Automation Process Knowledge Management  Tribal Knowledge - New
Tools Are Putting Process Know-How into Online Pools, Letting
Newbies Access More Useful Knowledge, and Even Awakening Some
On-the-Job Training Efforts  By Jim Montague  Share Print
Related RSS  July 2011 CoverIn the good old hunter-gatherer
days, know-how and those who needed it didn't evolve so fast.
Likewise, masters and apprentices in traditional process
applications were in on-site engineering departments in the same
location, and they had time to work together on projects, convey
critical experience from one generation to the next, and even
learn to deal with unusual situations. Needless to say, times
have changed.  Years of short-sighted downsizing and layoffs
gutted and eliminated most internal engineering groups. Even
more veteran engineers are retiring, and their remaining
colleagues are spread painfully thin. And these staff cuts have
all happened at a time when technological advances are happening
faster than ever before. Talk about b