Design Economics for the Built Environment: Impact of Sustainability on Project Evaluation

Chapter 16Reusing Knowledge and Leveraging Technology to Reduce Design and Construction Costs

Herbert Robinson and Chika Udeaja

16.1 Introduction

Construction is a vast industry accounting for a significant proportion of Gross Domestic Product and employing millions of people. The industry is well known for its products – buildings, roads, bridges, dams, and monuments – requiring knowledge from specialists to meet the needs of diverse clients. Construction projects have a history of not delivering on time, budget and within the scope of the project. There are many reasons identified for poor performance including inadequate communication between project teams, frequent design changes and constraints in knowledge reuse during project implementation. The lack of an effective knowledge management strategy has stifled the industry’s ability to reuse knowledge and to leverage various technologies. This chapter focuses on knowledge reuse and leveraging technology to reduce project duration, design and construction costs. It starts with an overview of construction as a project-based industry, characterised by distinct processes and multidisciplinary teams with different roles. The types of knowledge and knowledge management tools are discussed using examples from leading consulting practices and case studies to demonstrate the benefits in terms of reducing costs and duration of construction projects.

16.2 Knowledge reuse in construction processes and projects

Construction is a project-based ...