Tribal Knowledge in the Blast Industry

Author:  Kumar Balan
Source:  The Shot Peener magazine, Vol 34, Issue 4, Fall 2020
Doc ID:  2020036
Year of Publication:  2020
Abstract:  
INTRODUCTION The online Business Dictionary defines Tribal Knowledge as “A set of unwritten rules or information known by a group of individuals within an organization, but not common to others, that often contributes significantly to overall quality.” Sound familiar? How often have you remarked, “it makes no sense, it defies all laws of physics, but it seems to work?!” That was one of the effects of tribal knowledge being applied. I distinctly remember my introduction to this phenomenon about three decades ago during my first job as a Trainee Engineer at Wheelabrator in India. Within the first few hours of staring blankly at a drawing board (yes, machines were designed even before ACAD and Inventor), I realized that there was more I had to learn from experienced draftsmen than accumulated through four years of university education!