A Process Innovation Knowledge Management Framework and its Application

Process innovation can create new manufacturing technology or improve existing manufacturing technology by using a large number of process innovation knowledge. Hence, how to effectively organize process innovation knowledge and leverage it into practical application is crucial to process innovation from the holistic viewpoint. As of now there is a lack of a reasonable knowledge management framework and application mode for process innovation. To change this situation, a novel management framework of process innovation knowledge is proposed, according to the characteristics of process innovation and the role of knowledge in manufacturing problem-solving. Process innovation knowledge is composed of method knowledge and data knowledge so as to achieve knowledge's rational application in the whole process of innovation. In this framework, four core knowledge activities are involved: knowledge acquisition, knowledge organization, knowledge application and knowledge accumulation. And a knowledge accumulating closed-loop containing new process knowledge could facilitate the implementation of subsequent process innovation. Finally, an application instance of welding process innovation is shown to illustrate the applicability of the proposed framework and the application processes of process innovation.