Knowledge building and concurrent engineering in manufacturing automation

Summary form only given, as follows. The author addresses modeling of the knowledge-building and project management processes in an advanced concurrent engineering project in manufacturing automation. The present work is based on 18 months of intensive field research in a US plant and with its Japanese equipment vendor. This research examined unfolding changes in core automation team integration, the partnership with the Japanese vendor, and overall project performance. A dual model is proposed for opposing styles of knowledge management: The first type is a constricting, funnel model, with early variety reduction and tight, staged control. This model fits a traditional Taylorist paradigm for division of labor and control of knowledge. The second type is a more chaotic fermentation vat model, characterized by continuous idea generation, tolerance for ambiguity, and emergent specification of details. These extremes (or Weberian ideal types) anchor the ends of a continuum of actual practice. The field data show the relevance of the dual model for conceptualizing a field of possibility against which a shift in the practical approach to managing knowledge resources occurs during the course of the project.<>