Colloquia

Samenvatting

The ‘kenniscentrum wapensystemen en munitie’ (KCW&M) of the Dutch Ministry of Defence is struggling with the documentation of the tacit knowledge of the expert maintenance operators. Most of these employees will retire within a few years so their knowledge and experience will disappear because there is no capture method available within their company structure. There is a growing awareness of the added value of expert knowledge due to the staff turnover. Therefore, this research sought to answer the question, ‘How can the capturing, sharing, and assurance of the tacit knowledge of the maintenance experts of KCW&M be ensured using augmented reality?

This research presents a foundation of a method that can make experts aware of their tacit knowledge and document the tacit knowledge of these experts during their work, using augmented reality. The possibilities of incorporating augmented reality into the performance of their tasks are explored so that there are more efficient and innovative opportunities to capture and share knowledge in the future for KCW&M.

After analysing the literature, the company structure, and the requirements of KCW&M, it shows that the 'process analysis technique' is a method that can give the desired effect in this controlled environment.

The method is based on the deviations of the experts from the standard procedure. It is validated that during the deviations from the manual, the experts use their tacit knowledge. The AR tool makes the experts aware of their actions by placing the manual in the user's field of vision and interacting with it. Subsequently, the AR tool gives the possibility to introduce new input using the different functionalities that this technology offers. Overall, this research provides a good foundation for a capturing method, which can offer more added value as more data is available in the nearby future.