Anonymous practice example · International machinery manufacturer
Pass on her knowledge.
Before she retires.
Capture experience through conversations at the machine. Stewards review statements, assign them to knowledge areas and release them for the technical team. New colleagues can use that knowledge for their own questions.
The work moment and image are illustrative. This page reports no measurements of onboarding time or expert workload.
Before the handover · Illustrative work moment
The starting point
At an international machinery manufacturer, important technicians are approaching retirement. New colleagues struggle to learn the work. Asking experienced staff to write reports reveals too little tacit knowledge. An experienced technician therefore explains, beside the machine, which observations matter to her and how she recognises connections.
Illustrative example conversation
“The manual doesn’t describe it that way. Let me show you what I look for here.”
Prepare
Choose the equipment, knowledge area and conversation participants.
In conversation
Describe experience in your own words and clarify its context.
Use afterwards
Use reviewed knowledge for onboarding and work questions.
Two working moments
Understand the situation.
Shape the conversation to fit.
01
Capture experience before retirement
The technician discusses actual work moments with the machine in front of her. Questions reveal familiar observations, differences and reasons behind decisions. She does not need to write a lengthy report first.
02
Help new technicians learn
A new colleague asks about approved experience in their own words. The answer identifies the equipment and knowledge version. They see what applies to their situation and what still needs clarification with experienced colleagues.
The knowledge base
See the evidence.
Recognise open questions.
Conversation makes experience visible. Reusing it requires clear context and subject-matter review.
01
Specific experience
The technician describes the observation, machine and situation. Voice asks why details matter and what differs, making familiar ways of working understandable.
02
Visible unresolved points
Interpretation, documented facts and unresolved connections remain distinguishable. Missing machine variants or conditions prompt questions and are recorded as unresolved.
03
Subject-matter approval
The steward reviews statements, context and possible contradictions. They assign confirmed content to the appropriate knowledge area and decide what to release.
An example conversation
Ask a concrete question.
Get a traceable answer.
Illustrative example conversation
“What do you notice first on this machine when something behaves differently?”
Sources and scope
The technician’s recorded statements with equipment and situational context, supplemented by manuals and approved experience reports. This illustrative dialogue shows the process, not a technical instruction.
What still needs clarification
A conversation draft is not yet approved team knowledge. Equipment differences remain visible. The steward establishes the applicable scope before making content available to other technicians.
“You are describing an observation from experience. I’ll record the machine and circumstances. Which details are documented, and which are your interpretation?”
“Does that apply to this configuration or to other machines too? Which conditions should we record?”
The technician reviews the conversation draft and adds missing context. The steward receives observations, equipment references, interpretations and unresolved questions for subject-matter review.
The knowledge cycle
Capture experience in conversation.
Share reviewed knowledge.
01
Talk during the work moment
Voice guides the conversation beside the machine. Social Coding adapts agreed language, tone, pace and questions to the work setting. The technician can add details and make corrections.
02
Capture experience with context
The draft connects statements to equipment, circumstances and knowledge areas. Observations, interpretations and questions remain identifiable. The technician reviews the description before handing it over.
03
Clarify with the steward
The named subject-matter owner checks content against existing sources and requests clarification. They resolve differences, contradictions and the scope in which the experience applies.
04
Release it for the technical team
Approved content is assigned to the relevant knowledge areas and shared with all technicians. New colleagues ask their own questions and can return further observations for review.
Four elements of the VOP
One foundation.
Four clear tasks.
01
KSE
Makes sources, equipment references and approved experience available for later questions, with an identifiable knowledge version.
02
Voice
Guides respectful conversations about specific observations. Tone and pace are agreed; people are not automatically categorised.
03
TalkTo
TalkToExpert supports capture. TalkToKnowledge makes reviewed content accessible for work questions. Responsibilities and approvals are configured in the project.
04
Frontend
Shows drafts, sources and unresolved points. Technicians and stewards can review statements and identify their current status.
The first pilot
One team. A clear scope.
An outcome we can review.
Pilot objective
Knowledge transfer in machinery
One defined knowledge area, one machine family and a small technical team. Together we select conversation topics, the steward, existing sources and questions new colleagues need answered.
Scope and effort
Source preparation, access, conversation design, integration and subject-matter upkeep are defined together. The agreed scope becomes the basis for an offer.
How we assess value
01
Reusable experience
The steward evaluates which captured content is reviewed and usable for typical work questions. The counting unit is agreed before the pilot.
02
Review and clarification effort
We record time spent on conversations, questions, review and classification. This shows the effort needed to produce an approved knowledge item.
03
Support for onboarding
New technicians address agreed work questions using approved knowledge. The team compares answer quality, unresolved points and effort with its current process.
How we set up the pilot
- 01
Select the knowledgeTogether we identify the machine family, experience area and participants. We focus on questions for which new colleagues currently depend on experienced technicians.
- 02
Prepare conversationsAgree language, tone, pace and work moments with the team. Establish existing sources, access permissions and the steward’s role before capturing experience.
- 03
Capture and reviewInitial conversations take place at the machines. Technicians and stewards review drafts, add missing details and define the scope of content proposed for release.
- 04
Try it with new colleaguesThe team releases reviewed content. New technicians ask typical work questions. Their follow-ups show which areas already help and where additions are needed.
- 05
Evaluate and decideWe compare agreed measures and upkeep effort. The team decides whether to add knowledge areas and how to organise ongoing review and updates.
Questions before starting
What we establish
before the pilot.
Why conversations instead of more reports?
In this practice example, report requests capture too little experience. Conversations beside the machine explore specific observations through questions, revealing knowledge often left unstated in written reports.
What does suitable Social Coding mean?
We agree language, tone, pace and conversation approach with the technical team. Technicians can interrupt, add details and correct statements. Conversations are adapted without automatically evaluating personality.
Who approves the knowledge?
The named steward reviews statements, clarifies unresolved points and assigns content to knowledge areas. Only approved versions become available to the technical team for work questions.
Can new technicians ask questions directly?
Yes. They query approved knowledge in their own words. Sources, equipment context and unresolved points remain visible. New observations can be returned as drafts for subject-matter review.
How do we start, and what determines effort?
Start with one machine family and a defined knowledge area. Conversations, source preparation, integration, steward review and upkeep determine scope. Measures and an offer are agreed during scoping.
