In large industrial companies, the transmission of the embodied in professional practices traditionally takes place as part of a series of training courses given by former operators and of journeyman practices implemented directly on site. This situation will undoubtedly change, because nowadays many companies are facing the problem of a massive departure of operators into retirement. This requires, on the one hand, the preservation of the appropriate professional gestures for the maintenance of aging technical plant, and on the other hand an adaptation of the professional gestures to technological evolution. In the energy sector, Electricité de France (EDF) is also confronted with this issue of the evolution of these journeyman practices. For the company, the situation is rendered more complex as a result of highly variable practices due to the presence of almost one hundred power generation plants with a wide geographic distribution, and with diversified generation methods involving different cultural practices (nuclear, thermal, hydraulic).The present research addresses two objectives:(1) On the theoretical level, we sought to understand, based on field data, the nature of the explicit and implicit transmission and formalization of knowledge underlying the performance of professional gestures. This takes place: - on the one hand, by means of the confrontation of the existing approaches in the different schools, at international level, with the empirical reality; - and, on the other hand, by means of the identification of the gap in the literature as concerns the treatment and modelling of tacit knowledge and embodied know-how as compared to the practical requirements of transmission.(2) On the practical level, we sought to develop an approach to situational learning of embodied know-how by exploring the recourse to digital ethnography tools. This aims:- on the one hand, to perpetuate the knowledge linked to the gestures;- and, on the other hand, to devise a method for the creation of structured, video-based educational supports. This practical phase has afforded the opportunity to test our models on real life cases. The combination of technical, theoretical and methodological tools we applied has led to the design of several products.We designed, and tested on the field, a method for the capture and analysis of professional gestures. This method is based on dual video recordings: an external camera and a subjective camera mounted on the safety helmet of the operator performing the gesture. This recording is coupled to a specific protocol of oral expression whilst performing the gesture.We also modelled, tested and formalised a teaching resource in an educational setting: the Multimedia platform for APprenticeship (MAP). It is based on a decomposition and structuring of the gesture illustrated primarily by annotated video but also by means of functional schematics images, photos, etc. This decomposition results from the analysis of the gesture carried out upstream and based on Russian Activity Theory and Perceived Quality.These two products provide an operational chain intended for the trainers of EDF's Training Division, for the capture and transmission of the tacit and explicit knowledge involved in professional gestures. The incorporation of the MAP into EDF's educational system, in real life training sessions, has been very positively evaluated and received by both trainers and trainees. In May 2011 it was decided to launch the industrialization phase of the method and the MAP throughout the company.
