Preservation
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Contents
Definition
Preservation is The process of keeping knowledge in its original state Source: Planning and Execution of Knowledge Management Assist Missions for Nuclear Organizations
Summary
One paragraph summary which summarises the main ideas of the article.
Description
Common perspectives on knowledge preservation
Different KP processes can be readily identified within most organizations. Non-experts in the field can usually relate to and understand these, whether or not their organization has any formalized KP strategy or programme in place. Most people have a perspective of KP based on the business or work systems and processes (and their inherent knowledge process needs) that they work with and with which are familiar. Some examples include:
- The archival perspective: this view of KP is based on objectives and processes associated with traditional digital or paper based documents or records of archival and storage processes and systems (such as library and records services in many organizations);
- Business process re-engineering (BPR) and the transaction theory perspective: this view of KP emphasizes on-line information systems (also referred to as OMS) such as enterprise application software (EAS),enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, information systems (IS), information and communications technology (ICT), and information management systems (IMS) collectively. These systems enable integrated work flow and cross-functional processes in organizations and support institutional memory by capturing and preserving the transactional history of work flow and business processes within a firm;
- Human resource and organizational learning perspective: this view of KP focuses on those programmes, processes, and initiatives within a firm that ensure human resource capability is maintained and core competencies are sustained (such as formal training programmes and supporting methods, processes, and technology that facilitate tacit knowledge retention via knowledge transfer and sharing mechanisms);
- Project based perspective: this view of KP focuses on the processes and tools needed to ensure adequate capture of design detail and rationale, project records and documentation, and to safely preserve this information in a repository that will be accessible (and hopefully maintainable) in the future. Most project groups focused on design and engineering use this view. The knowledge preserved will be important and utilized throughout the life cycle of a facility;
- Production process data perspective: this view of KP focuses on operational history data (e.g. data collected from real time monitoring and control systems, system health monitoring data, laboratory information systems, on-line monitoring systems, statistical process control systems, etc.) and is used to support information and knowledge needed for sustained equipment or production reliability, economics and safety;
- Design basis information maintenance perspective: this view of KP focuses on the ongoing maintenance and configuration management of design data, requirements, constraints, assumptions and rationale, change history, etc., as changes are required to maintain a plant (such as maintenance of design manuals, drawings, licensing submittals, safety requirements, safety cases, equipment qualification records, etc.).
It is not uncommon for individuals within an organization that has not implemented any coordinated, company wide KP policies and programmes to view KP quite differently (and sometimes quite narrowly), depending upon which of these processes primarily involve them, and the associated perspectives.
Source: Comparative Analysis of Methods and Tools for Nuclear Knowledge Preservation
Description
Within the KM context, it is obvious that nuclear KP plays a vital role. Preserving existing nuclear knowledge, specialist expertise, and in general preventing the loss of vital technical and historical information is starting to be recognized as strategically important to the nuclear industry, in particular for nuclear facilities. As such, the development of KP approaches and tools based on innovative approaches, including the use of modern information technology, are becoming a necessity.
The IAEA has formalized the definition of knowledge preservation to state (see Refs [1, 13]): “a process of maintaining an organizational system of knowledge and capabilities that preserves and stores perceptions, actions and experiences over time and secures the possibility of recall for the future.”
In this report, KP is viewed as including the processes required to capture, understand, archive, retrieve and protect explicit and tacit knowledge and to maintain accessibility and readability of it as technology evolves for as long as the knowledge remains useful. KP can be seen as a process of maintaining an organizational system of knowledge and capabilities that preserves and stores perceptions, actions and experiences over time and secures the possibility of recall for the future. The preservation of knowledge is an important phase within the KM cycle, from creation to implementation (see Fig. 1). KP, as a component of KM, plays an important role in supporting the entire management system, which ensures the effectiveness of industrial business processes. The main factors and driving forces of such a management system are human resources, organizational structure and responsibilities, IT, leadership, and cooperative culture.
Organizations that intentionally manage their experiences for them to be available for the future have to master three basic processes of knowledge management:
- Select from the large number of organizational events, persons or experts and processes only those worth preserving;
- Store their experience in a suitable form;
- Ensure the setting up and operation of organizational memory.
The preservation of tacit knowledge assumes the maintenance of core competencies, specialized expertise, and experience within an organization or industry. This is often referred to as knowledge retention and focuses on the human aspects of KM. The preservation of explicit knowledge, on the other hand, by definition assumes a knowledge repository or organizational memory system (OMS). A knowledge repository is a place to store and from which to retrieve explicit knowledge. A set of file folders are an example of a low technology knowledge repository. A high technology knowledge repository might be an OMS in the form of a database. Thus, KP underlies all aspects of KM, including the creation or generation of new knowledge (e.g. capturing knowledge as it is produced).
Source: Comparative Analysis of Methods and Tools for Nuclear Knowledge Preservation
Description
The preservation of knowledge is an important building block within the knowledge management field. Organizations that intentionally manage their experiences for them to be available for the future have to master three basic processes of knowledge management:
- select, from the large number of organizational events, persons or experts and processes, only those that are worth preserving;
- store their experience in a suitable form;
- ensure the setting up and operation of the organizational memory.
Source: Planning and Execution of Knowledge Management Assist Missions for Nuclear Organizations
References
[1] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Knowledge Management for Nuclear Industry Operating Organizations, IAEA-TECDOC-1510, IAEA, Vienna (2006).
[13] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Nuclear Knowledge Management Glossary, IAEA, Vienna (2005).
Related articles
Implementation of preservation tools
Long term preservation of knowledge
Long term preservation of records
Assessment of preservation tools
Tacit knowledge preservation at the institute of nuclear research, Romania
Explicit knowledge preservation at the EC Joint Research Centre, Petten
Tacit and explicit knowledge preservation at United Technical College and Kozloduy NPP, Bulgaria
