Lessons learned as one of the key aspects of intergenerational knowledge management at BGE

Due to the long periods of time involved in nuclear waste management, effective knowledge management is essential to promote the transfer of knowledge between different generations and to strengthen the innovative capacity of organisations. In the following, lessons learned are highlighted as one of the key aspects of intergenerational knowledge management at BGE.

Lessons learned are an important part of knowledge management as they provide valuable insights from past projects and experiences. By systematically documenting and analysing these lessons, it is possible not only to avoid mistakes, but also to identify best practices that can be passed on across generations and projects. This promotes not only knowledge transfer, but also a culture of continuous learning.

At BGE, lessons learned projects are captured through workshops and interviews with knowledge holders. For this purpose, a guideline is being developed to facilitate the collection of lessons learned. Once the lessons learned have been documented, knowledge management takes over the task of analysing and processing them in the form of micro-articles.

The unique selling point of micro-articles is the transferability of project-related experience to other contexts. It is important to bear in mind that a change of perspective is required to ensure this general applicability. A fixed structure and a concise form of no more than one DIN A4 page provide for a transparent presentation of issues with a varying degree of complexity. 

Additionally, enrichening the articles by adding metadata makes possible a system-independent retrieval. Furthermore, it is used to create a clustering that facilitates finding the appropriate recommendations for action at the start of a new project, thus minimising the risk of repeating errors.

The micro-articles are made available to colleagues at a central fileshare. BGE’s own intelligent search engine, named iFinder, will assist in the distribution of said articles, enabling this approach to knowledge transfer in the BGE, both in terms of documented knowledge and personal knowledge.

While a theoretical approach is essential to analysing and understanding the field of knowledge transfer, practical steps must be taken to integrate a sustainable knowledge culture into everyday working life, thus promoting exchange and collaboration between generations.