A breakthrough in sharing best practice with the new BREEAM Wiki
We are now in a world where we see an increasing number of open-source solutions, where skilled professionals give freely and voluntarily towards resources available to all. Popular examples include Linux operating system and, of course, Wikipedia itself. What motivates busy, skilled professionals to give up their free time to help out? Open source contributors cite many benefits, including gaining experience, deepening understanding, promoting the open-source culture and giving back to the community. The new BREEAM Wiki (www.breeam.com/wiki) is such an outlet for sustainable construction and the April 2018 launch saw a collection of over 150 articles already created - and growing.
Contents |
[edit] Sharing best practice and lessons learnt
Lessons learnt that are not passed on often result in repeated mistakes. This happens within teams but also across an industry. There is a lot of ‘reinventing the wheel’. But what if there were a simple mechanism for capturing lessons and best practice? Your project could benefit from the lessons of hundreds of projects, not just your own.
[edit]
Of course, if disseminating lessons were that simple, it would already be widespread, so what stops it from happening? Time and conflicting priorities, probably urgent deadlines and immediate concerns can get in the way of thinking about capturing experience. But what if sharing a lesson was as a simple as making a note in a book? You can register to use the BREEAM Wiki in two minutes and the multiple-author articles mean you can make a single line ‘tip’ to an existing article just as quickly.
[edit] Sharing what is most useful
Wiki articles can sometimes veer towards the aspirational, but evidence compiled by Designing Buildings Wiki shows that the most read articles are those that address the immediate concerns on a project. The BREEAM Wiki, with multiple author articles, encourages content that covers the most immediately useful topics for sustainable construction projects. These include our Issue Support Documents which contain guidance and best practice relating directly to individual sustainability topics.
[edit] Accessible platform with great visibility on search engines
BREEAM Wiki is hosted on the established Designing Buildings Wiki which now has over 6.5 million unique users per year. It also has great search engine visibility and, because that is the way most people reach any online content, this means BREEAM Wiki articles will appear high in search engine results. Try typing a BREEAM Wiki article title into a search engine and see for yourself.
[edit] Crowdsourcing and quality
A functioning wiki captures the integrated wisdom of the crowd; the more people exposed to the content the more representative and accurate it can become. When people use a wiki they know it is exactly that, which encourages a critical eye rather than blind acceptance. If you see anything incorrect it can be immediately corrected. In fact, a wiki can help bring any myths or misunderstandings to the surface where they can be corrected, instead of being left unchecked.
[edit] 5 easy ways to engage today
- Visit www.breeam.com/wiki and register (2 mins)
- Share the Wiki (or any article) via email or social media easily via the share button
- Add a new line of content to a Multiple Author Article
- Author a whole article yourself and link it to your profile and website
- Register for the next live online knowledge sharing workshop
--Paul Thistlethwaite 10:48, 23 Apr 2018 (BST)
Featured articles and news
Heat pump announcements, what homeowners need to know
An 'ultimate guide to heat pumps' from a heating company.
Construction contract awards reach £7.1bn in February
Their highest level in seven months.
The journey to sustainability in heritage
Research is the key to better understanding.
Heritage approaches to adaptation, mitigation and loss.
Bridging the gap between policy, finance and installation.
Development on brownfield land
Definition, background, policy and the latest consultation.
With the Design Framework for Building Services.
Retrofit of Buildings, a CIOB Technical Publication
Pertinent technical issues, measures and the roles involved.
ECA joins HSE campaign to support mental health
Working Minds’ five simple steps based on risk assessment.
Mental health in the construction industry
Mental health issues in brief with related articles.
Transitional arrangements, Building Control and the BSR.
For pre-October buildings with substantial progress by April.
How to write an inspection and test plan
ITPs for quality control and assurance particular elements.
Why quality counts in domestic ventilation systems
From products, to systems to the installation.
Empowering the Future with CIOB Academy
Lifelong learning, upscaling, and reskilling for the built environment.
Winners of the 2024 ASBP Awards
Project, Product and Initiative according to the 6 pillars.