Last edited 25 Apr 2022

How to apply the Specification for Discoverable Construction Knowledge to web pages

1 Introduction
2 The metadata
- 2.1 Basic compliance
- 2.2 Additional information
  - 2.2.1 Recommended fields
  - 2.2.2 Optional fields
3 Find out more

Introduction

The Specification for Discoverable Construction Knowledge was published by the Construction Knowledge Task Group in August 2020. It is freely available at: Specification for Discoverable Construction Knowledge

It is a common standard for describing construction knowledge that makes it easier to identify the right knowledge in every situation, by making it easier to find, filter, manage and collate. It can also help with search engine optimisation. Adopting the standard across the industry will allow the creation of tools that can manage all construction knowledge, whatever its source, and integrate it into the project environment.

It is a metadata standard based on the widely used Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, extended with construction-specific elements such as Uniclass. It is designed to be applicable across the whole spectrum of knowledge, including digital and physical resources, and can be used by any organisation that publishes content that could be useful to practitioners. This includes traditional publishers, and also practitioner organisations who want to share their knowledge externally or organise their internal knowledge in a more structured way.

Adopting the standard does not change whether knowledge is free-to-access, subscriber content, or needs to be paid for. It simply makes it discoverable, so it is easier for practitioners to find it.

The metadata

Very little new metadata is required for basic compliance with the standard, and it is generally possible to add many of the optional metadata fields automatically, based on existing metadata, or information that is common to all knowledge (such as language or publisher).

We recommend that publishers add all the fields that can be done automatically first, so that their knowledge is compliant - then go on to think about what else might be added.

Basic compliance

Basic compliance with the standard is very simple, with just two requirements.

Firstly, identify that the web page contains construction knowledge by adding the following declarations in the <head> element of the HTML page.

Secondly, define the title and the location of the knowledge.

Typically, the location will be the URL of the web page, and the title will be the name of the web page.

That is all that is necessary for basic compliance.

Additional information

Additional fields may be added based on the needs of the publisher and their audience. The more fields that are added, the easier it will be for indexing tools to understand the intended purpose of the knowledge resource, however some fields will not be relevant to some publishers or useful for their audience. In this case, they can be omitted. Where it is felt appropriate to do so, additional, non-standard fields can be added.

It will be possible to add many of these fields automatically based on fields that will already be included in the knowledge.

Recommended fields

Name	Metadata	Definition	Format
Access Rights	<meta name="dcterms:accessRights" content="...">	Information about who can access the resource or any indication of its security status.	Open Access Registration Required Subscription Required Membership Required Purchase Required Limited Access Internal
Audience	<meta name="dcterms:audience" content="...">	The intended audience for the resource.	Recommended practice is to use Uniclass 2015 Roles table.
Date Created	<meta name="dcterms:dateCreated" content="...">	Date of the creation of the resource.	Recommended practice is to use ISO 8601, i.e the format YYYY-MM-DD.
Date Modified	<meta name="dcterms:dateModified" content="...">	Date the resource was last modified.	Recommended practice is to use ISO 8601, i.e the format YYYY-MM-DD.
Description	<meta name="dcterms:description" content="...">	An abstract or summary of the contents of the resource.	Free text, typically one or two paragraphs long
Format	<meta name="dcterms:format" content="...">	The physical or digital format of the resource.	Must use the Media Type (Digital Format) and ONIX Product Form (Physical Format).
Identifier	<meta name="dcterms:identifier" content="...">	An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.	Must use an identifier to state which system has been used, where applicable. For example, ISBN, DOI, URL or Document Number (BS 1234). It is permissible to list more than one identifier.
Publisher	<meta name="dcterms:publisher" content="...">	The person or organisation responsible for making the resource.	Name or URI of the person or organisation who published the resource.
Sector	<meta name="dcterms:sector" content="...">	The market sector(s) the resource is relevant to.	Recommended practice is to use Uniclass 2015 Complex and/or Roles table.
Subject	<meta name="dcterms:subject" content="...">	The topic of the resource.	Recommended practice is to use terms from Uniclass 2015 and Thema.
Type	<meta name="dcterms:type" content="...">	The type(s) of knowledge contained in the resource.	Must use the most applicable Knowledge Type as listed in section seven.

Optional fields

Name	Metadata	Definition	Format
Client	<meta name="dcterms:client" content="...">	Client name, where the resource relates to a project or asset on behalf of a client (e.g. a case study) or where the resource has been commissioned.	Name or URI of the person(s) or organisation(s).
Competency Level	<meta name="ckterms:continuingProfessionalDevelopment" content="...">	Describes the educational level of the intended audience of the resource.	Recommended practice is to state the level of attainment achieved according to the National Qualifications Framework, or provide the equivalent a professional career attainment appropriate to the audience.
Continuing Professional Development	<meta name="ckterms:continuingProfessionalDevelopmentAccreditor" content="...">	The resource is appropriate to count towards CPD.	True/False
Continuing Professional Development Accreditor	<meta name="dcterms:contributor" content="...">	If CPD accreditation for the resource has been given, state the accreditor(s).	Name or URI of the accrediting organisation(s).
Contributor	<meta name="dcterms:coverage" content="...">	The person(s) or organisation(s) responsible for making contributions to the resource.	Name or URI of the person(s) or organisation(s).
Coverage	<meta name="dcterms:creator" content="...">	The geographic location and/or time period the resouce is relevant to.	Recommended practice is to use the appliable ISO 3166 code for countries and regions. Where appropriate, named places or time periods can be used in preference to numeric identifiers such as sets of coordinates or date ranges.
Creator	<meta name="dcterms:educationalLevel" content="...">	The person or organisation primarily responsible for making the resource. For a text-based resource this is typically the author.	Name or URI of the person(s) or organisation(s).
Instructional Method	<meta name="dcterms:instructionalMethod" content="...">	The method used to teach/train the user.	Free text account describing the method of learning. For example, classroom, self-led, distance learning and so on.
Language	<meta name="dcterms:language" content="...">	The language of the resource.	ISO 639-2 or ISO 639-3, for example “en-gb”.
Project Stage	<meta name="ckterms:projectStage" content="...">	The stage of the project life cycle the resource is relevant to.	Recommended practice is to use an accepted plan of work. State both the plan used and the project stage.
Relation	<meta name="dcterms:relation" content="...">	A related resource that could also be useful to the practitioner.	The recommended value is the URL. The ISBN, DOI or Document Number (BS 1234) are also permitted.
Replaces	<meta name="dcterms:replaces" content="...">	A related resource that is supplanted, displaced, or superseded by the described resource.	The recommended value is the URL of the resource being replaced. The ISBN, DOI or Document Number (BS 1234) are also permitted. It is also permissible to provide some notes about the nature of the replacement (e.g. where a resource partially replaces another).
Replaced By	<meta name="dcterms:IsReplacedBy" content="...">	A related resource(s) that supersedes the described resource.	The recommended value is the URL. The ISBN, DOI or Document Number (BS 1234) are also permitted. It is also permissible to provide some notes about the nature of the replacement (e.g. where a resource partially replaces another).
Reviewer	<meta name="ckterms:reviewer" content="...">	Organisation(s)/ working group/ individual(s) who have reviewed the resource content for accuracy and/or completeness.	Name or URI of Organisation(s)/ working group/ individual(s) who have reviewed the resource.
Rights	<meta name="dcterms:rights" content="...">	Information about rights held in and over the resource.	Text. Recommended practice is to: use the accepted name of a license if it is a publicly available license, e.g. CC-BY for Creative Commons Attribution; include the URL to a page containing a proprietary license or terms; use "All rights reserved" for resources that have standard copyright terms applied.
Rights Holder	<meta name="dcterms:rightsHolder" content="...">	A person or organisation owning or managing rights over the resource.	Name or URI of the person or organisation.
Version	<meta name="ckterms:version" content="...">	The version number (or similar) for the specific version of the resource.	Number or text.