A best practice process model for hybrid concrete construction

The term 'hybrid concrete construction' (HCC) is used to describe the combination of concrete construction methods, e.g. in-situ concrete and precast concrete, with one another or with other materials, e.g. steel. Although it could be argued that most buildings employ such combinations, HCC is the deliberate integration of different construction techniques to achieve a cost, speed or other performance benefit. UK government has been concerned that the construction industry suffers from poor management and exchange of tacit knowledge which can disappear after project teams 'break up'. The completion of several innovative and high profile HCC projects was considered to be a major opportunity to capture project teams' tacit knowledge in this area. The objective of the research was to compile a best practice process model, such that project teams could be better informed as to their roles and responsibilities and thus be better equipped to deliver a building to the client's satisfaction, by using HCC. Interviews and knowledge capture workshops were used to extract lessons that lay embedded in both individuals and teams. The main conclusions were that successful HCC projects were characterized for example, by the development of an ethos of trust, the early involvement of specialists (such as precasters) and the effective management of both tacit and explicit knowledge. The research builds on previous work in the area by identifying best practice information on design, specification and construction factors for HCC and, in addition, some transferable lessons on knowledge capture techniques.