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In organizations, knowledge intensive activities are mainly task oriented. Finding relevant completed tasks to the new task and providing task-related knowledge to workers facilitate the knowledge reuse. However, relevant tasks are not easily found in the huge amount of completed tasks. The purpose of this paper is to assist the worker to find the required knowledge for the task at hand by reusing the knowledge related to relevant competed tasks.

First, the task profile is constructed. Relevant degrees to categories which tasks to are derived by multi-granularity fuzzy linguistic method. The stages of completed tasks are identified by the modified KNN method. Second, similar completed tasks on categories are retrieved and then the relevant tasks are selected from the retrieved similar tasks by multi-granularity fuzzy linguistic method. Third, the worker’s current task stage is derived by calculating the similarity between the rated knowledge and the knowledge in the stage of completed tasks. Finally, the knowledge is recommend based on stage relevance, relevance of the completed tasks and importance of the knowledge.

The proposed method helps the worker find the knowledge related to the task at hand by finding and reusing the completed tasks. The experimental results show that the proposed method performs well and can fulfill the worker’s’ knowledge needs. The use of the linguistic term set with preferred granularities instead of precise numbers facilitates the expression of the opinions. The recommendation stage by stage makes the knowledge recommended more precisely. The obtained linguistic weight of the knowledge makes the recommended results understood more easily than the numerical values.

In the study, the authors just focus on the codified knowledge recommendation. However, there is another kind of knowledge named tacit knowledge, which exists in the mind of the experts. The constructing and updating of the expert profile can be investigated. Meanwhile, the new recommendation method which considers more factors also needs to be studied further.

The paper includes implications for the development of the knowledge management system. The proposed approach can be applied as a tool of knowledge sharing. It facilitates the finding of the knowledge that is related to the task at hand.

The paper provides new ways to find the relevant tasks and the related knowledge to the task at hand. Meanwhile, the new method to recommend the knowledge stage by stage is also proposed. It expands the research in the knowledge sharing and knowledge recommendation.

The construction industry has experienced an irreversible digital transformation to smart construction. Many countries have published supporting policies to encourage the development of smart construction. However, there is no universally valid approach. This paper thus aims to evaluate smart construction policies issued by 24 pilot cities in China and identify applicable policy tools and their impact.

This paper collected 33 governmental documents on smart construction through the official websites in China. Different policy tools were classified into supply-side, demand-side and environment-side categories. The supporting policies of smart construction development in pilot cities were quantitatively evaluated by using a policy modeling consistency index (PMC-index) model.

Supply-type and environment-type policy instruments were used more frequently than demand-type policies in 24 pilot cities. Most of the 24 pilot cities had an evaluation of PMC-index over 8, realizing the consistency of smart construction policies. Eight pilot cities had an evaluation of PMC-index of 6–7.99, realizing acceptable consistency. Only Foshan City has an evaluation of PMC-index below 4, which may reflect a poor consistency of policy implementation. The paper proposes consistencies of smart construction policies of 24 pilot cities and valid policy instruments, including the presale of commercial residential buildings, additional bonus points in the tendering process and cooperating with multiple departments when promoting smart construction.

This paper contributes to expanding policy evaluation studies in the smart construction field and provides concrete suggestions for policymakers to formulate more effective and specific policies and strategies for the development of smart construction.

This study aimed to identify barriers impeding circular economy (CE) uptake in the construction industry in literature, categorize them for the development of a framework and to seek the interrelationships among the categorized barriers. This allowed for identifying integrated solutions to holistically address the barriers. The study also sought to identify the “hot” themes, the knowledge gaps and future research directions on barriers impeding CE.

Forty-eight relevant articles were desk reviewed from different construction peer-reviewed journals and published conference papers. A scientometric analysis allowed for co-occurrence of keywords relating to CE. A content analysis enabled the identification of 79 barriers impeding the uptake of CE in the construction industry which were further categorized into six distinct categories for the development of a framework showing the interrelationships among the categorized barriers.

The identified barriers include construction sector inertia, lack of design standards, lack of knowledge, awareness and understanding, design cost, and perception of second-hand materials as substandard among others. The study categorized the identified barriers for better understanding into six different groups: cultural barriers, social barriers, environmental barriers, economic barriers, technical barriers and technological barriers. Strategies to address the barriers were also proposed. The interrelationships among the various barriers were also shown in a proposed framework to educate professionals on the interconnectivity of the barriers.

Categorization of the various barriers impeding CE uptake contributes to the body of knowledge. Also, the interrelationships among the various categorized barriers in the framework will enable construction professionals make informed decisions regarding the successful integration of CE in the industry, better appreciate the barriers that impede CE uptake and apply strategies to holistically address the barriers. This will expand current knowledge outside the narrow scope of isolated barriers.

To the global construction industry, the review presents a list of barriers and their interrelationships that could provide implementation strategies for the uptake of CE in the industry.

The geographical scope of this study is not limited, and therefore encourages wide applicability of the findings to the global construction industry.