Development of a knowledge retention system for a Formula SAE team: Initial report OFFCDT Evan McCloy

ABSTRACT UNSW@ADFA have been involved in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Formula SAE competition since 2004. As a practical engineering project, it requires a significant amount of dedication from team members. As team members graduate, they take with them a wealth of experience as they embark on their military careers. Since the beginning of the project, the teams have had trouble with knowledge management, specifically retention. Provided is an introduction to the Formula SAE competition, knowledge, and the aim of the thesis to develop a knowledge retention system for the UNSW@ADFA Formula SAE team, ACME Racing. During initial research, it has been found that very little has been done to address the knowledge issues for the team, despite the wealth of research into knowledge management since the early 1990s. However, a summary of current procedures and methods has been included. A brief outline of the scope of the thesis follows. Project management documentation for the thesis has been included as an appendix.

I.
A. BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION

Formula SAE (FSAE) is an annual world wide design-and-build competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). The intent of the competition is for university teams to create a small open-wheeled race car to a specification and budget as prescribed by the SAE. The competition has been conducted in the USA since 1980, and in Australia since 2000. The School of Aerospace, Civil and Mechanical Engineering (ACME) at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA) have entered a team (ACME Racing) in the FSAE-Australasia competition since 2004, with the exception of 2008. The competition aims to develop students by requiring them to design, manage, construct and maintain hundreds of individual components as part of an FSAE car. At UNSW@ADFA, the teams have and will be predominantly formed from the undergraduate student body. At the end of each year, 3rd and 4th year students graduate from UNSW@ADFA and move forward in their career with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). As they depart, they take with them all the knowledge and experience they have gained throughout their undergraduate studies and time with ACME Racing. Early in the new year, 1st year students begin their studies at UNSW@ADFA. Many join ACME Racing, most with very little experience in engineering or motorsport. Poor knowledge management in 2007 combined with reduction in support staff in 2008 resulted in the loss of a significant amount of ACME Racing knowledge from the end of 2007. Minimal effort was made to improve the knowledge and skill base in 2008 and early 2009, and the lack of skills and knowledge has been identified as a critical issue, as mentioned in the Client Brief in the Appendix. For the 2009 competition, the team aims to complete all driving events, and improve on previous scores in presentation events. In order for the team to produce their desired result in 2009 they must improve both the current knowledge level, as well as developing a knowledge retention system to ensure that similar events are not repeated in future years. In order to increase the knowledge and skill base, in 2009 ACME Racing began a series of programs aimed to train the inexperienced members of the team to a suitable standard, but the effectiveness of these programs is still to be determined.

B.

KNOWLEDGE

Definitions of the term 'knowledge' abound. In order to fully realise the potential of a well-functioning knowledge retention system, a suitable definition of the term must first be found. A number of definitions of knowledge exist, however the definition provided by Bender and Fish appears to be one of the most concise, appropriate definitions for knowledge. Knowledge originates in the head of an individual and builds on information that is transformed and enriched by personal experience, beliefs and values with decision and action-relevant meaning. It is information interpreted by the individual and applied to the purpose for which it is needed. The knowledge formed by and individual will differ from another person receiving the same information. Knowledge is the mental state of ideas, facts, concepts, data and techniques, recorded in an individual's memory. 1 There are a number of key statements that can be drawn from this definition: Knowledge builds on information. For an individual to be knowledgeable, they must first possess the relevant information. Information is developed into knowledge through personal experience, beliefs and values. The personal experience is a vital component separating knowledge from information (especially in an engineering environment), as an individual can not be expected to develop suitable opinions from a purely theoretical point of view. It also means that there must remain a clear delineation between training (rote learning, clearly defined boundaries) and education, or knowledge (uncertainty, problem solving). Knowledge is recorded in an individual's memory. This implies that while some information is easily forgotten, knowledge is retained more effectively, and is of greater value than information. C. KNOWLEDGE HIERARCHY

To further understand the relationship between knowledge and information, the knowledge hierarchy has been used. Just as definitions of knowledge vary between sources, there are numerous versions of the knowledge hierarchy; however there are no fundamental differences. Figure 1, has been taken from Bender & Fish as it not only shows the hierarchy but the links between the elements.

Figure 1: Knowledge Hierarchy 1

Data can be seen as raw, unprocessed information - engineering tables, material properties and engine specifications are considered examples of data. Through meaning, understanding, relevance and purpose data is developed into information. Knowledge then is the development of information, as noted in the transforming stage in Figure 1. Expertise is enriched knowledge. This can only come with significant experience, and due to the relatively short timeframe and specific nature of a FSAE team, expertise will not be looked at in great depth.

The knowledge hierarchy has come under criticism in recent years, for a simplistic and contradictory view of the relationship between knowledge, information and data. Alavi and Leidner state that What is key to effectively distinguishing between information and knowledge is not found in the content, structure, accuracy or utility of the supposed information or knowledge 2. Tuomi believes that the knowledge hierarchy presented in Figure 1 is upside-down, as knowledge is articulated as information, which is then prepared to produce meaningful data. Tuomis paper states that the different perspective may have major implications for organizational flexibility and renewal.3 Tuomi also discusses variations of the hierarchy, and how various authors have interpreted the components differently. Differences of opinion aside, the knowledge hierarchy in Figure 1 and various definitions of knowledge identify one of the most important components of knowledge: that knowledge can not exist outside an individual, and that it is important to understand that facets of knowledge (interpretation, retention, and application) vary drastically between individuals. 1,2,3,4 D. AIM

The idea for this thesis was first conceived during the second half of 2008 when the ACME Racing team came to the realisation that they did not have the requisite skills and knowledge to begin design and construction of an FSAE car for the 2009 competition. After discussion with team alumni, senior academics and junior team members, it was decided that some form of systematic change was required. The aim of this thesis is to research current knowledge retention methods in order to develop a suitable system for the team. It is believed that a simple, effective knowledge retention system will bring about the systematic change required to ensure the ACME Racing team continues to develop into a professional team. In fostering knowledge retention within the team and individuals, a positive educational outcome naturally flows.

II.
A. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

KNOWLEDGE

There has been a boom in the amount and quality of knowledge systems research in the last two decades. The first major work was Nonaka's The Knowledge-Creating Company from 1991. It is often regarded as the first work to differentiate between explicit (objective, quantifiable, tangible) and tacit (ideas, thoughts, personal) knowledge and became the foundation for the knowledge management discipline. 2,5 Nonaka defines explicit knowledge as formal and systematic... It can be easily communicated and shared, in product specifications or a scientific formula or a computer program. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is highly personal... hard to formalize and, therefore, difficult to communicate to others. 5 Nonaka's work encouraged research in many other areas and disciplines, much of which can be applied as a means of improving an organisation's knowledge creation, analysis, transfer and retention. Some of these areas include knowledge network analysis which focuses on understanding relationships between an organisation's team members and pathways and barriers to knowledge transfer6, and information theory which is a mathematical approach to quantification of the value of information. B. ACME RACING KNOWLEDGE RETENTION

There have been various theses written on or for ACME Racing by UNSW@ADFA engineering students, since 2001. They focussed on the Formula SAE competition, ACME Racing team management, and technical development of the cars. The theses themselves can be seen as attempts at retaining knowledge, so the research conducted should not have to be repeated in future years. A brief examination of dates and references for each thesis shows that a significant amount of research was conducted when the team was first established, and that the number of research projects has diminished after the initial investigations in the period 2003-2004. While all the theses contain information relevant to the development of ACME Racing as a professional team, and will likely be used to develop a base level of knowledge for the team, three of the project management

theses will be analysed as part of the development of the knowledge retention system, specifically Barton7, Farmilo8 and Kurylewski9. While none of these theses dealt directly with knowledge retention, the project management component for a recurring project contains elements of knowledge retention, explicit or otherwise. 1. BARTON 2003

Barton documented the project management process used in 2003, when the first car, WS01, was in the early stages of being researched and built. WS01 was only completed in time for the 2004 competition, and poor project management was cited as a significant factor. Regardless, Bartons recommendations from 2003 recognized a number of important omissions from the senior management that still have an influence on 2009 team structure, including roles and relationships between faculty staff and project members, and the importance of independent scrutineers. None of Bartons conclusions or recommendations were related directly to improving knowledge retention or transfer for previous years, focussing more on improving team structure to aid in construction of the car in 2004. One of Bartons recommendations, CAD training for all engineering students, has been integrated into the Bachelors program. This has had a secondary effect of allowing the team members to concentrate on more advanced CAE, such as analysis and component integration instead of learning basic CAD modelling as part of their involvement with ACME Racing. 2. FARMILO 2004

Farmilo commented that the most obvious factor contributing to the lack of success of the early Teams was poor management8. Farmilo analysed Bartons work and developed a management methodology to suit the ACME Racing team, using a maturity model provided by Kerzner.10 The single most important outcome of Farmilos thesis is the development of a Team Management Package (TMP) with the intent of aiding future teams and senior members with concurrent management of the project and personnel. The TMP is divided into nine aspects: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Team, Control, Objectives, Breakdown, Appreciation, Guidance, Resources, Knowledge, and Improvements.

The knowledge aspect of the TMP was intended to aid in transfer of knowledge from team to team, through lessons learnt and technical documentation. Unfortunately there is no evidence of any lessons learnt or technical documentation from 2004, besides the 2005- onwards cars. 3. KURYLEWSKI 2006

Kurylewski expanded on the two previous pieces by initialising a systems engineering approach to the concept, design and construction of the 2006 vehicle, WS03. Drawing on past experience with the project, Kurylewski developed a significant amount of knowledge of systems engineering for a FSAE application. The systems engineering approach required a significant amount of planning to develop the various structures and program planning tools, such as task allocation, construction scheduling and requirements analysis. Kurylewski refined the team structure from previous years, and established duty statements for senior team members as part of establishing a knowledge management strategy. In his closing remarks, Kurylewski commented that the important issue of recruitment and team turnover is highly recommended for further investigation as a programme priority.9 It appears that Kurylewski understood

the importance of developing a knowledge retention system for the team, however as the majority of the team members had experience with FSAE since WS01 in 2003-2004, this was overlooked during 2006. C. SUMMARY OF ACME RACING KNOWLEDGE RETENTION

It is important to note that appropriate project management during the design and construction of a FSAE vehicle is essential to producing a quality product at the end of each year, something which was addressed by Barton, Farmilo and Kurylewski. It is unfortunate, however, that the three focussed predominantly on the car that was being produced concurrently with their research, and did not provide for effective transfer of knowledge or development of previous work. Neither Barton, Farmilo, nor Kurylewski built on previous works, but instead attempted an alternative approach to the same project. Farmilo and Kurylewski did produce documentation aimed to assist future years continue the management approach taken by the author, however as the management methodology changed from year to year much of their work in attempting to establish common procedures was not implemented, merely referred to in future work.

III.

CURRENT SYSTEMS

As mentioned previously, a number of initiatives for training team members were initiated in early 2009. A series of briefs have been conducted by senior team members, followed by opportunities for team members to develop understanding through questions and (occasionally) practical demonstration. According to the Knowledge Hierarchy in Figure 1, the majority of the training can be classified as providing the junior team members with data and information in brief form, the communication is predominantly one-way, with no opportunities for hands-on experience. The practical application of skills in servicing and maintenance of the cars allows team members to develop their skills and application of engineering principles. The limited hands-on application of the skills taught does little to transform the information into knowledge. However, the junior members are not deemed competent to work on the car without direct supervision. As a result they do not learn the reasons why things are done, just the fact that they have to be. Given that most of the junior members have very little practical engineering experience or education, encouraging understanding will present a significant challenge during the development of a knowledge retention system. The primary source for information and data for design and preparation of ACME Racings FSAE Vehicles currently comes from a central database available to all the team members on campus. A list of major categories that have been developed as a form of knowledge retention is in Table 1.

Table 1- Common Database Categories Category Critical Knowledge Reference Library Driver Training Maintenance Risk & Incident procedures SAE Documentation Parts Reference Corporate Identity Description Glossary of common vehicle dynamics terms Technical papers and links to further information for specific vehicle areas Procedures, driver data, track configurations and plans for all driver training events Documentation for all maintenance procedures for each car, and record of any issues when servicing Log of all OH&S incidents and procedures for dealing with issues Rules, competition marking guides and addendum for each year Common parts (bearings, materials, electrical components) design reference data Letterheads, sponsorship information, marketing packages designed to establish a common theme for all paperwork, uniforms and vehicle presentation

The effectiveness of the database will be examined at a later date, predominantly through surveys of current and

past ACME Racing team members. Other recent initiatives developed by the team include the Maintenance Bible which is intended as an authoritative guide to all procedures common to ACME Racing vehicles, workshop machinery, practices and support equipment.11 It was written from practical experience (and manufacturers standards and data when appropriate), aimed at providing new members with information on how the team functions in a workshop environment. The Maintenance Bible is a dynamic document, and is currently being updated due to a number of changes in the driver training vehicles configuration. Allowing team members to contribute to the creation and editing of procedures in the Maintenance Bible develops the knowledge of the individual, as well as providing a reference for future teams. Given the fact that the ACME Racing FSAE cars are designed to be light and powerful race cars, many of the components have greater stresses placed on them than road cars. Over the years a number of incidents have occurred due to incorrect or inadequate maintenance and inspection. As such, a significant proportion of time is spent maintaining and replacing components. ACME Racing have developed procedures and documents such as the Maintenance Bible to reduce the risk of incidents occurring in the future, so even when all team members associated with building a car have graduated there remains a set of understandable procedures so cars may continue to be driven with minimal chance of component failure due to incorrect maintenance.

IV.
A.

EXTENSION AND APPLICATION OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH.

INTRODUCTION

Given the amount of independent past and contemporary research into the ACME Racing team and knowledge retention in general, the next logical step is to combine the two fields. A knowledge retention system that applies to the ACME Racing team will build on work by Barton, Kurylewski and Farmilo, and utilise sources such as Nonaka, Bender and Fahey & Prusak. In order to develop such as system, a number of fields and disciplines will be examined in greater detail. These fields include:

Past research, Concurrent research and documentation, Knowledge Network Analysis, Learning style analysis, and Analysis of Australian Defence Force procedures and practices.

Fahey and Prusak developed the 11 deadliest sins of knowledge management as a guide to developing an effective knowledge retention system4. They are:

1. Not developing a working definition of knowledge,

2. 3. 4. Emphasising knowledge stock to the detriment of knowledge flow, Viewing knowledge as existing predominantly outside the heads of individuals, Not understanding that a fundamental intermediate purpose of managing knowledge is to create shared context, 5. Paying little heed to the role and importance of tacit knowledge, 6. Disentangling knowledge from its uses, 7. Downplaying thinking and reasoning, 8. Focusing on the past and present and not the future, 9. Failing to recognise the importance of experimentation, 10. Substituting technological contact for human interface, and 11. Seeking to develop direct measures of knowledge 4 B. DEVELOPMENT OUTLINE

When developing a knowledge retention system for a Formula SAE team, the 11 deadliest sins will be taken into account. Although they can not be used as a checklist or a framework, the ideas and issues that are raised will be discussed as part of the development process. The steps that will be taken to develop a knowledge retention system for ACME Racing are:

Research into contemporary knowledge retention and management systems Research and team survey to tailor system to suit the team: o Learning style analysis how do team members learn effectively? o Team size will a smaller team work better than a large one? o Hierarchical structure is some form of progression required? Is it better for team members to know about all aspects of the car, or just concentrate on one? o Acceptance there is no point developing a system if the team will not use it Survey of effectiveness of past systems Case study to investigate effectiveness of a small system Development of a cheap, efficient system or framework to suit the team in future years.

V.

SUMMARY AND APPENDIX

Defined in this initial report is the context for research into knowledge retention system development for a FSAE team. As part of the context, initial investigation into the definition of knowledge and past work has been included. Future work to be conducted includes further research and development of a knowledge retention system that will be simple and effective, and allow the ACME Racing Formula SAE team to develop into a successful, professional organisation in future years. The appendix includes project management and supporting documentation: Client brief Milestone schedule Gantt chart HREA application form

References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Bender, S. & Fish, A. 2000, "The transfer of knowledge and the retention of expertise: the continuing need for global assignments", Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 125-137. Alavi, M. & Leidner, D.E. 2001, "Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues", MIS Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 107-136 Tuomi, I. 1999, Data is more than knowledge: implications of the reversed knowledge hierarchy for knowledge management and organizational memory. Fahey, L. & Prusak, L. 1998, "The Eleven Deadliest Sins of Knowledge Management", California management review, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 265-276. Nonaka, I. 2007, "The Knowledge-Creating Company", Harvard business review, vol. 85, no. 7, pp. 162-171. Helms, R. & Buijsrogge, K. 2005, Knowledge Network Analysis: A Technique to Analyze Knowledge Management Bottlenecks in Organizations. Barton, D. 2003, Project Management of the Formula SAE Entrant., UNSW@ADFA. Farmilio, D. 2004, Towards an assessment of maturity of a project delivering team: FSAE Project, UNSW@ADFA. Kurylewski, A .2006, Engineering Project Management: the application of a systems and concurrent engineering approach in the technical project management, design development and manufacture of an FSAE race car., UNSW@ADFA. Kerzner, H. 2001, Strategic planning for project management using a project management maturity model, John Wiley & Sons, Canada. McCloy, E. & Chapman, M. 2008, ACME Racing Maintenance Bible, ACME Racing, UNSW@ADFA