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110 The PCB Magazine • March 2014 CAPTURING TRIBAL KNOWLEDGE continues plating and every operator is trained by Larry. He could make up every one of these baths from scratch." Customer: "How do you know when an op- erator is ready to work on his or her own? Supplier: "Larry says so. He also personally reviews and approves every single job that is re- leased from plating to assure quality." Customer: "What happens if one of my jobs is scheduled to be plated when Larry is on vaca- tion or sick?" Supplier: (Silence) Customer: "Exactly." In this scenario, both the company and its employees tend to view training negatively, even as an insult, as if it were some form of re- mediation. This perception couldn't be further from the truth! One of the greatest advantages of training in this situation is that it allows you to capture the tribal knowledge of the highly- skilled workforce. What I mean by tribal knowl- edge is the entirety of the expertise of people like Larry, tricks of the trade, and the idiosyn- crasies of the job that have been learned over the last 30 years and probably not documented anywhere. Preserving this tribal knowledge and Figure 1: a certified operator process map.