Achieving Business Process Improvement through Knowledge Management : A case study with ABB Marine and Cranes, Finland

Abstract

Today’s business environment is continually being shaped by the global competitive landscape that has resulted into an aggressive approach by managers to reduce costs and lead-time while satisfying the needs of the customers through continuous improvement initiatives. Organisational leaders are striving to adapt to the change by utilising several tools and techniques that provide seamless integration into the firms’ strategic goals. One of the mostly used methods to achieving continuous improvement is the knowledge management.

This thesis report is a project implementation for ABB Marine Oy. It focuses on how the organisation can achieve tremendous process gains through standardised work processes and knowledge management approach. The project objectives were to standardise the VME’s existing project templates to ensure harmonisation and easy accessibility via e-library.

A qualitative approach was used to draw insights from the underlying principles of knowledge management, the lean concept, reengineering and Six Sigma as business process improvement methodologies. The hybrid synergies that exist between these methodologies and knowledge management were further dis-cussed.