Project description
Objective
The major objective of the project is to build up a web-based platform for communication and knowledge management for resource and energy efficiency. This portal interconnects researchers and industry members of the Green Factory Bavaria (GFB). Within the GFB research projects, a variety of competencies on efficiency topics is created. GEM-Portal claims to actively communicate the knowledge about optimization of energy and resource efficiency that is created in the research projects. The portal provides a tool that is capable providing solutions for specific challenges to the scientific community. On the other hand, the community can provide solutions for users’ problems. Moreover, users are supported in activities that are not directly related to knowledge creation such as project management and documentation. Therefore, synergies of collaboration can be exploited and efficiency of research is increased.
Approach
GEM-Portal is implemented as a web-based platform that contains applications for communication as well as for knowledge and project management. Thus, the system is not bound to specific workstations but can be used ubiquitously. To use the portal, a user has to sign in and has to create a personal profile containing contact details as well as competence and education details. A research project is organized as group the users can opt in. Group owner is the person that is in response for the project. This person can grant user permissions for data access. In general, data can be declared as public, i.e. every user within the portal can access data. On the other hand, data can be assigned as restricted, i.e. only user with appropriate permission can access data. Therefore, a tool for exchanging knowledge within a research project and among several projects is provided while integrity of intellectual property is maintained. GEM-Portal is to overcome competitiveness among research projects and fosters collaboration within Green Factory Bavaria.
Results
The setup of a portal facilitates systematic knowledge exchange among academic projects in order to exchange and manage existing knowledge as well as create new knowledge. For this purpose, a software platform based on Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 is provided. The platform contains both functions for communication among users as well as tools for knowledge and project management. Possible users of the GEM-Portal are all scientists of Green Factory Bavaria as well as the associated industry partners. Thus, the developed knowledge of technical solutions and methods for increasing energy and resource efficiency is transferred into industry.
The Green Factory Bavaria projects address issues of resource and energy efficiency. These research topics often are related, as they have common underlying statements of problems. The approaches for problem solving therefore are very similar. Without an interconnection of research projects and without knowledge exchange, approaches are developed redundantly. Through the interconnection of research projects, redundant work is avoided and synergies in solution development can be exploited. Beside functions for communication and knowledge management, also tools for the research project management are implemented. This increases the efficiency of research as administrative work is reduced. At the same time, this offers an incentive to use the portal. Moreover, GEM-Portal supports the main objective of Green Factory Bavaria: the transfer of knowledge about resource and energy efficiency topics into industry.
