Knowledge management in construction supply chain integration

Knowledge Management (KM) is becoming increasingly important for organisations across a wide spectrum of industry sectors, especially for the naturally fragmented construction industry. There has been a growing realisation that it is very important for each project participant to effectively capture, share and utilise strategic knowledge and project knowledge, as well as process knowledge within the construction supply chain for better performance. This paper highlights the benefits of integrated construction supply chain management through effective KM. The paper reviews the general literature in construction supply chains and KM and presents some initiatives in the abovementioned area, followed by a full theory analysis and case study. The case study was conducted with a public sector client organisation in the UK. It explored their strategies for an integrated construction supply chain through KM, knowledge capture and knowledge sharing. It also studied the reuse by their employees as well as by the other organisations they worked with to deliver construction projects in north-west England. The paper concludes that KM would effectively improve the integration of construction supply chains and thus improve overall production performance