Knowledge use in an advanced manufacturing environment

It is now widely accepted that the active utilisation of a company’s knowledge is vital to maintaining competitive advantage in today’s knowledge based economy, particularly within design and manufacturing environments. Despite the rising popularity of Knowledge Based Systems [KBS] to support design reuse, designer’s interaction with these systems is still poorly understood. This paper presents the results of a longitudinal ‘diary study’ to evaluate the role of a KBS in designer’s activities. The results demonstrate the potential for a KBS to operate as the primary source of codified knowledge for designers and can be a viable alternative to verbal knowledge sharing with experts. A KBS is therefore found to be a significant asset for a Small to Medium Enterprise.