Anumba, C J; Issa, R R A; Pan, J and Mutis, I (2008) Ontology-based information and knowledge management in construction. Construction Innovation, 8(3), pp. 218-239. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
There is an increasing recognition of the value of effective information and knowledge management (KM) in the construction project delivery process. Many architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) organisations have invested heavily in information technology and KM systems that help in this regard. While these have been largely successful in supporting intra-organisational business processes, interoperability problems still persist at the project organisation level due to the heterogeneity of the systems used by the different organisations involved. Ontologies are seen as an important means of addressing these problems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of ontologies in the construction project delivery process, particularly with respect to information and KM. A detailed technical review of the fundamental concepts and related work has been undertaken, with examples and case studies of ontology-based information and KM presented to illustrate the key concepts. The specific issues and technical difficulties in the design and construction context are highlighted, and the approaches adopted in two ontology-based applications for the AEC sector are presented. The paper concludes that there is considerable merit in ontology-based approaches to information and KM, but that significant technical challenges remain. Middleware applications, such as semantic web-based information management system, are contributing in this regard but more needs to be done particularly on integrating or merging ontologies. The value of the paper lies in the detailed exploration of ontology-based information and KM within a design and construction context, and the use of appropriate examples and applications to illustrate the key issues.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; data structures; generation and dissemination of information; knowledge management; semantics |
| Index terms: | semantic web, case study, semantics, design and construction, interoperability, construction industry, management system, ontology, project organization, construction project delivery, dissemination, exploration, information and knowledge management, knowledge management, information technology, data structure |
| Subjects: | environmental resource management, contractual arrangements, knowledge management, data science, analytical methods, data collection methods, computing systems, project controls, networking, industry analysis, systems and processes, education and knowledge transfer, management, organizational theory, knowledge translation, professional development |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Time Control, Project Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Procurement, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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