For many CPGs, essential knowledge of how to operate machinery lies not in manuals, but in the minds of experienced employees. This reliance on tribal knowledge leaves companies, particularly those with high staff turnover or retiring senior staff particularly vulnerable.
According to PMMI’s 2025 Knowledge Transfer for Machine Operators report, 74% of CPG and OEM respondents said the issue of knowledge transfer is either extremely significant or very significant.
“It’s a big challenge and it’s really just time on the machine that gives them that knowledge,” a participant said. “We don’t have any documentation or anything to teach them ahead of time how to get the best out of the machines.”
Without documentation of tribal knowledge, CPGs are subjected not only to knowledge loss from an operator leaving but also day-to-day information challenges. For instance, if only one operator knows the optimal dial settings on a machine, poor product could result if another operator doesn’t know proper re-calibration settings.
However, tribal knowledge can’t be blindly trusted.
PMMI’s Business Intelligence Team finds that many operators have their opinions about the best way to solve problems and fix issues. These ways haven’t been scientifically proven, but through repeated use they have become accepted knowledge. The challenge is to unlearn outdated practices and formalize only proven methods.
SOURCE: 2025 Knowledge Transfer for Machine Operators: From Paper to Digital Intelligence
For more insights from PMMI’s Business Intelligence team, find reports, including Knowledge Transfer for Machine Operators: From Paper to Digital Intelligence, Beyond Manuals: Setting the Right Expectations for Operator Training on Modern Packaging Lines, and Inside the Workforce Gap at https://www.pmmi.org/business-intelligence.
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