Tacit Knowledge in Manufacturing: Unlocking Hidden Expertise with AI

Tacit knowledge refers to the unwritten, experience-based knowledge that individuals gain through hands-on practice, intuition, and personal insights. Unlike explicit knowledge, which can be easily documented and shared (such as manuals, procedures, or training materials), tacit knowledge is often difficult to articulate or transfer because it is deeply rooted in personal experiences, observations, and skills.

Modern AI-powered Connected Worker solutions are revolutionizing the way tacit knowledge is captured, digitized, and shared. By using Generative AI technology, these tools allow manufacturers to turn hidden expertise into a corporate asset, ensuring that critical knowledge is preserved and accessible to future generations of workers.

Read our article below to learn more about tacit knowledge:

What is Tacit Knowledge?
Why Tacit Knowledge Has Been Hard to Capture in Manufacturing
Digitizing Tacit Knowledge with Augmentir
Future-Proof Your Workforce with AI-Powered Knowledge Sharing

What is Tacit Knowledge?

In the manufacturing industry, tacit knowledge—the hands-on experience, skills, and intuition workers develop over time—is essential for efficient operations, problem-solving, and innovation. Unlike explicit knowledge, which is documented and structured, tacit knowledge is deeply personal and historically difficult to capture and transfer.

For decades, manufacturers have struggled with knowledge loss due to retirements, workforce turnover, and skill gaps. Without proper tools, companies risk losing invaluable expertise that drives efficiency, safety, and product quality.

However, with modern AI-powered Connected Worker (CW) tools like generative AI, manufacturers can now capture, digitize, and share tacit knowledge as a corporate asset, ensuring it is preserved and leveraged across the workforce. In fact, LNS Research states that manufacturing software can play a key role in capturing tribal and tacit knowledge.

Why Tacit Knowledge Has Been Hard to Capture in Manufacturing

Traditional manufacturing relies heavily on on-the-job learning, mentorship, and tribal knowledge, which are difficult to document. Some key challenges include:

Workforce Turnover & Retirement – Skilled workers leave without passing down their expertise.
Lack of Documentation – Knowledge is often informal and not recorded in manuals or Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Varied Learning Styles – Hands-on workers struggle with text-heavy training materials.
Inefficiencies in Knowledge Transfer – Traditional training methods are slow and inconsistent.

Without a structured way to capture tacit knowledge, businesses face operational inefficiencies, increased downtime, and a growing skills gap.

Digitizing Tacit Knowledge with Augmentir

AI-powered Connected Worker (CW) solutions like Augmentir are revolutionizing the way manufacturers capture, digitize, and share tacit knowledge. Augie, Augmentir’s Industrial Generative AI assistant, plays a key role in preserving workforce expertise and transforming it into actionable insights.

Key Ways Augmentir & Augie Capture Tacit Knowledge:

Real-Time AI-Powered Guidance – Augie analyzes worker performance and provides real-time, adaptive work instructions to optimize efficiency.
Automated Knowledge Capture – Workers can use Augie’s AI-driven voice, video, and text tools to document expertise in real time, creating digital work instructions that others can follow.
Smart Digital Work Instructions – Augmentir converts tacit knowledge into structured, AI-driven Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that can be continuously improved.
AI-Driven Workforce Insights – Augmentir’s AI analyzes performance data to identify skill gaps and recommend targeted training.

By integrating Augmentir and Augie, manufacturers can preserve their workforce’s expertise, reduce onboarding time, and improve productivity, ensuring tacit knowledge is no longer lost but instead leveraged as a competitive advantage.

Future-Proof Your Workforce with AI-Powered Knowledge Sharing

As manufacturing continues to evolve, the ability to capture and share tacit knowledge will be crucial for maintaining operational excellence, workforce readiness, and continuous improvement. A skilled workforce is the backbone of manufacturing success, and without effective knowledge transfer, companies risk losing decades of expertise due to retirements, turnover, and changing workforce dynamics.

AI-powered solutions like Augmentir and Augie provide the tools needed to digitally capture workforce expertise, enhance real-time decision-making, and drive continuous learning. By leveraging AI-driven insights, adaptive work instructions, and smart collaboration tools, manufacturers can reduce skill gaps, accelerate worker onboarding, and improve overall productivity. These solutions empower frontline workers with instant access to expert knowledge, ensuring they can perform tasks more efficiently and safely, while also enabling leadership to make data-driven decisions about workforce development and operational improvements.

By transforming tacit knowledge into a structured, scalable, and easily accessible corporate asset, manufacturers can future-proof their workforce, reduce operational disruptions, and build a resilient, high-performing team that thrives in the era of Industry 4.0.

Ready to digitize your workforce’s tacit knowledge? Contact us today to learn how Augmentir and Augie can help you preserve critical expertise, enhance worker performance, and drive manufacturing excellence!

See Augmentir in Action

Get in Touch for a Personalized Demo

Book A Demo