Implementation and methods of project learning in quantity surveying firms : barriers, enablers and success factors

Problem statement: Learning from project is vital for organizations to achieve competition and to survive in a dynamic environment. However, learning is not an easy task because there is no specific way for learning from projects. Besides, the practice of project learning and transfer knowledge to the firm’s level is still vague, specifically in the construction milieu. Approach: A questionnaire survey was conducted targeted quantity surveying firms in Malaysia, attempted to identify methods of learning from projects and implement this approach successfully. Interviews with experts in construction projects were conducted to expand and validate the results of the survey. Results: The findings indicated that on-the-job training is the preferable method to learn from construction project in quantity surveying firms. In addition, top management support and employee participants are the main enablers/barriers of project learning implementation. While, top management support found to be the main key success factor of project learning implementation. Conclusion/Recommendations: Determining barriers and enablers of learning showed how construction organization could implement learning from project successfully. This adds a practical tool of promoting learning in the field of organizational learning in construction. Results can be replicated in different industries to observe the disparity in each setting.