International FAIM Conference 24th : 2014 : San Antonio, TexasUniversity of Texas at San Antonio. Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean SystemsGoetz, JohannesFranke, JoergMueller-Martin, AndreasForthaus, MarkusGrobholz, Boris2022-07-112022-07-112014http://dx.doi.org/10.14809/faim.2014.0153https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12588/1024Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Flexible Automation & Intelligent Manufacturing, held May 20-23, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas, and organized by the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems, University of Texas at San AntonioIncludes bibliographical referencesThe efficient and effective engineering of industrial plants has a high impact on the success of numerous companies. Core of engineering activities is to accurately cover the requirements of the customer and design and build a perfectly fitting solution. Due to the one-time character of these projects, time and money can be saved by a reuse of knowledge from former projects as well as a strong methodology to execute these complex projects. The need for an efficient exchange of knowledge and further development of engineering methods (e.g. resource planning, training concepts, cross-country collaboration) has been recognized by many companies on a top level. At the same time there is currently no consistent approach, how to involve the experience of a broad engineering community in the development and implementation of efficient methods. This work describes an approach which closes the gap between a grown "community of practice" and a top-down initiative for the development of engineering methods and structured knowledge exchange. It ensures the deep involvement of experienced engineers from a vivid community for exchange and feedback. Three formerly described design principles (stakeholders, infrastructure, content and activities) of a community-based initiative have been applied to in a multi-sector engineering company.en-USPlant engineeringCommunication in engineeringFactories--Design and constructionArticle