WEB based knowledge management system for contractors in the contruction industry: Knowledge platform for contractors (KPFC)

ABSTRACTMaster of Science ThesisWEB-BASED KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FORCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY : KNOWLEDGEPLATFORM FOR CONTRACTORS ( KPfC )SERKAN KIVRAKAnadolu UniversityGraduate School of SciencesCivil Engineering ProgramSupervisor: Assist.Prof.Dr. Gökhan ARSLAN2005, 115 pagesKnowledge has become an important competitive tool for theconstruction industry. Knowledge consists of explicit and tacit knowledge.Tacit knowledge is based on the experience of individuals. This type ofknowledge usually is not captured during the construction phase. Capturingtacit knowledge and reusing in future projects can give constructioncompanies a strong competitive advantage. Sharing and reusing knowledgecan improve the business performance of the companies. The aim of thisstudy is to develop a web-based knowledge management system forcontractors in order to capture and reuse knowledge in construction projects.A survey was carried out among major Turkish construction contractors. Aknowledge management model is developed for capturing knowledge duringthe construction phase of a project and reusing them in future projects.Based on this model, a web-based knowledge management system calledKnowledge Platform for Contractors ( KPfC ) is proposed in order tomanage knowledge effectively in construction projects.Keywords : Contractor Knowledge Platform, Knowledge Management inConstruction Projects, Tacit Knowledge, Knowledge Sharing,Web-Based Systems.