried out for the construction of the knowledge book is a very structuring element for the writing of the synthesis (experience shows that identifying a summary for such syntheses is challenging). On the other hand, the knowledge book is based on detailed technical documents (which are linked to the knowledge book) whose usefulness and writing priority find meaning again in the architecture of the

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knowledge book. A pilot experiment has been launched on this point, again with simpler operating procedures and assisting software, as part of a small team that thinks and exchanges. 3.6. Lessons learned from case studies Knowledge capitalization is sometimes referred to as “knowledge codification” because it involves formally transcribing knowledge that is often tacit, dispersed in documents or buried in inadequate or overly complex contexts. This is not a novelty in companies, because, since the beginning, all kinds of documents have been produced there, in order to transcribe ideas, actions, ways of doing things, regulations, etc. However, writing documents based solely on knowledge is a novelty, which is useful, if not fundamental, from the perspective of knowledge management. Traditional drafting methods, which are of course still in use, experience great trouble to represent the complexity of knowledge. Other methods, known as “knowledge engineering“ methods, have since emerged. We have seen one here, based on a knowledge modeling technique, which allows both the rapid capture of tacit expert knowledge, the visual, cognitive and ergonomic restitution of this knowledge and the structured sharing of this knowledge with other actors. The success factors of a knowledge capitalization method are: – the intense, but minimally invasive, mobilization of an expert or experts ready to explain their knowledge domain and specific know-how during interviews; – a powerful and fast offline structuring method to codify the material collected during conversations in a structured way; – a simple and consensual restitution of the structure of the knowledge obtained and its content; – easy appropriation by the actors concerned with the capitalized knowledge domain.

References

[AUB 03] AUBERTIN G., J. BOUGHZALA I., ERMINE J.-L., Cartographie des connaissances critiques, Revue des Sciences et Technologies de l’Information – Série RIA : Revue d’Intelligence Artificielle, 17 (1-2-3), pp. 495–502, Paris, Lavoisier, 2003, HAL id: hal-02094698. Available at: https://hal.archivesouvertes.fr/hal-020994698. [BAR 01] BARROSO A.C.O., “Gestão do Conhecimento Dentroe Fora da Sala de Aula”,. 3° Workshop Brasileiro de Inteligência Competitiva e Gestão do Conhecimento, paper 5–23, Out/2002, São Paulo, Brasil [BEN 06] BENMAHAMED D., ERMINE J.-L., Techniques de gestion et d’ingénierie des connaissances pour la conception des dispositifs de transfert de savoir-faire dans les métiers pétroliers, IC 2006 (Ingénierie des Connaissances), Nantes, 29–30 June 2006, HAL id: hal-00432830, version v1. Available at : https://hal.archivesouvertes.fr/hal-00432830v1. [BOU 12] BOUCHEZ J.-P., L’économie du savoir, Brussels, De Boek, 2012. [CHI 96] CHIEN S.A., MORTENSEN H.B., “Automating image processing for scientific data analysis of a large image satabase”, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 854–859, 1996 [CLU 17] CLUB GESTION DES CONNAISSANCES, Knowledge Handbook & Knowledge Workbook, 2017. [COU 16] COUTURIER J., JOREL M., Implementation of a global Knowledge Management system at IRSN, Third International Conference on Nuclear KM, IAEA, 7–11, November, 2016.

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[ERM 03] ERMINE J.-L., La gestion des connaissances, Paris, Hermès Science Publications, 2003, HAL id: hal-00997696, version 1. Available at: https://hal. archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00997696v1. [ERM 05] ERMINE J.-L., BOUGHZALA I., TOUNKARA T., “Using cartography to sustain inter-generation knowledge transfer: The M3C methodology”, International Conference on Intellectual Capital and Knowledge Management, ICICKM 2005, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, pp. 175–186, 2005, HAL id : hal00432874, version v1. Available at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal00432874v1. [ERM 13] ERMINE J.-L., Knowledge Management with the MASK Method, Knowledge Management for Sustainable Development, Scientific International Ed., 2013, HAL id: hal-02080443. Available at: https://hal.archivesouvertes.fr/hal-02080443. [ERM 18a] ERMINE J.-L., Knowledge Management: The Creative Loop, London, ISTE Ltd, 2018. [ERM 93] ERMINE J.L., Génie logiciel et génie cognitif pour les systèmes à base de connaissances, volume 1: Aspects méthodologiques, volume 2: Etudes de cas, Paris, Lavoisier, 1993. [FER 06] FERRARY M., PESQUEUX Y., Management de la connaissance, Paris, Edition Economica, 2006. [FOR 09] FORAY D., L’économie de la connaissance, 2nd edition, Paris, Éditions La Découverte, 2009. [HAN 99] HANSEN M.T., NOHRIA N., TIERNEY T., “What’s your strategy for managing knowledge?”, Harvard Business Review, March-April 99, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 106–116, 1999. [HAT 02a] HATCHUEL A., LE MASSON P., WEIL B., “De la gestion des connaissances aux organisations orientées conception”, in ROWE F. (ed.), Faire de la recherche en systèmes d’information, Paris, Vuibert, pp. 155–170, 2002. [LEB 94] LEBLANC B., DAGORN H., BARD D. et al., “Knowledge management in human radioprotection”, SMICK’94, International Symposium on Management of Industrial and Corporate Knowledge, Compiègne, 26–27 October 1994, pp. 211–220, 1994. [LEI 08] LEIDNER D., “Préface”, in DUDEZERT A., BOUGGHZALA I. (ed.), Vers le KM 2.0 : Quel Management des Connaissances Imaginer Pour Faire Face aux défis futurs ?, Paris, Vuibert, 2008.

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[MAT 02] MATTA N., ERMINE J.-L, AUBERTIN G. et al., “Knowledge capitalization with a knowledge engineering approach: The MASK method”, Knowledge Management and Organisational Memories, Kluwer, pp. 17–28, 2002, HAL id: hal-02080566. Available at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02080566. [MOI 05] MOISAN S., ERMINE J.L., « Gestion opérationnelle des connaissances sur les codes », in TEULIER, R., CHARLET, J., TCHOUNIKINE P. (eds), Ingénierie des Connaissances, L’Harmattan, Communications, Médias, 2005, HAL id: hal02092618. Available at : https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02092618. [NON 95] NONAKA I., TAKEUCHI H., The Knowledge-Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation, Oxford University Press, 1995. [PAR 98] PARMENTIER T., ZIEBELIN D., RECHENMANN F., “Environnement de résolution de problèmes distribué”, RFIA’98, 11ème congrès Reconnaissance des formes et intelligence artificielle, Clermont-Ferrand, II-265-274, 1998. [PIC 99] PICARD S., ERMINE J.-L, SCHEURER B., “Knowledge management for large scientific software”, PAKeM’99, Practical Application of Knowledge Management, April 1999, London, 1999, HAL id: hal-02080579. Available at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02080579. [POL 67] POLANYI M., The Tacit Dimension, New York, Anchor Books, 1967. [PRA 00] PRAX J.-Y., Le Guide du Knowledge Management – Concepts et Pratiques du Management de la connaissance, Paris, Dunod, 2000. [RIC 06] RICCIARDI R.I., BAROSO A.C.O., ERMINE J-L., “Knowledge evaluation for knowledge management implementation, the case study of the radiopharmaceutical centre of IPEN”, Journal of Nuclear Knowledge Management, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 64–75, 2006, HAL id: hal-02080569. Available at: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02080569. [RIC 11] RICCIARDI R.I., BAROSO A.C.O., ERMINE J.-L., “Assessment and structuring knowledge of the organization for the strategic alignment of knowledge management: An application to the radio-pharmaceutical centre of IPEN”, Colloque Gestion des Connaissances dans la Société et les Organisation (GeCSO), Clermont Ferrand, 2011. [SAR 02] SARGIS-ROUSSEL C., “De la gestion de l’information au management de la connaissance : Quelle stratégie pour les organisations ?”, XVIe Journées des IAE, Paris, 2002.

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Index

A, C, D action plan, 13, 15, 26, 33–36, 72, 78 analysis of critical capacities, 13, 34 knowledge, 14, 34, 67 capitalization, 3, 7–9, 12, 13, 15, 16, 48, 58, 68, 80, 89–91, 95, 111, 119, 141 Chronopost, 33, 37–39, 41–46, 49–53, 56, 57 Club Gestion des Connaissances, 22, 37, 61, 74, 84 code system, 107, 108, 110 daisy model, 1, 7, 9, 10, 30 H, I, K history model, 105 Hydro Québec, 33, 57–59, 67 INRS, 89, 94–97, 99, 102–106 IPEN, 33, 68–70 IRSN, 89, 118–120, 122, 124, 125, 133, 136, 138–140 KM plan, 10–12, 30 project, 1, 2, 7, 9, 10, 23, 72 knowledge-based KM, 1, 6, 7

knowledge book, 91–93, 95–97, 99, 106, 107, 109–111, 113, 119–128, 130–133, 135–140 capital, 1, 5–8, 11, 13, 15–17, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 33, 34, 67, 71, 87, 89, 90, 108–110, 112, 119 creation, 8, 10, 15, 20, 21 criticality, 14, 34–36, 80, 85, 87 economy, 3–5 engineering, 16, 107, 141 management, 1–6, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17, 23–29, 33, 35, 67, 72, 79, 81, 83, 88, 89, 109, 118, 119 management transfer, 15–19, 50, 52, 95, 119, 139 M, S, T, V MASK I model, 102 method, 1, 12, 13, 31, 90, 92, 93, 109, 110, 120, 121 sharing of knowledge, 8, 17, 48, 79 Sonatrach, 33, 79–83

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strategic alignment, 14, 15, 35, 54, 81, 86, 87 analysis, 13, 33, 43, 56, 57, 66, 79, 83, 119 strategy map, 41, 43, 45, 77, 81, 83

task model, 99 theory of knowledge, 16 virtuous cycle of knowledge, 1, 8, 10, 12, 22, 30, 31

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SACHETTI Philippe, ZUPPINGER Thibaud New Technologies and Branding (Innovation and Technology Set – Volume 4) SAMIER Henri Intuition, Creativity, Innovation TEMPLE Ludovic, COMPAORÉ SAWADOGO Eveline M.F.W. Innovation Processes in Agro-Ecological Transitions in Developing Countries (Innovation in Engineering and Technology Set – Volume 2) UZUNIDIS Dimitri Collective Innovation Processes: Principles and Practices (Innovation in Engineering and Technology Set – Volume 4) VAN HOOREBEKE Delphine

The Management of Living Beings or Emo-management

2017 AÏT-EL-HADJ Smaïl The Ongoing Technological System (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 11) BAUDRY Marc, DUMONT Béatrice Patents: Prompting or Restricting Innovation? (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 12) BÉRARD Céline, TEYSSIER Christine Risk Management: Lever for SME Development and Stakeholder Value Creation CHALENÇON Ludivine Location Strategies and Value Creation of International Mergers and Acquisitions CHAUVEL Danièle, BORZILLO Stefano The Innovative Company: An Ill-defined Object (Innovation Between Risk and Reward Set – Volume 1)

CORSI Patrick Going Past Limits To Growth D’ANDRIA Aude, GABARRET

Inés Building 21st Century Entrepreneurship (Innovation and Technology Set – Volume 2) DAIDJ Nabyla Cooperation, Coopetition and Innovation (Innovation and Technology Set – Volume 3) FERNEZ-WALCH Sandrine The Multiple Facets of Innovation Project Management (Innovation between Risk and Reward Set – Volume 4) FOREST Joëlle Creative Rationality and Innovation (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 14) GUILHON Bernard Innovation and Production Ecosystems (Innovation between Risk and Reward Set – Volume 2) HAMMOUDI Abdelhakim, DAIDJ Nabyla Game Theory Approach to Managerial Strategies and Value Creation (Diverse and Global Perspectives on Value Creation Set – Volume 3) LALLEMENT Rémi Intellectual Property and Innovation Protection: New Practices and New Policy Issues (Innovation between Risk and Reward Set – Volume 3) LAPERCHE Blandine Enterprise Knowledge Capital (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 13) LEBERT Didier, EL YOUNSI Hafida International Specialization Dynamics (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 9)

MAESSCHALCK Marc Reflexive Governance for Research and Innovative Knowledge (Responsible Research and Innovation Set – Volume 6) MASSOTTE Pierre Ethics in Social Networking and Business 1: Theory, Practice and Current Recommendations Ethics in Social Networking and Business 2: The Future and Changing Paradigms MASSOTTE Pierre, CORSI Patrick Smart Decisions in Complex Systems MEDINA Mercedes, HERRERO Mónica, URGELLÉS Alicia Current and Emerging Issues in the Audiovisual Industry (Diverse and Global Perspectives on Value Creation Set – Volume 1) MICHAUD Thomas Innovation, Between Science and Science Fiction (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 10) PELLÉ Sophie Business, Innovation and Responsibility (Responsible Research and Innovation Set – Volume 7) SAVIGNAC Emmanuelle The Gamification of Work: The Use of Games in the Workplace SUGAHARA Satoshi, DAIDJ Nabyla, USHIO Sumitaka Value Creation in Management Accounting and Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach (Diverse and Global Perspectives on Value Creation Set –Volume 2) UZUNIDIS Dimitri, SAULAIS Pierre Innovation Engines: Entrepreneurs and Enterprises in a Turbulent World (Innovation in Engineering and Technology Set – Volume 1)

2016 BARBAROUX Pierre, ATTOUR Amel, SCHENK Eric Knowledge Management and Innovation (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 6) BEN BOUHENI Faten, AMMI Chantal, LEVY Aldo Banking Governance, Performance And Risk-Taking: Conventional Banks Vs Islamic Banks BOUTILLIER Sophie, CARRÉ Denis, LEVRATTO Nadine Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 2) BOUTILLIER Sophie, UZUNIDIS Dimitri The Entrepreneur (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 8) BOUVARD Patricia, SUZANNE Hervé Collective Intelligence Development in Business GALLAUD Delphine, LAPERCHE Blandine Circular Economy, Industrial Ecology and Short Supply Chains (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 4) GUERRIER Claudine Security and Privacy in the Digital Era (Innovation and Technology Set – Volume 1) MEGHOUAR Hicham Corporate Takeover Targets MONINO Jean-Louis, SEDKAOUI Soraya Big Data, Open Data and Data Development (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 3) MOREL Laure, LE ROUX Serge Fab Labs: Innovative User (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 5) PICARD Fabienne, TANGUY Corinne Innovations and Techno-ecological Transition (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 7)

2015 CASADELLA Vanessa, LIU Zeting, DIMITRI Uzunidis Innovation Capabilities and Economic Development in Open Economies (Smart Innovation Set – Volume 1) CORSI Patrick, MORIN Dominique Sequencing Apple’s DNA CORSI Patrick, NEAU Erwan Innovation Capability Maturity Model FAIVRE-TAVIGNOT Bénédicte Social Business and Base of the Pyramid GODÉ Cécile Team Coordination in Extreme Environments MAILLARD Pierre Competitive Quality and Innovation MASSOTTE Pierre, CORSI Patrick Operationalizing Sustainability MASSOTTE Pierre, CORSI Patrick Sustainability Calling

2014 DUBÉ Jean, LEGROS Diègo Spatial Econometrics Using Microdata LESCA Humbert, LESCA Nicolas Strategic Decisions and Weak Signals

2013 HABART-CORLOSQUET Marine, JANSSEN Jacques, MANCA Raimondo VaR Methodology for Non-Gaussian Finance

2012 DAL PONT Jean-Pierre Process Engineering and Industrial Management MAILLARD Pierre Competitive Quality Strategies POMEROL Jean-Charles Decision-Making and Action SZYLAR Christian UCITS Handbook

2011 LESCA Nicolas Environmental Scanning and Sustainable Development LESCA Nicolas, LESCA Humbert Weak Signals for Strategic Intelligence: Anticipation Tool for Managers MERCIER-LAURENT Eunika Innovation Ecosystems

2010 SZYLAR Christian Risk Management under UCITS III/IV

2009 COHEN Corine Business Intelligence ZANINETTI Jean-Marc Sustainable Development in the USA

2008 CORSI Patrick, DULIEU Mike The Marketing of Technology Intensive Products and Services DZEVER Sam, JAUSSAUD Jacques, ANDREOSSO Bernadette Evolving Corporate Structures and Cultures in Asia: Impact of Globalization

2007 AMMI Chantal Global Consumer Behavior

2006 BOUGHZALA Imed, ERMINE Jean-Louis Trends in Enterprise Knowledge Management CORSI Patrick et al. Innovation Engineering: the Power of Intangible Networks

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