Knowledge transfer in shipbuilding projects: a study of facilitating mechanisms (original) (raw)

Knowledge as an Organizational Asset for Managing Complex Projects: The Case of Naval Platforms

Sustainability

Knowledge management (KM) involves learning from past experiences to avoid or correct scope misalignments, quality deviations, safety problems, time delays and/or cost overruns. KM is frequently materialized as a risk management (RM) plan. An RM plan allows for anticipating, avoiding, mitigating, or reducing potential problems impacting project performance. However, despite their high complementarity, KM and RM are not the same, nor share the same purpose. In the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, managing complex projects involves many KM-related challenges, such as differential competitiveness enhancement and value chain streamlining. Naval platforms are complex projects that require the integration of multiple sources of knowledge and information. They also need to keep on integrating latest digital technology innovations in their production processes. In this context, streamlining the requirements management may become a differential asset for project stakeholders of na...

Collaborative knowledge management: case studies from ship design

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2011

The recent increase in information and knowledge flows within the shipbuilding industry, due to the implementation of computer-aided design and tougher market requirements for ship design, generates a need for effective collaboration between ship designers, shipowners, shipyards, suppliers, classification societies, and other supply chain partners. This paper uses a comparative case study approach to explore how two different ship design firms have organised cooperative work during the design process, and how they employed computer-aided collaborative tools for knowledge management. This study will be interesting for practitioners from shipbuilding and ship design firms, and scholars of knowledge management and applications of collaborative knowledge management tools in organisations.

An Integrated Paradigm for Managing Efficient Knowledge Transfer: Towards a More Comprehensive Philosophy of Transferring Knowledge in the Construction Industry

Construction economics and building, 2022

The efficient knowledge transfer among project group members can help those individuals do their jobs more successfully. However, there are challenges with effective and efficient knowledge transfer within the construction industry. Past research has assumed that all information can be articulated and codified, thus focusing on the transfer that generates the supply of knowledge. There seems not to be a comprehensive strategy for dealing with reverse, intra-firm information transfer that considers several elements and the interconnections between them. The current study developed a conceptual framework that comprehensively overviews knowledge transmission variables. A total of 128 papers from Scopus and Web of Science and publisher databases like Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, Emerald Insight, and Google Scholar were evaluated between 1990 and 2021. The data were evaluated using ATLAS.ti 9 software tool. The study contributed significantly to the impression of knowledge transfer by the construction industry. It also suggests that organisations should inspire and increase the involvement and evaluation of knowledge dissemination. In addition, a set of factors for efficient information transfer was identified and described in detail. Effective communication strategies should include establishing regular and efficient communication, creating a community of practice with common DECLARATION OF CONFLICTING INTEREST The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. FUNDING The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. 65 goals, creating a sense of urgency and connection to the challenge, and continuously transferring information amongst organisation members.

Knowledge transfer within and across organizational boundaries: A case study in the construction industry

Knowledge transfer is essential for an organization to be competitive and successful. However, as projects are temporary, knowledge is often bound to the individuals in projects rather than to the core organizations. The main research question for this article is: How can collaboration be used in order to transfer knowledge from one project to another within an organization or with other organizations within a project? To do this, a theoretical framework of recent literature concerning knowledge management and transfer is used, as well as a case study about an urban development organization working with a rather unique collaboration structure in order to maximize the knowledge transfer from and between different actors. Our method of research has been interviews with a divisional manager and two project managers at an urban development organization. Results from our case study indicate that in the planning phase, knowledge transfer includes collecting feedback and information as well as using a central knowledge platform. During the production phase, face-to-face communication is the most important form of knowledge transfer. After each project, evaluation is essential to collect the experience of collaboration and identify planning errors. Our findings also show that most knowledge transfer occurs at an informal level. The study concludes that several factors affect knowledge transfer in a construction organization. The most essential are the media in which knowledge is transferred and the way information is stored. Taking all factors into consideration, an organization with a decentralized structure and an open and broad-minded culture enables successful knowledge transfer.

Knowledge Management: A Cross Sectorial Comparison of Wind Generation and Naval Engineering

IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, 2014

Offshore wind farms and naval vessels are examples of complex systems. A number of differences exist, e.g. the first is an exemplar of a developing technology, the second a technology having been developed and enhanced over centuries. Never the less a number of similarities exist, e.g. the development of responsive systems in physically demanding environments. Each of the technologies adheres to a prescribed product lifecycle, e.g. "ISO 15288, Systems and software engineering-System life cycle processes", whereby each phase has distinct information and knowledge requirements. Furthermore, the adoption of a structured lifecycle ensures each technology considers the complete lifecycle and its integration within a potential system of systems. This cross sectoral study will review in-service knowledge management in two different fields of engineering, firstly Offshore Wind Generation which is a complex infrastructure system and secondly Royal Navy vessels which are complex marine engineering systems.

Knowledge transfer : a model framework for construction knowledge integration

2011

Managing information and knowledge in the construction industry is an important focus for research. The goal is to expedite better integration of construction knowledge amongst the stakeholders. Better use of this knowledge could allow the building industry to achieve quality outputs making best use of resources – the linked goals of time, cost and quality. Information networks and knowledge transfer are central to this and are recognized as integral to an industry strategy to improve productivity. However, poor delivery of information to those at the construction site and lack of effective methods of transferring knowledge between parties involved in construction become major challenges. Based on a critical review of literature and an interview survey, this paper identifies the information networks adopted in the Malaysian construction industry and models these using four knowledge transfer components classified as ‘control’, ‘innovation’, ‘best practice’ and ‘audit’ element. Knowl...

Transfer of knowledge from the service phase: a case study from the oil industry

Research in Engineering Design

This paper aims to investigate the knowledge generated during the later phases of the life cycle of a complex customised product and understand how this knowledge is transferred between projects and between different user groups. A series of four identical rigs for offshore drilling was selected as a case study, and the transfer of knowledge between the first two rigs was explored through two sets of interviews with the rig operators and the project management team. The expected knowledge transfer strategies that emerged from the first set of interviews were analysed and compared with the actual transfer mechanisms identified in the second set of interviews, and similarities and differences were investigated. It was found that the transfer of knowledge primarily occurred within the individual phases of the product's life cycle, and there was poor transfer across the different phases.

Current Approaches to the Management of Naval Shipbuilding Projects

Brodogradnja, 2021

The paper deals with the analysis of development and trends in the field of management of naval shipbuilding projects. The introductory part gives an overview of project management in the defense sector as well as in the naval shipbuilding sector. The analysis of naval shipbuilding project management is done through consideration of four criteria: naval strategy and long-term planning, shipbuilding industrial base, workforce, and project management organization. Due to limited resources, five countries were selected: the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (GBR), Australia (AUS), New Zealand (NZL), and Croatia (HRV). After individual countries have been analysed, synthesis and comparison of results were presented in tabular form. The conclusion is based on global trends in this area, how the naval shipbuilding project management in the Republic of Croatia is harmonized with them, and recommendations for improving the process of managing naval projects in the Republic of Croatia. The scientific contribution of the paper is in defining a systematic approach to managing naval shipbuilding projects that could serve as a generic model on which the future organization and management processes of naval shipbuilding projects in the Republic of Croatia and other maritime countries, that are comparable in economic strength and defense needs, may be founded.

Knowledge Management Strategies to improve construction business development processes. A preliminary case study

Industry generally is developing knowledge management strategies and companies have been found to be delivering significant results; improving decision making, increasing productivity and profitability. In the UK construction industry, key reports such as Latham and Egan, recommend increased collaboration, knowledge exchange, new networks and relationships, to increase the competitiveness and profitability of construction. They highlight the increasing value of knowledge in delivering competitive advantage. Knowledge management is vital in construction, especially with the dependence on project work and geographic disparate teams. If it is to be successful in this procurement environment, it will require far more than investment in software. This paper examines the core processes of knowledge management and key enablers. The focus will be on how a leading edge construction organisation is benefiting commercially from implementation of a knowledge management initiative.

Factors Affecting Knowledge Transfer in International Construction Joint Venture Projects

4th International Conference on Advances in Agricultural, Biological & Ecological Sciences (AABES-16) Dec. 1-2, 2016 London, 2016

Globalization has particularly strengthened over the last two decades. International Joint Ventures (IJVs) between multinational organisations in developed and developing countries are considered to be a successful strategy in order to benefit from international market opportunities in the globalised world. Knowledge Transfer (KT) is an important process where an organisation identifies and learns from specific knowledge which exists in another organisation or in its different parts. In the construction industry, globalization together with the information revolution and the improved knowledge-based economy has fundamentally altered the market. The main aim of this study is to identify key factors that affect and influence knowledge transfer processes in International Construction Joint Venture (ICJV) Projects. An organisation"s effectiveness in learning and transferring knowledge depends on a number of factors that facilitate an organisation"s capability to acquire and use knowledge. They include knowledge facilitators and knowledge transfer methods and mechanisms, as well as factors which influence a ICJV"s performance. Key enabling and inhibiting factors influencing knowledge transfer in ICJVs will be explored and described. As such, the foundation for a better understanding of how knowledge in ICJV projects is transferred and adopted is built. A conceptual framework based on the key concepts and the key enabling and inhibiting factors that influence knowledge transfer will be developed through future research.