An Architecture for Knowledge Management in the AEC Industry

The ability to capture important information and transform it into useful knowledge is critical to the successful operation of organizations within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Industry. Recent developments in information technology allow organizations to capture, store, analyze and retrieve information in ways that were not possible five or ten years ago. Examples of these technologies include data mining, advanced decision support tools, intranets, and decision indexing. To gain full benefit from these advanced information technologies, standardized methods need to be developed to capture, store and manage knowledge within the industry. This paper presents the progress toward the development of a detailed information architecture for structuring the knowledge and information that organizations within the AEC industry can capture, analyze, and retrieve. This information architecture includes a breakdown of knowledge related to projects (physical facility, processes and environment), other organizations, contracts, and the organization's environment.