HONOURABLE MENTION: Knowledge Management System

Category: Community Outreach & In-House Initiatives

A. D. WILLIAMS ENGINEERING WITH BATSCH GROUP INC.

Recognizing that it is vital for staff to have ready access to information in order to do their work effectively, A.D. Williams Engineering, in conjunction with Batsch Group in Edmonton, developed and implemented a Knowledge Management System.

The system is in essence an electronic filing cabinet that houses “need to know” information that staff can access from their office or home workstations. The “filing cabinet” is a secure Intranet site, designed to look much like a standard web site, but accessible only by authorized users.

The information stored in the system ranges from technical resources, such as design codes and standards, design templates, and drafting details, to standard report formats, corporate policies and procedures, and even includes “best practices” as shared by experienced members of the firm. The system also provides links to the firm’s client database, a database of historical projects, a technical library index, and the booking schedule for the company airplane.

Each member of staff made a contribution to the knowledge management system and brainstorming sessions were held to identify what information should be captured for the benefit of all. In the process of bringing the engineers and technologists together to develop this common baseline of knowledge, the company also had an opportunity to examine and hone its practices, and to identify new business opportunities. Staff are expected to continue contributing to the knowledge management system, which is updated daily and continues to evolve. CCE

Project team leaders: Allen D. Williams, P.Eng., Naseem Bashir, P.Eng., Nita Jalkanen, Santiago Gomez, Debbie Carnahan, Peter LaGrandeur, Sharron Batsch