Achieving Learning Organizations in the EPC Industry

A learning organization is skilled at creating, acquiring, sharing, and applying knowledge, and embracing change and innovation at all levels, resulting in optimum performance and maximum competitive advantage. 

The EPC industry has a definite need for knowledge-based services to help it modernize and to take advantage of current technology. For the construction industry to adopt a learning organization, continuous learning and personal advancement must become fundamental within organizations at every level and throughout every project and business process. Adopting this concept requires the engineering and construction industry to focus on a long-term outlook for learning.

A successful learning organization will combine experience-based improvement with expanding knowledge. Experience-based improvement will allow the organization to build upon past successes by permitting personnel to store, access, and expand upon project experiences gained throughout the organization. Understanding the integration of the knowledge capture technology with the cultural shift to a learning organization is the underlying requirement for the future of construction learning organizations. 

The research team suggests that EPC companies focus on leadership, champions, direction, technology balance, and resource allocation. In doing so, they will make themselves more adaptable to becoming a learning organization.