BIM and Knowledge Based Risk Management System: A Conceptual Model

Risk management is becoming increasingly important in the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Facility Management (AEC/FM) industry for minimising the possibility of occurrence of hazards, improving safety and quality, and achieving project goals within planned budget and cost. Though a strong set of techniques have been developed to assist this work, it is reported that currently risk management is still an experience based manual undertaking based on multidisciplinary knowledge, and capturing fragmented information from various participants correctly for solving risk problems in time is challenging. In this process, Knowledge Management (KM) could play an essential role to facilitate risk information stored in a proper structure, communicated and reused effectively. As an emerging tool within the AEC industry, Building Information Modelling (BIM) not only is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a building but can also establish a repository of shared knowledge forming a reliable basis for decision making. Therefore, there is a fundamental need to integrate KM and BIM to support risk management throughout the lifecycle of a project; however, very limited research has been found in this area. This paper will first review the state-of-the-art of both BIM and KM, and explore the potential of developing a BIM and Knowledge Based Risk Management System (BKRMS). It will then present a conceptual model of the BKRMS and discuss the related technical solutions. Finally, recommendations for future research directions in this area will be formulated

Unlocking Knowledge to Benefit the Patient : How Connecting KM and QRM Can Strengthen Science and Risk-Based Decision Making

This thesis explored knowledge management effectiveness in the pharmaceutical sector and included an examination of the critical relationship between knowledge management (KM) and quality risk management (QRM) as the dual enablers of an effective pharmaceutical quality system. The primary research objectives were to improve understanding and effectiveness of the interdependency between KM and QRM and to improve knowledge management across the pharmaceutical product lifecycle, starting with a focus on knowledge transfer during technology transfer. The thesis explored how improved KM across the product lifecycle coupled with thoughtful and intentional connectivity between KM and QRM as defined by this study could lead to more informed risk-based decision making and ultimately help benefit patients. This research study employed a variety of methods, including literature review, expert interviews, philosophical dialogue, focus groups, and case studies as a means to include a large number of stakeholders across the pharmaceutical sector. The study progress was disseminated through a variety of methods and channels including several peer-reviewed papers and conference presentations as a means to solicit input and feedback. The research findings verify that while KM and QRM are considered highly interdependent in theory, in practice they are – at best – partially integrated. This suggests the industry is not leveraging the best knowledge available to inform QRM, leading to sub-optimal risk-based decision making. Furthermore, knowledge created during QRM activities may not be effectively managed. When considering technology transfer, the study found that while knowledge transfer is considered critically important, knowledge transfer is only marginally effective for explicit knowledge and somewhat ineffective for tacit knowledge. This lack of effective knowledge transfer poses a risk to successful technology transfer and the goals of ICH Q10. In response to these findings, the research generated a variety of outputs, many of which have already demonstrated outcomes and impacts on the sector and have the potential for seminal importance. These outputs include a Knowledge Management Process Model to define the process of knowledge management, the Risk-Knowledge Infinity Cycle (RKI Cycle) as a framework to unite KM and QRM, a framework for knowledge transfer enhancement (KTE Framework) during technology transfer, and a variety of case studies to demonstrate the impact of these outputs and their applicability across the product lifecycle. These outputs can be immediately applied to the benefit of the pharmaceutical sector. Areas of future study include additional assets such as training and application materials to accelerate application of these outputs. Additional opportunity also exists to better define knowledge transfer toolkits, create knowledge management frameworks for other phases of the product lifecycle, and to better define the relationship between data analytics, knowledge management and risk management

Cost Risk Management for a Small to Medium-sized Enterprise in the Cladding Industry

To research the management of risk and cost in the cladding industry, this work has evaluated current practice and deficiencies, concentrating on the lack of integration or standardisation resulting in inaccurate cost estimates, unacceptable risks and loss of profit in cladding manufacture. The research presents an approach for integrating process- and technology-orientated improvements into a knowledge-based model to improve a cladding manufacturing SME’s performance. The research also presents a management method for the selection, integration, control and implementation of this approach. Controlling data transfer between systems produces a knowledge-based model, allowing cladding industry designers and estimators to take more accurate decisions, with the objective of reducing risk and improving company profitability. This model, with the addition of external supply chain elements, is a management framework, which can be termed an agile manufacturing system. The development of this framework has raised the following data certainty questions: • What is the measured uncertainty of that data? • How can the industry control and structure high data volumes transferred between systems to produce more accurate cost models? The answers to these questions were found by applying a structured methodology for the selection, integration and control of technology in the cladding industry, but involving the human factor. In this approach, the principle of entropy was adopted to measure data uncertainty. The structured methodology was made possible by a new categorisation into Innovative, Standard and Semi-Standard cladding projects. The research applied this structured methodology, combining qualitative and quantitative methods for validating assumptions, to a cladding industry SME case-study. The case-study investigated the validity of real cost and project data and calculated data uncertainty for specific projects, categorised as described, using a risk factor percentage predicted on entropy principles, based on historical data fed back from the SME’s ERP system. This risk factor approach was similar to that previously used in the insurance and banking industries. The risk percentage formulae used were based on assumptions extracted from qualitative and quantitative methods applied to the SME, its partner companies and industry specialists. Assumptions about the gross margins for UK metal cladding projects formed part of the risk percentage formulae. The results of this case-study found that gross margins varied from 5% in standard projects to 40% in the Innovative projects. An entropy scale was proposed as a basis for comparing risk calculation results, with the highest entropy equalling 100%, signifying the highest risk possible. It was found that risk rises in the case-study were from 23% for Standard to 93% for Innovative projects. This principle of a risk factor percentage was tested in the UK cladding manufacturer SME case-study and its value to the SME was demonstrated.

Project Risk Management : a study on the risk management approach utilized by ConocoPhillips Capital Projects

Master's thesis in Risk managementThe oil and gas industry on the Norwegian continental shelf is currently experiencing a record-breaking activity level and optimism fueled by high oil prices and major new discoveries made during 2011. The total investments have been at an all-time high the last couple of years and it will most likely continue to rise due to the amount of modification and redevelopment projects, as well as new field developments. However, with every great opportunity there are normally accompanying threats that need to be managed in order to ensure success. In such a heated climate as experienced in the oil and gas industry, there are many potential pitfalls related to infrastructure development projects, which are best exemplified by the reported cost overruns and delays affecting the Yme-redevelopment project. This report asks the question whether the current risk management system utilized by ConocoPhillips is providing value in the execution of major projects by assisting the projects in steering clear of threats with the potential to cause serious cost overruns and schedule delays. To answer the question, a common background of knowledge related to project and risk management is outlined, before introducing ConocoPhillips as a company, the worldwide project organization and the Norwegian business unit. With the context set, an overview of the project development process is given before going more into the details on the risk management process, the risk analysis modeling and the way risk management is tied into the overall development process. Based on analysis of current practices, processes and internal requirements, it becomes clear that ConocoPhillips has an extensive and rigorous system set up in order to gradually mature projects until they are ready to be implemented. Risk management plays a key part in the development process where a lot of focus and resources are used to build highly advanced integrated cost and schedule risk models generating P50 values of both project cost and completion dates that are used for project sanction. The report comes to a conditional positive conclusion, where the risk management system in light of the overall development process is deemed to create value in its contribution of providing predictability in terms of project cost and schedule compared to the project premise. However, although predictability has an inherent value for the project owners and government, the full benefits of risk management are not being realized. To unlock the full potential of risk management at ConocoPhillips, this report makes recommendations intended to shift the focus of risk management from the current reporting and verification role, to promoting the use of risk analysis in the early concept-screening phase and in the wider context of value based decision-making that must take into account more than just cost and schedule uncertainty

ToolSHeD™: The development and evaluation of a decision support tool for health and safety in construction design

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative information and decision support tool (ToolSHeD(TM)) developed to help construction designers to integrate the management of OHS risk into the design process. The underlying structure of the prototype web-based system and the process of knowledge acquisition and modelling are described. Design/methodology/approach - The ToolSHeD(TM) research and development project involved the capture of expert reasoning regarding design impacts upon occupational health and safety (OHS) risk. This knowledge was structured using an innovative method well-suited to modelling knowledge in the context of uncertainty and discretionary decision-making. Example "argument trees" are presented, representing the reasoning used by a panel of experts to assess the risk of falling from height during roof maintenance work. The advantage of using this method for modelling OHS knowledge, compared to the use of simplistic rules, is discussed. Findings - The ToolSHeD™ prototype development and testing reveals that argument trees can represent design safety risk knowledge effectively. Practical implications - The translation of argument trees into a web-based decision support tool is described and the potential impact of this tool in providing construction designers (architects and engineers) with easy and inexpensive access to expert OHS knowledge is discussed. Originality/value - The paper describes a new computer application, currently undergoing testing in the Australian building and construction industry. Its originality lies in the fact that ToolSHeD(TM) deploys argument trees to represent expert OHS reasoning, overcoming inherent limitations in rule-based expert systems

Development of a Knowledge-Based Energy Damage for evaluating Industrialised Building Systems (IBS) Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Risk

Malaysia’s construction industry has been long considered hazardous, owing to its poor health and safety record. It is proposed that one of the ways to improve safety and health in the construction industry is through the implementation of ‘off-site’ systems, commonly termed ‘industrialised building systems (IBS)’ in Malaysia, which require fewer workers on�site. This is deemed safer, based on the risk concept of reduced exposure; however, no method yet exists for determining the relative safety of various construction methods, including IBS. This thesis presents a comparative evaluation of the occupational health and safety (OHS) risk presented by different construction approaches, namely IBS and traditional methods. The evaluation involved developing a model based on the concept of ‘argumentation theory’, which helps construction designers integrate the management of OHS risk into the design process. In addition, an ‘energy damage model’ was used as an underpinning framework. Development of the model was achieved through three phases. Phase I involved collection of data on the activities involved in the construction process and their associated OHS risks, derived from five different case studies, field observation and interviews. Knowledge on design aspects that have the potential to impact on OHS was obtained from document analysis. Using the knowledge obtained in Phase I, a model was developed in the form of argument trees (Phase II), which represent a reasoning template with regard to options available to designers when they make judgements about aspects of their designs. Inferences from these aspects eventually determined the magnitude of the damaging energies for every activity involved. Finally, the model was validated by panels of experts (Phase III), and revisions and amendments were made to the model accordingly. The model provides a means of evaluating OHS risk among construction workers, which could help designers understand the extent to which their design decisions may impact on OHS and thereby assist them to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. The development of the risk assessment model represents structured knowledge that designers can draw on when making judgments about OHS risks, in the form of argument trees. The model was categorized into several damaging energies, which provides a way to evaluate the risk from start to finish. The research revealed that different approaches/methods of construction projects carried a different level of energy damage, depending on how the activities were carried out. A study of the way in which the risks change from one construction process to another shows that there is a difference in the profile of OHS risk between IBS construction and traditional methods. For example, the potential gravitational damaging energy for certain activities in the in-situ concrete and masonry method can be removed or reduced by the use of IBS/off�site methods such as the wall panel system and the panellised system. This is compatible ii with other researchers’ claims that IBS/off-site is safer and carries significantly less risk in traditional construction. This thesis contributes to knowledge by suggesting options available to product and process designers that allow them to assess the extent to which their design decisions reduce OHS risk in construction, and offering a more rigorous comparison of the OHS risks in IBS and traditional approaches. It is anticipated that the model may provide a way for designers to integrate process knowledge and awareness of safety and OHS risk variables into design to eliminate or reduce hazards in construction. Keywords: IBS, OHS in construction, knowledge-based energy damage model, off-site constructio

When form follows function ? Financial centres as starting points for researching the interrelationship of financial intermediaries and the management of firms

Scince the 1990ies a multiplicity of young technology firms tried to enter the new markets. Some MNE`s merged or established through spin-offs new competitive firms, SME `s often found themselves in the middle of a consolidation process, developing under a strong pressure of competition new ways of legal forms and management structures such as Management-buy-outs. Capitalization, raising of capital, managing and hedging risks have become a strategic factor of success to participate in the global innovation competition. This links the system of financial intermediaries with the production- and innovation system. Firms are raising capital from the financial markets to finance their innovation and production processes through credits, bonds, stocks, venture capital, private equity and other financial products (derivates). A successful transaction is dependent on a knowledge intensive, technology based and worldwide operating system of financial intermediaries. Through ratings, risk analysis, monitoring, information processing, pricing and further more tools financial intermediaries act in their role as middlemen centres. ?Intermediaries help markets to grow by creating products that form the basis of new markets. In turn, markets help intermediaries to innovate new more customized products by lowering costs of producing them? Merton and Bodie 1995, 26). The financial innovation spiral builds up complex structures within financial markets evolve. Today, after a fatal crash of the international financial markets and the bankruptcy of hundred of national and worldwide operating firms, this has left a strong mark on the international financial landscape map. New concepts of corporate governance with demand for a stronger transparency, information policy and risk control have to be developed for a future relationship between investors, financial intermediaries and the firms management. What consequences will follow? This paper will discuss these issues from a different perspective while concentrating on some systemic backgrounds of the financial system, which shape those complex interrelationships and put them into a dynamic process. In a first step the paper is introducing a functional approach to explain institutional changes within the financial systems. Followed by the second step, some consequences and trends for financial centres with regard to their structure, functions, participants and activities will be discussed. In a third step, I try to give a framework how a financial centre could be analysed. This will open up starting points for a future research of Innovation, Financial Industry and Space (IFIS)

The 2P-K Framework: A Personal Knowledge Measurement Framework for the Pharmaceutical Industry

Knowledge is a dynamic human process to justify our personal belief in pursuit of the truth. The intellectual output of any organisation is reliant upon the individual people within that organisation. Despite the eminent role of personal knowledge in organisations, personal knowledge management and measurement have received little attention, particularly in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the pillars of the global economy and a knowledge-intensive sector where knowledge is described as the second product after medicines. The need of measurement to achieve effective management is not a new concept in management literature. This study offers an explanatory framework for personal knowledge, its underlying constructs and observed measures in the pharmaceutical manufacturing context. Following a sequential mixed method research (MMR) design, the researcher developed a measurement framework based on the thematic analysis of fifteen semi-structured interviews with industry experts and considering the extant academic and regulatory literature. A survey of 190 practitioners from the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector enabled quantitative testing and validation of the proposed models utilising confirmatory factor analysis. The pharmaceutical personal knowledge framework was the fruit of a comprehensive study to explain and measure the manifestations of personal knowledge in pharmaceutical organisations. The proposed framework identifies 41 personal knowledge measures reflecting six latent factors and the underlying personal knowledge. The hypothesised factors include: regulatory awareness, performance, wisdom, organisational understanding, mastership of product and process besides communication and networking skills. In order to enhance the applicability and flexibility of the measurement framework, an abbreviated 15-item form of the original framework was developed. The abbreviated pharmaceutical personal knowledge (2P-K) framework demonstrated superior model fit, better accuracy and reliability. The research results reveal that over 80% of the participant pharmaceutical organisations had a form of structured KM system. However, less than 30% integrated KM with corporate strategies suggesting that KM is still in the early stages of development in the pharmaceutical industry. Also, personal knowledge measurement is still a subjective practice and predominately an informal process. The 2P-K framework offers researchers and scholars a theoretically grounded original model for measuring personal knowledge. Also, it offers a basis for a personal knowledge measurement scale (2P-K-S) in the pharmaceutical manufacturing context. Finally, the study had some limitations. The framework survey relied on self-ratings. This might pose a risk of social desirability bias and Dunning–Kruger effect. Consequently, a 360- degree survey was suggested to achieve accurate assessments. Also, the model was developed and tested in an industry-specific context. A comparative study in similar manufacturing industries (e.g. chemical industries) is recommended to assess the validity of the current model or a modified version of it in other industries

A systems approach to enterprise risk management in high-tech industry

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-106).The high-tech industry is showing increased interest in developing an enterprise wide approach to risk management. There are three reasons for this increased interest; first as the industry has matured, as evidenced by slower growth, increasing consolidation and global competition, managing "costs" has moved to center stage; second, technology product life cycles have progressively shrunk leading to increased technology strategy risk; and third larger events such as 9/11 and corporate scandals have created an awareness of new risks to be managed. In these changed circumstances, the old days of rapid growth and localized & reactive risk management techniques need to be replaced with a capacity to understand risks and manage them effectively across the entire enterprise. Although, risk management has been practiced in the high-tech industry for some time the approaches are based on silo techniques such as insurance, finance, strategy or operations. The challenge is that these varied approaches fall short of holistic risk management and further maintain risk silos that generate additional risks to the organization. To address these silos and develop an enterprise risk management approach we have devised a "generic" and "scalable" risk management framework that could be used by a firm irrespective of its current risk management maturity to achieve a higher level of risk management sophistication. Our approach is based on a three step process; identifying the risks in each of the organizational silos, analyzing their gaps and thereafter developing common risk language and measurement capability across the whole enterprise to close these gaps. To accomplish these three steps a firm can use a 3-T knowledge management assessment framework(cont.) and a 4-R risk management process methodology. We have also devised a risk management maturity model that helps a firm assess its current risk management sophistication, determine the level of maturity the firm would like to target and so clarify the next steps to get there. We combine these frameworks and methodologies together to create what we call Integrative Corporate Risk Management (ICRM) architecture to help high-tech firms develop a state of the art enterprise risk management capability.by Atul Sharma.S.M

Knowledge management and gamification in Pharma: an approach in pandemic times to develop product quality reviews

The Pharma sector is a much‑regulated market, and this means that this industry must test their products to comply with existing standards to assure the required level of quality and safety before being authorized to lunch those products to the market. Supply chains, data integrity, and tightening regulations are just examples of business process issues that affect quality strategies on a day‑to‑day basis. Besides, regulatory bodies are increasingly focused not only on compliance but also on building a culture of quality management. In this domain, the Quality Management System (QMS)is a well‑known system to support processes, procedures, and responsibilities for achieving quality policies and objectives.The QMS also drives consistent metrics, risk calculations, and other trend analysis in developing periodical Product Quality Reviews (PQRs), usually corresponding to one year periods, related to the product and with its active substance. The PQRs development process requires proper management of knowledge so that it can be replicated in different activities. This paper proposes the adoption of Gamification techniques in each phase of PQRs. In pandemic times, it is importante to improve the performance of each activity, gathering the engagement of the employees. Gamification is usually related to employee motivation, which, in turn, is conducive to the achievement of better results in the organization. In this context, it is necessary to understand how the commitment of stakeholders evolves and if the application of Gamification techniques allows enhancing this variable, taking the evolution of the performance as another variable that could be evaluated. This paper focuses on innovation in the area of knowledge management, based on the projection of a Gamified model related to managing activities of a PQR development project at the level of the active substance. The paper presents a case study where the proposed model was applied to analyze the performance achieves in a national pharmaceutical industry in Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio