Graham, B; Gahan, D and Thomas, K (2007) The application of knowledge management practices in the procurement and construction of cleanroom projects. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 23rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2007, Belfast, UK.
Abstract
Many of the world’s largest biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device companies have established production facilities in Ireland in recent years. The country’s leading contracting firm, Sisk have developed an expertise in constructing these facilities through the management contracting procurement route. Identifying the sector as a major growth driver, the company has established a bio-pharmaceutical division as part of their corporate strategy within the past year. The procurement of these facilities is complicated, highly regulated and knowledge-intensive. The identification and sharing of this knowledge within Sisk has been hindered by a lack of interaction between members of live projects. The proposed research concentrates on the application of knowledge management (KM) practices to one aspect of such projects; the procurement of cleanrooms through the management contracting route. This paper focuses on a review of literature related to cleanroom construction, management contracting, and KM. In order to identify the key issues related to the procurement of cleanrooms, action research has been adopted as the research strategy. The proposed methods include interviews with members of Sisk’s bio-pharma division, a pilot knowledge exchange seminar within a focus group framework and an evaluative questionnaire. In terms of contribution to the current body of KM in construction, the development of a framework for sharing knowledge across simultaneous construction projects is a key objective of the research. The intention is that this exercise shall highlight the benefits of a formal KM approach, in addition to the potential for applied academic research in industry.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | action research; knowledge management; knowledge sharing; management contracting |
| Index terms: | construction project, knowledge exchange, management contracting procurement, questionnaire, interaction, knowledge management, management contracting, Ireland, interview, focus group, corporate strategy, action research, exercise, strategy, knowledge sharing |
| Subjects: | management, professional development, production management, Geography, behavioral psychology, business, data collection methods, health behaviours and lifestyles, contractual arrangements, knowledge management |
| Topics: | Procurement, Governance, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice, Information Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here