A knowledge based social networking app for collaborative problem solving in manufacturing
Abstract Employees within companies act as "social machines" that process data and information, and produce valuable, yet tacit knowledge. This paper considers a smart factory framework inspired from social networking, in which employees collaborate to tackle problems related to product and production. A knowledge based mobile app, based on the Root Cause Analysis process, formalises problem solving instructions and expert opinions described in natural language via the Vector Space Model method. The utilised cloud infrastructure facilitates knowledge sharing and provides a business oriented social network for employees. Both method and developed app are validated in a case study obtained from the automotive die construction domain.