Knowledge management in construction companies in the UK

AI & Soc (2009) 24:197203 DOI 10.1007/s00146-009-0202-9

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Knowledge management in construction companies in the UK

Reza Esmi Richard Ennals

Received: 28 November 2008 / Accepted: 23 February 2009 / Published online: 19 March 2009 Springer-Verlag London Limited 2009

Abstract Knowledge management is important in the construction industry, but there is a dramatic gap between rhetoric and reality, highlighting mistaken expectations of technology. We report on a case study of a major construction company. The UK construction industry, with scarce academic qualications, and limited use of IT, depends on knowledge sharing, and, crucially, on tacit knowledge. Economic crisis presents particular problems, and recent trends in work organization have far-reaching implications. The industry depends on human knowledge, with limited systems support. A shared concern for health and safety provides the surest guarantee of sustainability of both knowledge and the company.

1 Introduction: the nature of the construction industry in the UK

The rst author is an experienced architect and manager in the construction industry in Iran, working with Afghan migrant workers. Management is ad hoc, without Knowledge management (KM) systems. The hypothesis is that the UK construction industry is much more advanced: it is competitive, with high risk and low prot margins. Most construction projects are unique and fast moving: organizations are dynamic, and often restructured (Oglesby et al.

1989; Sauer et al. 2001). High capital investment is needed, with no return until the project ends.

The construction industry employs a diverse workforce, in occupational background and culture. People are their greatest asset (Carillo et al. 2004), in this low-tech, labour intensive industry, but they are difcult to manage (Pathirage et al. 2007). Most large construction companies have undergone a period of signicant organizational change over the last 20 years, becoming managers of the construction process rather than direct labour employers (Langford et al. 1995).

Luu et al. (2008) indicate that poor human resource management and ineffective site management are the Achilles heel of construction rms in Vietnam, and in other developing countries. In the UK, construction companies are losing knowledge. Workers are project loyal, rather than company loyal, and more likely to change their job and company at the project end. Projects are temporary; the people, and lessons learned, are dispersed when the project...