Using network theory to manage knowledge from unstructured data in construction projects: Application to a collaborative analysis of the energy consumption in the construction of oil and gas facilities

This research provides an approach to capture the knowledge in unstructured data related to the energy consumption in the construction of oil and gas projects. Because of the challenges of this industry in managing knowledge more efficiently, this work is relevant for planning/assessments during the construction of future projects. As a starting point, a concept map, which organizes thirty-four construction activities, systems, and factors that influence energy consumption during the construction, is presented. This concept map is a simplified taxonomy that guarantees consistency across different projects. As such, three case studies of oil and gas projects are conducted based on semi-structured interviews to design the respective concept networks. The method represents the concepts in the form of a network. The nodes of the network are the thirty-four concepts, and a tie is defined whenever there is a relationship between two concepts that impact the energy consumption in the construction stage. Network analysis is used to retrieve the knowledge, which is contextualized in the case-based projects. Then, the networks of the three cases are compared with a baseline, which was developed using an expert survey. With the survey focusing on the experts' general knowledge, blockmodeling is used to capture knowledge constructs in each case network. The research is evaluated using a test with one of the case studies and a system as an online interface for collaboration. The results collected from a questionnaire and a focus group with the participants of the test indicate that the proposed approach is satisfactory. Although this study is not an energy assessment, each project has its unique, contextual network; therefore, comparing them with the network of future projects constitutes a valuable source of knowledge. This work also highlights the importance of supporting collaboration between project team members to study and decide on the plans to manage/reduce energy consumption during the construction phase in oil and gas facilities. While the energy savings are smaller than the upstream and operation phases, it has received much less attention. It is also a phase with much more subjective and contextualized knowledge – making the use of case-based analyses more suitable.