Exploiting Knowledge Management: The Engineering and Construction Perspective

Abstract

Construction companies have always relied on their knowledge assets to provide services to clients. In recent years the terminology 'knowledge management' has been introduced. Knowledge management (KM) seeks to formalize the manner in which companies exploit their knowledge assets by harnessing organizational knowledge, promoting greater collaboration between groups with similar interests, capturing and using lessons learned on previous projects, etc. This paper investigates how major US engineering design and construction firms are implementing knowledge management initiatives in order to identify best practice. It adopts a case study methodology to investigate companies' Strategy and Implementation, People Aspects and Metrics for Performance. The study finds that there is a clear distinction between the knowledge management activities undertaken by large engineering design firms and those of construction firms. There is also a much greater emphasis on knowledge sharing, which is just one component of knowledge management. Moreover, some companies have specific KM initiatives whilst others have activities that are part of their normal business processes.

Information Management in UK-Based Architecture and Engineering Organizations: Drivers, Constraining Factors, and Barriers

“…Davenport (2000) and Ghani (2009) relate this to KM being a key driver for improving IM. There are a plethora of definitions for KM including those put forth by Webb (1998); Davenport and Prusak 2000; Carrillo and Chinowsky (2006). Robinson et al (2005) define KM as the means through which knowledge (in the broadest sense) is exploited and transformed for organisational use.…”

Messy Talk in Virtual Teams: Achieving Knowledge Synthesis through Shared Visualizations

“…Construction projects require the coordination and synthesis of many disciplines, which makes knowledge management and information exchange vital in design and construction teams (Carrillo and Chinowsky 2006;Javernick-Will and Scott 2010). Collaboration is key for achieving knowledge synthesis in construction, but information technology solutions more readily support the exchange of explicit knowledge, as opposed to tacit knowledge (Carrillo and Chinowsky (2006).…”

“…Collaboration is key for achieving knowledge synthesis in construction, but information technology solutions more readily support the exchange of explicit knowledge, as opposed to tacit knowledge (Carrillo and Chinowsky (2006). Face-to-face contact and communities of practice remain the most effective ways of transferring tacit knowledge (Carillo and Chinowsky 2006).…”

“…In design and construction projects, tacit knowledge exchange is key for the collaborative processes (Carrillo and Chinowsky 2006;Ewenstein and Whyte 2009). Virtual teams have the capacity to draw on expertise regardless where it resides, but how virtual collaboration environments support team members sharing expertise and tacit knowledge with each other is not yet understood (Martins et.…”

Gestão do conhecimento aplicada ao processo de projeto na construção civil: estudos de caso em construtoras.

“…No setor da construção, a gestão do conhecimento está relacionada à construtibilidade, gestão de suprimentos/ fornecedores e gestão do processo de projeto (CARRILLO; CHINOWSKY, 2006). A importância do processo de projeto na gestão do conhecimento deve-se ao fato deste processo permear todo processo desde a estruturação do empreendimento até a construção da edificação, iniciando no planejamento, passando pela elaboração dos projetos do produto (edificação) e dos projetos para produção (projetos detalhados para execução), pela execução da obra, estendendo-se até a fase de uso e manutenção (MELHADO, 1994;KAMARA et al, 2002;EMMITT, 2002;ROMANO, 2003;VAKILI-ARDEBILI;BOUSSABAINE, 2007).…”