Tacit Knowledge Sharing for System Integration: A case of Netherlands Railways in Industry 4.0

Sharing of tacit knowledge is a key topic of research within the knowledge management community. Considering it’s embodied nature, organizations have always struggled with embedding it into their processes. Proper execution of complex processes such as system integration asks for an adequate sharing of tacit knowledge. Acknowledging the importance of lessons learned for system integration and their presence in tacit and explicit form, a case study was conducted within the Netherlands Railways. It was determined that non-sensitivity to the tacit dimension of lessons learned has resulted in their lack of utilization. Consequently, LEAF framework was developed, where LEAF stands for Learnability, Embraceability, Applicability, and Findability. The framework suggests that addressing these four features collectively can eventually lead to an adequate knowledge-sharing strategy for lessons learned. Lastly, the chapter presents an example from the Netherlands Railways to emphasize the key role technological solutions of Industry 4.0 can play in facilitating tacit knowledge sharing.