ABSTRACT
The low level of transfer of experience achieved by participants in the construction process can be regarded as a weakness that reflects the lack of a natural forum for the distribution of information. Since each project undertaken by a firm is separated economically from every other, it can be difficult to link production and administration comprehensively. There is need of a system for reporting experience gained that is designed in such a way that all those engaged in the chain of tasks to be performed can access knowledge of the experience of others, both during a project and afterwards. If no such transfer of knowledge and experience takes place, there is the two-fold risk of the firm failing to take advantage of what has been learnt and of its making similar mistakes again. Assembling information relevant to a project is part of the requirements of a management system generally, as expressed in the set of international standards ISO 9000/9001 (Quality management systems) and ISO 14001 (Environmental management systems), which are used in the construction industry at the level of the individual firm. The complexity of the construction process means, however, that special measures are called for if the collection of relevant information, including that concerned with experience gained, is to fulfill its purpose. The continual public debate regarding what takes place within the construction industry is considered by many to reflect flaws in quality assurance systems and the lack of well-functioning systems for collecting and distributing knowledge. There is good reason for the industry to identify ways in which the functioning of these two systems can be improved and these are examined in this chapter.
