Staying Ahead of the Curve with Digitised Institutional Memory

Budget, schedule and risk are always under intense scrutiny in capital projects. Few projects are the same, with different timelines, locations, regulations, supply chains and materials.

With the high rate of talent turnover, growth in infrastructure demand, changing standards to comply to, and disruptions in the supply chain, construction companies today have to compete, innovate and deliver high quality projects under extreme pressure.

A big part of the solution is in formalising a company’s Institutional Memory –its tangible (project data) and intangible (skills and special techniques) knowledge. Yet, the industry is ‘among the slowest to digitise and innovate.’

Teams are busy creating outputs and deliverables every day. The working documents and final versions of estimates, schedules, plans and contracts are often forgotten about. That vast wealth of knowledge deserves to be captured and applied to future work for the organisation.

Institutional memory combines risk learnings and strategies from past project delivery and the outcomes of applying them. Capturing, organising and digitising this data reduces the knowledge gap between multi-generational workforces, and enables teams to access and input real-time insights to minimise risk, improve operational efficiency, control project costs and form innovative strategies for new projects.

AI can be applied to streamline proccesses, automate scheduling, allocate resources, and inform procurement, to help avoid delays, mistakes and cost overruns.

With accurate data at hand, errors and risks can be mitigated throughout the lifetime of an asset, and empower companies with agility. This instantly increases a company’s value and competitive edge as a partner in
multi-stakeholder projects.