IT support for knowledge management in designer and contractor briefing

This paper describes the activities and findings of an EPSRC project examining the role of IT in Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning in Construction - KLICON. The research, which is nearing completion, has explored the use of IT in supporting knowledge management in construction briefing, both for designer briefing in unstructured situations, and in contractor briefing in design-build bidding situations. Specifically it examined, from first principles, the choice of appropriate knowledge transfer mechanisms and the challenge of searching for knowledge without a well-formulated ontology. Though the research findings are still preliminary the indications are that: 1 structured knowledge areas benefit from more formal structuring of knowledge space and content (lessons, data, contacts, etc.) while, conversely, less structured areas benefit from free search capabilities; 2 ontology may not be the challenge that it has seemed in the past; 3 many users still find IT support unattractive. All these represent areas of important further research.