Purpose -A disaster is a serious disruption for the operation of a society, causing extensive life and property losses. Since construction activities are highly knowledge-intensive, knowledge management (KM) practices will encourage continuous improvement, distribute best practices, quick response to beneficiaries, share valuable tacit knowledge, reduce rework, improve competitiveness and innovations, and reduce complexities in post-disaster housing reconstruction. Therefore, this research aims to study and explore the degree to which KM is involved in post-disaster housing reconstruction and the effect that KM has on post-disaster housing reconstruction in the Sri Lankan context. Design/methodology/approach -The study was conducted by systematically reviewing the literature in Knowledge and KM to highlight the basic principles. Data collection mode for the study was close-end questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Data were collected from donor and consultancy organisations which are involved in post-disaster housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka. Findings -The results show that most of the donors and consultancy organisations carry out permanent disaster housing reconstruction for tsunami devastation. Further, the study reveals that organisations use competences and repositories as the main sources of knowledge internal and external to the organisation. Project reviews, task teams, face-to-face interactions, and electronic mail systems were greatly used to support KM. Even though the performance of the work was improved through KM, lack of compiling and synthesizing the accumulated data, information and knowledge, storing and organizing would be the main challenge faced by these organisations. Practical implications -It is evident that a more concerted and formal approach will improve disaster housing reconstruction. Since knowledge gatekeepers have extensive tacit and explicit knowledge, the organisations have to use it as a significant source. Even though the majority of the donors and consulting organisations used competencies and repositories as main sources of K, the identification and exploitation of a variety of appropriate sources are of central importance. Further, organisations have to focus more on a variety of IT tools in order to store Knowledge for future use. Since there were challenges for KM, the organisations have to identify proper solutions in order to move towards and achieve the benefits of KM. Finally, the organisations have to provide an appropriate rewards system to encourage their employees in participating in KM. Originality value -The disaster housing reconstruction will not end on a certain point and it will be a continuous process. Formal KM systems will help to improve the present state and further provide proper Knowledge in the future. There should be a standardised practice in order to improve the performance and give good value for beneficiaries. The study makes it quite evident that proper KM will improve the status of post-disaster housing reconstruction.
The introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the manufacturing industry changed the trajectory to Industrial Revolution 4.0. Accordingly, it consists of various technologies, where the IoT is the basis of this revolution. However, there is an increasing gap between traditional Construction and digitalised data-driven Construction. In such context, the adoption of IoT applications in construction projects shall increase the productivity and better performance of construction activities. Consequently, IoT concepts, developments, applications, and potential benefits of IoT in the construction industry need to be acknowledged by industry practitioners before the implementation can take place. Hence, the purpose of this research is to outline such needs, thus provide an understanding on the potential of the IoT in the construction industry. Subsequently, a comprehensive literature synthesis revealed the expression IoT is best understood as a metaphor that encapsulates the immersion of almost anything and everything within the communications and connectivity space. The development is at an embryonic stage of development but proliferating in measuring, tracking, modelling, and prediction stages such as smart wearables, sensors attached to the structures and machinery, IoT linked Building information modelling (BIM) models, usage of drones. As a result, potential benefits are entertained by the construction industry practitioners towards sustainability. Ultimately, the study provides a starting point for raising awareness to facilitate and implement IoT applications in construction projects. In the absence of empirical literature on the implementation of the IoT paradigm in general, this paper presents a valuable contribution to the growing body of knowledge.
The world is witnessing the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution known as Industry 4.0, where the ICT-fuelled digital economy is taking off exponentially. In such a context, the essence of the Internet identified as the Internet of Things (IoT) is a revolutionary way of procuring goods and services. IoT refers to scenarios where network connectivity and computing capability extend to objects, sensors, and everyday items not generally considered as computers while allowing them to interact among each other with the least involvement of humans. The application of IoT has already extended to the sectors such as manufacturing, transportation, energy, retail, smart cities, healthcare, and buildings to significantly improve the quality of life by increasing efficiency, productivity, profitability, and innovation. Meanwhile, the construction industry is still suffering from complexity and bottlenecks, whereas IoT has aroused researchers' curiosity to investigate the possibility of achieving more efficient management throughout the whole life cycle of a construction project. In the Sri Lankan (SL) context, the construction industry places a vital role in economic and physical development. Furthermore, in the Sri Lankan economy, Construction is the fourth highest sector after services, manufacturing, and agriculture. Therefore, it is vital to recognize the potential of IoT to be adopted in the industry, and associated barriers within such a process, which is the aim of this study. To attain the aim, an extensive literature synthesis was piloted to acknowledge the concepts and current practices of IoT applications in a global context. Literature synthesis revealed the global construction industry's faithfulness towards IoT applications, following a successful identification of potential barriers. Eventually, a conceptual guideline was developed to specify key variables that influence a phenomenon of interest while guiding SL construction professionals to recognize and adopt IoT applications in their respective fields. Keywords: Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, Construction Informatics, Information Technology, Smart Sensors
Quantity Surveying is one of the prominent professions in the construction industry which fulfils varied and comprehensive duties to support cost-effective construction and property development. Thus, Quantity Surveyors (QSs) should adorn with competencies to deal with complex situations in the construction industry. The Quantity Surveying profession has become an emerging profession due to the increasing number of Quantity Surveying degree programmes offered by many Sri Lankan institutions. However, many construction professionals claim that Quantity Surveying education in Sri Lanka has not distinguished the actual needs of the profession, thus the graduates are presumed to not being up to the standards expected by the industry. Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL) is the local professional organization that has set out competency standards for QSs under the Act of parliament. Assessment of Professional Competency (APC) is being evaluated by the IQSSL. IQSSL will only accredit any degree programmes which comply with specified competencies. On the other hand, the University of Moratuwa (UOM) is one of the government institutions that conduct the Quantity Surveying education in Sri Lanka and IQSSL has accredited its degree programme. Thus, this study intends to ascertain to which extent the IQSSL competency standards are being satisfied by the UOM Quantity Surveying degree programme to address the above claim of industry practitioners. To attain the aim, an extensive literature synthesis was piloted to develop a theoretical competency mapping framework upon the key findings of the literature. This research outlines a 'competency' as the ability of an individual to follow a set of professionally agreed standards. Due to the rapid evolvement and complexity in the construction industry, it is much required to enhance QSs' competencies. The literature synthesis identified that the UOM's competencies are slightly different from IQSSL competency standards. Hence, the research outcome has successfully argued that there is a competency gap between the UOM Quantity Surveying degree programme and IQSSL standards through competency mapping techniques. Thus, identifying such a competency gap would enhance any knowledge requirement of the UOM graduates in line with the construction industry. Keywords: Competency, Quantity Surveyor (QS), Institute of Quantity Surveyors Sri Lanka (IQSSL), University of Moratuwa (UOM), education
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