Supporting reflection and dialogue in a community of machine setters: Lessons learned from design and use of a hypermedia type training material

The debate about experience-based or tacit knowledge has focused much attention on the limits to formalisation of work process knowledge. A main line of argument has been that, for example, industrial work even with highly advanced technical equipment can only be performed adequately when the worker through experience on the job has gained a feel for the functioning of the machinery and the properties and behaviour of the materials. In this debate links tend to be created between on the one hand formalised-abstracted-verbal knowledge as opposed to on the other hand informalised-concrete-tacit knowledge. We have worked for some years with the design of training materials which at its core have video documentation of best practice as we have found it at work. In this paper we will present and discuss experience with design and use of a hypermedia type training material, SPRING to be used by new machine setters in the spring industry. Based on our own experience we will argue for the relevance of this type of training materials as a means of supporting reflection and dialogue in the community of practitioners.