Development of Knowledge Management upon the use of BIM Technology

Abstract

Knowledge management (KM) within the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry is restricted due to an overwhelming amount of disintegrated data, information, and knowledge. Such overload could positively impact a higher organization’s performance, but instead, its fragmentation has led AEC organizations to the incapability to identify, retain, manage, and reuse the tremendous bulk of essential knowledge generated throughout the execution of projects. The crucial factors spawning this gap within the AEC industry lies in its tacit knowledge and the lack of intense communication and interoperability of information systems. We address these hurdles by evaluating the behaviour of a BIM-based platform - Solibri Office - aimed at the analysis and communication of construction projects issues, interlinked with the utilization of a BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) to propose live transmission of knowledge and information between construction experts in a real-world AEC context, strongly referencing the process to the knowledge creation theory (SECI Model). Thereunto for the idea to materialize, a case study was selected concerning an actual building under execution, which served as the basis for elaborating most of the critical evaluations of this research. Data, information, and knowledge were stored within a Common Data Environment (CDE) during the communication flow and finally provide the foundation for this research's main takeaways, where data and information were exploited to create knowledge. Through demonstrating the capabilities of BIM and, therefore, the utilization of BCF under a real-time web-based platform, it is hoped that this research enhances the view on the magnificent role of KM within the AEC industry and its advantageous applications.

Keywords: Knowledge Management (KM); Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC); BIM (Building Information Modelling); BIM Collaboration Format (BCF); Data, information, and knowledge.