DTI Projects: Innovation
And Best Practice Solutions
THE APPLICATION OF LEARNING ON CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS TO PROVIDE INNOVATIVE AND BEST PRACTICE
SOLUTIONS
Project Overview
The construction industry is fragmented
in its nature and is project-based with many
different organisations forming the “Project
Team” with an ultimate goal to deliver
a product to a client. Construction sites
and the people involved in the project frequently
do not share the best practice and lessons
learnt, this knowledge tends to remain with
the individual. The quality of product produced
at site level can be improved through knowledge
sharing across sites and the organisations
involved to:
- Prevent making similar mistakes
- Reduce reworking
- Minimising waste in the construction
process
This project will deliver a communication
model to enable construction companies
to implement a KM system capable of transferring
best practice and positive & negative
lessons learnt during the construction
process across a company and its supply
chain. This provides a sustainable learning
environment. A training package in the
form of a CD and on-line downloads will
give practical advice to construction companies
and suppliers who seek to implement Knowledge
Management within their organisations.
Issues to be addressed are, process, technology,
people and change management. Dissemination
materials will be tailored to the different
users i.e. Undergraduates, Postgraduates,
the construction workforce and supply chain.
Research into the value of Knowledge Management
techniques shows that up to 75% added value
organisation comes from intellectual capital.
This is particularly applicable to companies
which h information-based occupations requiring
skilled, knowledgeable staff. There is
a growing increase in the quantity and
importance of information in the modern
economy. This philosophy also demonstrates
a commitment to people by investing in
the process re-engineering and technology,
which brings continued professional development
to the team. Knowledge Management, often
termed "Intellectual Capital”,
within organisations is increasingly embedded
in corporate strategy at board level. There
is an EC funded research project involving
Henley Management College, which is examining
financial reporting rules for intangibles,
and will include options for statutory
reporting. There are recent statutory regulations
reporting of intangible assets, a Danish
Engineering Consultancy COWI annually report
on their Intellectual Capital, including
metrics for their intangible assets with
respect to Clients & Markets Organisation
and Staff (refer to their web site wwwcowi.dr).
City analysts may be asking for more information
in this area in the future. Objectives
To investigate how other industries (such
as manufacturing, retail and banking) manage
their corporate knowledge and assess the
robustness and measurable benefits of these
processes To develop a communication model
for knowledge management (capture, distillation
and distribution) between construction companies
and their supply chains, which will enable
the quality information to be available to
the people who need to use it using an efficient
KM system. Using two trail projects or demonstration
with the partners an evaluation will be undertaken
to establish how the model can bridge gaps
in industry experience and enable a better
quality product to be produced The results
of the research will be formatted into a
training tool to allow other companies to
set up their own KM system with their supply
chain. It will also be disseminated as a
training package to educational, professional
and training organisations for CPD and learning
purposes. The tool will be in an appropriate
format for all different users.
Industrial Partners Include
Unipart Advanced Learning Systems, Rotary
Southern Limited, Staveley Industries plc,
NG Bailey & Co., Construction Productivity
Network (CPN), Construction Best Practice
Programme (CBPP)
Contact
Cathy Blake
Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd.
345 Ruislip Road
Southall, Middlesex
UB1 2QX
Tel: 020 8575 4920
Email:cathy.blake@uk.taylorwoodrow.com
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