Lundberg, M and Lidelöw, H (2016) Testing a proposition for a knowledge management method for refurbishment. In: Chan, P W and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 32nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2016, Manchester, UK.
Abstract
Much of the work carried out on construction sites is action oriented, practical, based on experience and performed according to rules of thumb. Little research has been conducted on how project-level knowledge and experiences that are created in temporary refurbishment projects are further shared to the permanent parent organization. In many of Europe´s big cities during the 1960s and 1970s, large-scale areas with uniform apartment blocks were built. Some forty years later, many of these buildings have deteriorated and are now of low quality. In Sweden, a majority of the buildings built during that period consist of a large variety of technical solutions and there is now a clear need to begin their refurbishment. By focusing on how knowledge is shared in practice in the day-to-day work the understanding of how to manage knowledge in refurbishment projects will increase. This paper investigates project-level knowledge and experiences created in temporary refurbishment projects and how it is shared to the permanent parent organisation. Five different refurbishment projects, two in Denmark and three in Sweden were visited. Meetings were attended, acting as an observer taking notes, where gained knowledge and experiences were discussed. The observations were structured into themes and further coded examining similarities and dissimilarities. Findings indicate; by visits of the parent organization on refurbishment projects, exchange of knowledge and experiences are shared both between different refurbishment projects and between refurbishment projects and the parent organization, an example of absorptive capacity within the parent organization. Debriefing during weekly project meetings and discussions about emerged difficulties are important for sharing experiences and knowledge within temporary refurbishment projects. The construction workers ability to handle the tenants and having the same construction workers throughout a series of refurbishment projects is vital for a favourable outcome of the refurbishment project.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | experience,platform,million homes programme,tenants,learning |
| Index terms: | knowledge management, construction worker, refurbishment project, testing, Denmark, platform, Europe, absorptive capacity, programme, Sweden, construction site, tenant |
| Subjects: | Geography, infrastructure engineering, digital design, professional development, theoretical framing, physical geography and landforms, project controls, practitioner, professional practice, work location |
| Topics: | Site Management, Time Control, Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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