Tongyuan Design Group: Over 60 years of knowledge accumulation, "understanding knowledge" brings far greater benefits than "managing finances".

Abstract:Tongyuan Design GroupTongyuan Design Group has partnered with Lanling to build a knowledge management platform, helping the group achieve value in various aspects such as "knowledge accumulation", "knowledge refinement", and "knowledge enhancement". Tongyuan Design believes that knowledge is more important than wealth, and that "managing knowledge" yields far greater returns than "managing finances".

Tongyuan Design Group Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive engineering service enterprise group centered on architectural design, reformed and developed from the Jinan Architectural Design Institute, which has a long history of 60 years. The company has qualifications in architectural design, intelligent design (Class A), planning design, municipal design (Class B), real estate development (Class C), and construction drawing design document review (Class I institution) among others.

As a benchmark enterprise in the architectural design industry, Tongyuan Design Group has always placed great emphasis on corporate knowledge management. In 2015, it partnered with Lanling to build a knowledge management platform, continuously deepening and improving various applications thereafter. In this issue of "Finding Digital Benchmark Enterprises Pioneers", we are fortunate to invite Zhang Xiaoming, Director of the Information Center of Tongyuan Design Group, to share his insights on digital office, knowledge management, and other fields. His main points are as follows:

　　● Digital transformation is an effective means for the current architectural industry to adapt to new changes and keep pace with new rhythms;

● Digital office plays an important guiding role in the digital transformation of enterprises;

● Over the past 60 years, Tongyuan Group has accumulated a wealth of valuable experience and excellent results, and the introduction of knowledge management is of great help to the enterprise;

● Partnering with Lanling, a knowledge management platform centered on a knowledge base has been built, and modules such as knowledge maps, knowledge communities, expert systems, and training learning have been successively launched around the knowledge base, achieving rapid retrieval and reuse of knowledge, and forming a culture of knowledge sharing.

　　 Digital office plays an important guiding role in the digital transformation of enterprises.

What is the trend of digital transformation in the architectural design industry? What pain points will it solve? How does Tongyuan promote digital transformation?

Zhang Xiaoming: With the arrival of a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, big data, cloud computing, and BIM technology are constantly impacting the construction industry. The "empowerment" brought by these new technologies from new changes presents new opportunities for the construction industry. The construction industry has never lacked data; what it lacks is the technological transformation brought about by data. With the support of information technology, all relevant data in engineering construction is no longer an unattainable castle in the air for industry personnel, but a tangible database. Digital transformation is an effective means for the current construction industry to change its traditional image of extensive development, low production efficiency, low industrialization, and significant resource waste, adapt to new changes, and keep pace with new rhythms.

Starting from its own strategic development plan, Tongyuan Group seizes the opportunity of national policy adjustments, identifies the entry point, and actively promotes transformation and upgrading reforms. In response to the requirements for transformation and upgrading, the group has proposed the development vision of "creating a comprehensive service group for urban and rural construction centered on design", with a focus on "customer-centered" and "based on the efforts of those who strive". Through development strategies of "talent first", "creative research and development support", "productized services", and "digital drive", under the guidance of the development concept of "group platformization, team specialization, technology standardization, management informatization, and full-process service", it leads the development of the group's business sectors and promotes enterprise transformation and upgrading.

　　How do you view the role and function of digital office in digital transformation?

Zhang Xiaoming: To achieve the digital transformation of enterprises, there must be guidance from national policies and supervision of relevant corporate systems, so that enterprises can fully understand the new appearance that digital transformation will bring from top to bottom. Digital office and information management are important ways to implement policies and enforce corporate management systems. A mature enterprise is based on a sound management system as the basic guarantee for normal operation. Digital office will effectively implement various systems in the enterprise into actual work, integrate the management philosophy into daily production and operation, and incorporate corporate culture into the daily work of every employee, ultimately playing an important guiding role in achieving the digital transformation of the enterprise.

　　"Managing knowledge" yields far greater returns than "managing finances".

Knowledge management is also an important component of digital office in enterprises. Why do you think enterprises need to conduct knowledge management?

Zhang Xiaoming: As an enterprise with over 60 years of history, Tongyuan Group has accumulated a wealth of valuable experience and excellent results over these years. At this time, introducing knowledge management is of great help to the enterprise:

　　● First,knowledge management can help enterprises achieve effective "knowledge accumulation", centralizing scattered knowledge for structured classification, making implicit knowledge explicit, and creating a memorable enterprise;

　　● Second,knowledge management can help enterprises achieve "knowledge refinement". For enterprises to develop and expand, through years of continuous accumulation, standard methods and best practices for operation and management can be refined, avoiding starting from "zero" for each task, allowing enterprises to maintain standardized control and high quality even as they scale up, achieving rapid and stable expansion;

　　● Finally,knowledge management can help enterprises achieve "knowledge enhancement". In the era of big data, enterprises can integrate and consolidate a large amount of various data information through knowledge management tools, achieving effective interaction between people and information, integrating various structured and unstructured data, and extracting best practices and classic cases from them, ultimately creating a knowledge system unique to the enterprise and enhancing its core competitiveness.

In this era of knowledge economy, knowledge is more important than wealth, and knowledge is the source of wealth. "Managing knowledge" yields far greater returns than "managing finances".
 

　　Architectural design is a typical technology and knowledge-intensive industry. How does Tongyuan Design Group plan and promote knowledge management?

Zhang Xiaoming: In the transformation and development plan, Tongyuan Group clearly proposed the development concept of "management informatization", with the knowledge management platform as one of the pillar platforms for the group's management informatization. For knowledge management work, the group unifies its thoughts from top to bottom, clarifies its goals, and first conducts an in-depth review of the current state of knowledge in the group, following the methodology for implementing knowledge management, formulating a blueprint for knowledge management planning, and forming a multi-dimensional knowledge system centered on the group's business and covering branches. Based on the current situation and needs, it has developed a path planning of "organizing scattered knowledge", "making implicit knowledge explicit", "normalizing knowledge application", and "assetizing knowledge", starting from knowledge points closely related to design, allowing frontline designers to experience the benefits brought by management implementation, gradually guiding everyone from passive absorption to active sharing, ultimately turning knowledge management activities into daily behaviors of the enterprise and becoming part of the corporate culture.

　　Breaking down departmental knowledge barriers, employees gain satisfaction through knowledge sharing.

　　Why choose Lanling for knowledge management project cooperation?

Zhang Xiaoming: During the early industry investigation and research process, we also discovered many vendors and companies engaged in knowledge management. Lanling left a deep impression on us with its standardized operational management, professional technical implementation, and efficient operational support. We are well aware of the long-term and challenging nature of knowledge management work, so we need a standardized, professional, and efficient team to ensure the smooth implementation of our group's knowledge management project.

What are the main application scenarios and functions of the knowledge management platform built in cooperation with Lanling? What significant value have these specific scenarios and functions brought to Tongyuan Design Group?

Zhang Xiaoming: As mentioned in the previous strategic planning for the group's transformation and development, one of the development strategies is "productized services." The productization in the design industry aims to create products centered around knowledge services such as design and consulting. To turn services into products, it is necessary to continuously extract valuable content from them, and knowledge management provides us with such a method of extraction. By utilizing various knowledge functions in the knowledge management module, we can carry out various knowledge activities and ultimately refine products that belong to Tongyuan.

Currently, the knowledge management platform we built in cooperation with Lanling is primarily based on a knowledge base, with modules such as knowledge maps, knowledge communities, expert systems, and training learning launched successively around the knowledge base. By building the knowledge base, the knowledge content accumulated by the group over decades is presented in a structured and organized manner to the employees, making it easier for everyone to access and use. Through a series of targeted knowledge activities, we have fully stimulated the initiative and enthusiasm of employees in knowledge sharing, allowing everyone to reap tangible benefits.

　　What are the most significant changes you have felt before and after the launch of the knowledge management system? Please list 2-3 scenarios or events.

　　Zhang Xiaoming: The most obvious change brought by the launch of the knowledge base is:

　　● Employees can find the knowledge they need more conveniently. Knowledge content that previously required constant phone calls and cross-department searches can now be easily found through quick searches, classifications, and attributes.

● The classification of knowledge is clearer. Utilizing the unique functions of the knowledge base, more and more departments are transforming their knowledge content from a container-style management to establishing their own exclusive areas in the knowledge base, setting permissions for management. More knowledge has been effectively managed and better protected.

● The awareness of sharing among departments and individuals is gradually being established. The previous knowledge barriers between departments and specialties are gradually being broken down. Through continuous knowledge sharing, individuals achieve personal accomplishments and gain satisfaction.
 

　　Organize a series of knowledge activities to strengthen the promotion of knowledge management.

What applications do you think Tongyuan Design Group still needs to deepen and improve in the field of knowledge management? How will you promote this in the future?

Zhang Xiaoming: Through the initial construction and application of the knowledge base, we have gradually uncovered new knowledge management needs. We have introduced knowledge modules such as knowledge communities, expert systems, and training learning. By utilizing the unique functions and characteristics of these knowledge modules, we aim to uncover more tacit knowledge. In the future, we will organize a series of knowledge activities and management methods targeting these needs, gradually promoting more knowledge management tools to the group employees, bringing them more convenience and assistance in their work.
 

Besides knowledge management, which other areas will Tongyuan Design Group continue to focus on in the field of digital transformation?

Zhang Xiaoming: General Secretary Xi Jinping elaborated on the strategy for building a modern economic system in the report of the "19th National Congress" and proposed the goal of building "Digital China, Smart Society." The report also emphasizes the need to establish and practice the concept that clear waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, adhering to the basic national policy of resource conservation and environmental protection, treating the ecological environment as life. In this regard, during our digital transformation process, in addition to knowledge management, we will continue to increase our focus and investment in BIM design, building smart cities, and green ecological buildings. Additionally, we will closely monitor digital internet, design platform construction, and engineering data centers.