Developing and Managing Knowledge of Construction Methods in the Swedish Building Sector

In the 1960s and 1970s the construction industry made an effort to develop shared knowledge and performance measurement tools within the industry. This effort ceased as the bigger enterprises began to see information generated at their companies as enterprise assets and competitive resources. In recent years, the construction industry has begun to acknowledge the importance of detailed planning and work preparation on construction sites. The fragmentation of the construction process, with increased specialisation and involvement of many interested parties and actors calls for a shared format for creating, converting, and exchanging knowledge. There is a need for better documentation and control of what is actually done on the construction site, and of how it is done. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how knowledge about construction methods is created, converted, and shared in the Swedish construction sector. It examines past efforts to share information and how the efforts have developed over time. New initiatives are examined and analysed, looking at how well knowledge is managed and applied on construction sites. A web portal developed at Lund University (www.ByggAi.se) in close cooperation with the construction industry exemplifies a new initiative in this respect. The paper will also present end users’ analysis regarding the accessibility of information from the web portal. The web portal has a great potential to disseminate information to various actors: construction enterprises, manufacturers, consultants, and clients. The web portal has also developed to include other areas of interest, promoting issues such as health, safety, and ergonomics; energy-efficient buildings; energy-efficient construction work; and handling of moisture issues. The main advantage of the portal is its packaging of situational knowledge, so that workers at all levels can find all of the relevant information about specific construction methods before they begin work on the construction site. Moreover, the portal makes the information available on a “just-in-time” basis, so workers can continue to access it throughout the project, taking what they need to know at the time they need it.Full paper on Conference memory stic