East Midlands Knowledge Network: Routes To University Expertise

 

Simons Group

Innovative Manufacturing And Construction

Simons Group
Description and aims

When Simons Group wished to improve its knowledge management practices and implement a new methodology to capture project knowledge, it called upon the skills and knowledge of a Loughborough University researcher.

About Simons Group

Simons is a privately owned Construction, Property Development and Consultancy Group.

How the project is being undertaken

During a one-year Research Assistant Industrial Secondment (RAIS), Loughborough University researcher, Hai Chen Tan worked closely with staff at Simons Group to investigate the current systems and tools in place for capturing project knowledge. This led to an assessment of the feasibility of implementing a new IT-based tool to capture ‘live’ construction project knowledge.

Impacts and benefits

The investigations led to a better understanding of knowledge management practices, drivers, barrier systems and tools within the company. The findings also highlighted a fundamental need to restructure the company’s databases, in order to deliver the benefits of the new methodology and improve knowledge management support to the rest of the Group.

By the end of the secondment, the new methodology and tool for capturing project knowledge, which had been radically improved during the year, had started to be implemented across the company.

‘The secondment was of great value to our company. It provided valuable resources to give us an overview of our knowledge management activities, expose short-comings and provide an external evaluation of the knowledge management work we undertake.’
Stephen Major, Managing Director, Simons Group

For more information about the project

If you would like to hear more about this project, please contact Kathryn Burchell, Enterprise Office, Loughborough University
Email: k.d.burchell@lboro.ac.uk
Telephone: 01509 228493

University

Loughborough University

Contact

Kathryn Burchell

01509 228493