Preliminary Proposal for a Knowledge Management System in a Brazilian Construction Company, Based on ISO 30401 Requirements

Knowledge management (KM) has established itself into a discipline for the past decades, progressively being incorporated into international standards such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Standard 9001, in 2015 and well-established guides, such as the PMBOK, in 2017, becoming an International Standard in 2018, ISO 30401, which sets the requirements for Knowledge Management Systems (KMS). Although there is substantial literature on the use and application of KM tools and techniques in the construction industry, proposals for KMS are scarce, and, specifically aligned to the ISO 30401 requirements, inexistent. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to tackle this issue, outlining the proposal of a KMS, aligned to the ISO 30401 requirements, for a construction firm. A case study was carried out within a private Brazilian construction company (CC), based in São Paulo. Information has been gathered from direct observation and from internal documents, reports, memos, and records, to obtain an accurate picture of the organization and identify its KM practices. Once the structure and practices of the CC were understood, the fulfillment of the ISO 30401 requirements was addressed, resulting in a multi-stage action plan aiming to gradually comply with the standard. During research, the organization´s Project Management Office (PMO) was identified as a key element in this endeavor. Although the proposed plan is specific for a particular organization, it can be adapted to other contexts, contributing to the discussion of KM in the construction industry and the role of the PMO in KMS.