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260 CHAPTER 7 • ImPRovEmEnT sTRATEgy

‘That mind-set has flourished. Knowledge is respected as an important asset at Schlumberger. We’ve
had technological solutions internally to capture knowledge since before the term “knowledge man-
agement” entered the popular business lexicon. But, while such systems are essential, the key is in how
we make use of these tools. It’s the sustained interaction between our people that makes the difference.’
As is normal in KM, technology is important. Schlumberger’s proprietary InTouch system is
central for knowledge capture and sharing at Schlumberger, which has a direct impact on its
customers’ experience. The InTouch database, which contains more than one million knowl-
edge items and receives eight million views per year, is typically the first recourse for field
engineers experiencing a persistent technical problem. It also comprises a team of 125 dedi-
cated InTouch engineers available to help solve field issues one on one. These specialists, who
‘sleep with beepers and cell phones’, have at least five years of field experience and are drawn
from all of the company’s product and domain segments. Their location within the company’s
research and technology centres gives them immediate access to the scientists and engineers
involved in developing the products and services in the first place.
Schlumberger also supports internal Eureka technical bulletin boards, many of which log 20
or more discussion threads per week. ‘You have field and InTouch engineers interacting through the
InTouch system’, says Rosenbaum. ‘But you also have field engineers helping other field engineers on the
bulletin boards. InTouch engineers routinely scan these discussion threads to glean information and spot
experienced contacts.’ Increasingly, the flow of knowledge is cyclical, making it more robust than
ever. ‘Field engineers can flag content on the InTouch database that they feel is outdated, to ensure it
gets checked’, says Rosenbaum. ‘We’re using the power of the people to keep our information up to date.’
Since it was started, the InTouch system has improved response time by 95 per cent for resolv-
ing technical queries, and by 75 per cent for deploying engineering modifications globally.
These reductions translate directly into improved operational performance and service to
Schlumberger’s customers. ‘We have a giant web of people helping people at Schlumberger’, says
Rosenbaum. ‘It’s become an entrenched part of the company culture.’
Some see the success of Schlumberger’s KM efforts as being founded on three principles:
● Freedom – staff are free to join any community they want to without registration and inde-
pendent of experience, education or title.
● Leadership – each community is managed and run by a leader (or two for a large commu-
nity) who is democratically elected for one year by the community’s members.
● Flexibility – communities are not fixed, they change over time with new ones emerging and
others disappearing.

the nonaka and takeuchi knowledge model
One of the most influential theories about how knowledge is accumulated through
learning is that propounded by Nonaka and Takeuchi. It builds on the idea of the dis-
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tinction between tacit and explicit knowledge. The model sees knowledge transfer as a
spiral process, moving between tacit and explicit knowledge, and back again – both for-
mally and informally. It is usually illustrated as a four-stage progression (see Figure 7.11),
showing the transfer of tacit or explicit knowledge. Seen as a continuous learning pro-
cess, the model shows a clockwise spiral, with organisational learning depending on
starting, continuing and supporting the learning spiral. Nonaka and Takeuchi stress
that the learning path is a spiral, not a cycle, because as one ‘learns’ around the cycle,
understanding moves to progressively more profound levels. The four quadrants of the
model are as follows.

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