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The Pennsylvania State University the Graduate School College of Information Sciences and Technology MANAGING and LEVERAGING

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The Pennsylvania State University the Graduate School College of Information Sciences and Technology MANAGING and LEVERAGING The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Information Sciences and Technology MANAGING AND LEVERAGING ACTION KNOWLEDGE: THE CASE OF FRONT-LINE OPERATORS IN THE PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY A Dissertation in Information Sciences and Technology by Jingwen He 2015 Jingwen He Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2015 The dissertation of Jingwen He was reviewed and approved* by the following: Sandeep Purao Professor of Information Sciences and Technology Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee Eileen M. Trauth Professor of Information Sciences and Technology Heng Xu Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology Timothy W. Simpson Professor of Mechanical Engineering Professor of Industrial Engineering Carleen Maitland Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Education *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT In the petrochemical industry, improvements in the technology and in production processes over the last few decades have led to a reduction in accidents. However, the resulting processes have also created the need for large numbers of highly skilled operators. The anticipated wave of retirement of operators in the next few years means that the industry will experience a significant loss of senior expert operators. Establishing ways to effectively leverage and manage knowledge about refinery operations is, therefore, a critical concern. This research conceptualizes knowledge that operators in the petrochemical industry possess as “action knowledge,” that is, as a basis for action—both as tacitly stored in operators’ heads and explicitly written as codified procedures; and examines the problem as well as proposes solutions following this conceptualization. The research reported in this dissertation is organized in three essays. Essay 1 develops and describes an innovative approach and a software tool for analyzing operator procedures into chunks of explicit action knowledge. This approach uses design science as the research method. Essay 2 evaluates the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach based on an empirical evaluation of the software tool. Essay 2 uses empirical analyses based on use of authentic procedures obtained from multiple refineries, and feedback from expert operators. Essay 3 develops a new framework to understand tacit action knowledge in the context of operators working in the petrochemical industry. Essay 3 uses a modified iterative grounded research methodology to analyze work practice descriptions gathered from operators following the critical incident technique. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of findings across the three essays for managing action knowledge in the petrochemical industry, and contributions to the stream of research on knowledge management along with directions for future work. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1 Introduction and Motivation ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Managing Operational Knowledge in Process Industries .......................................... 1 1.2 Research Setting: Petrochemical Industry.................................................................. 2 1.3 Research Conceptualizations ..................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Structure of this Thesis............................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Knowledge ................................................................................................................. 8 2.1.1 Definitions and Classifications of Knowledge ................................................ 9 2.1.2 Procedural (Action) and Declarative Knowledge............................................ 11 2.1.3 Explicit Knowledge and Tacit Knowledge ..................................................... 16 2.1.4 Individual Knowledge and Organizational Knowledge .................................. 18 2.1.5 Connecting Knowledge Classifications to the Petrochemical Industry........... 21 2.2 Knowledge Management ........................................................................................... 24 2.2.1 Definition and Importance of Knowledge Management ................................. 25 2.2.2 Knowledge Management Strategies and Technologies ................................... 27 2.2.3 Managing (Procedural) Action Knowledge .................................................... 31 2.2.4 Managing Explicit Knowledge and Tacit Knowledge .................................... 34 2.2.5 Managing Individual Knowledge and Organizational Knowledge ................. 36 2.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 3 Research Questions ................................................................................................ 42 3.1 Key Conceptualizations ............................................................................................. 42 3.2 Research Scope .......................................................................................................... 44 3.3 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 46 Chapter 4 Research Methodology ........................................................................................... 49 4.1 Research Methodology for Essay 1 ............................................................................ 49 4.2 Research Methodology for Essay 2 ............................................................................ 51 4.3 Research Methodology for Essay 3 ............................................................................ 53 Chapter 5 Essay 1 – Semantic Procedure Analyzer: Extracting and Chunking Action Knowledge from Operator Procedures ............................................................................. 56 v Chapter Organization ....................................................................................................... 56 5.0 Précis .......................................................................................................................... 57 5.1 Introduction and Motivation ...................................................................................... 58 5.2 Context and Prior Research ........................................................................................ 61 5.2.1 Procedures in the Petrochemical Refining Industry ........................................ 61 5.2.2 Knowledge and Knowledge Management ...................................................... 63 5.2.3 An Action View of Knowledge ....................................................................... 65 5.2.4 Chunking as a Strategy for Managing Action Knowledge .............................. 70 5.3 Research Method and Research Design ..................................................................... 71 5.3.1 Selection of the Research Method ................................................................... 72 5.3.2 Iterative Approach ........................................................................................... 73 5.3.3 Iteration 1 – Multi-Phase Approach ................................................................ 76 5.3.4 Iteration 2 – Incorporating Learning ............................................................... 77 5.3.5 Iteration 3 – Features of the Training Data and the Visual Display of Output ............................................................................................................... 78 5.4 A Design Theory for Extracting and Chunking Action Knowledge .......................... 80 5.4.1 Purpose and Scope – Extracting and Chunking Action Knowledge ............... 81 5.4.2 Justificatory Knowledge .................................................................................. 82 5.4.3 Solution Suggestion – A Heuristic Approach to Extraction and Chunking .... 84 5.4.4 Approach Mutability – Learning Mechanisms ................................................ 89 5.4.5 Expository Instantiation .................................................................................. 94 5.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 96 Chapter 6 Essay 2 – A Design Science Evaluation of the Semantic Procedure Analyzer ....... 100 Chapter Organization ....................................................................................................... 100 6.0 Précis .......................................................................................................................... 100 6.1 Introduction and Motivation ...................................................................................... 101 6.2
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