Report-Based Knowledge Management in Decentralized Production Structures

The organization concept of Decentralized Equipment and Process Responsibility (DEPR), developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) in Stuttgart, Germany, enables the integration of indirect company areas into the value creation process. The emerging decentralized production areas demand higher requirements on qualification, organization and responsibility from the employees involved in the value creation process. Only through a decentralized provision of information and company-specific knowledge is it possible for the employee to solve problems which arise on location without turning to central service areas.