Development of a methodology for live capture and reuse of project knowledge in construction

The efforts to share and reuse knowledge generated on construction projects are undermined mainly by the loss of important insights and knowledge due to the time lapse in capturing the knowledge, staff turnover and people’s reluctance to share knowledge. To address this, it is crucial for knowledge to be captured ‘live’ in a collaborative environment while the project is being executed and presented in a format that will facilitate its reuse during and after the project. This paper uses a case study approach to investigate the end-users’ requirements for a methodology for the ‘live’ capture and reuse of knowledge, and the shortcomings of current practice in meeting these requirements. A methodology for the ‘live’ capture and reuse of project knowledge is then presented and discussed. The methodology, which comprises an Web-based knowledge base, an integrated workflow system (IWS) and a Project Knowledge Manager (PKM) as the administrator, allows project knowledge to be captured ‘live’ from ongoing projects. This also incorporates mechanisms to hasten knowledge validation and the dissemination of the knowledge once it has been validated.