Integrating knowledge for manufacturing technology development

The manufacturing industry of today is constantly challenged with new requirements that have to be fulfilled in order to stay competitive on both the short term and the longer term. These new requirements can trigger the need to develop the technology in production. With technology development come uncertainties which can be reduced by integrating new knowledge in the organisation. The overall purpose of this paper is to explain empirically how knowledge integration can be managed in order to reduce the uncertainty of manufacturing technology development while balancing resources towards the short-term production needs. The findings of the current research highlight collaboration, specialist competence and a systematic approach considering the setting, which needs to be managed when conducting manufacturing technology development during full production. © Copyright 2019 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.