Noor Muslinda Bt Mustafa
2009724471
Msc.in Integrated Construction Project Management
Computing and communication technology, also commonly known as Information Technology (IT) have been radically transforming the way we live, learn, work and play (Capron 2000). Many companies in the construction industry do not generally appear to have appreciated the positive changes and advantages that the new technology was providing to companies in other sectors of the economy.
The issue of technology exploitation, particularly in the field of information technology, is of significant importance in construction industry. Information technology (IT) has created fundamental impact on the way business processes are carried out. IT can no longer be viewed as an enhancement to traditional business procedures but rather as an innovation agent that enables new and different alternatives to operation of business organization. This new trend will color investment attitudes of business communities in the world towards utilization of IT in the coming years.
The success of the construction industry is increasingly predicated on technology driven investments in information technology (IT) and this is expected to be even more so in the future. IT is already widely used in construction organizations and much more dramatic effects are anticipated for the years to come. Betts (1999) reported that the construction industries in many countries are starting to consider seriously the strategic use of IT. The use of IT in construction is extending beyond the stage of piecemeal application for improving the efficiency of discrete operations by individual organizations to advanced stage where
IT is applied strategically in commercial enterprise, government agencies and professional institution. A pragmatist's strategic vision for IT in the construction industry must solve the economic issues (Macomber, 2003). From strategic point of view, IT has the potential to change the landscape of the construction industry so understanding its roles and functions in construction firms is a requisite in assessing their performance. However, little work in this has been done on Malaysian firms.
Generally, Information Technology (IT) plays a vital role in the sustained growth of a business. IT is defined broadly as “technologies dedicated to information storage, processing, and communications” Ang et al. (1997), that is, a combination of hardware, software, telecommunications and office equipment to transform raw data into useful information for speedy retrieval. There have been regional studies (e.g., Asia-Pacific region). Valida et al. (1994) studied IT use in 230 business organizations, mainly in Malaysia, and concluded that IT use conferred a competitive advantage.
Thong and Yap (1995) developed an IT adoption model for small business, and found that the companies with innovative CEOs had a more positive attitude to IT use. In Singapore, Ang & Koh (1997) explored the relationship between user information satisfaction and job satisfaction by developing two constructs to measure the relationship and found the two satisfactions to be correlated. In Hong Kong, Burn (1990) studied the strategic use of IT in small- and medium-sized organizations. She surveyed three medium-sized organizations and found that their IT strategy could be described by the Porter and Miller (1983) model of competitive advantage.
In Australia, Sohal et al. (1998) studied 530 Australian companies, and found IT use to be positively related to the organizations’ performance. Fink (1998) studied 280 small and medium businesses and identified 10 IT adoption factors in the firms. Back to Malaysia again, Yap et al. (1992) and Valida et al. (1994) concluded that IT use and its integration were higher in companies providing goods and services than those in manufacturing and distribution. Mui et al. (2002) surveyed internet use in the Malaysian construction industry, and found that most of the companies used the Internet and considered it an important tool. Nevertheless, they reckoned that they did not fully harness the power of the Internet - only using the basic functions like e-mail. To encourage more intensive use of the Internet, they suggested improving their own infrastructure and hiring more computer savvy staff.
Information technologies or Software applications are available to support most aspects of a construction project. They have been designed largely as solutions to specific problems. These applications can be grouped into the following categories (Sun & Howard 2004):
· Computer Aided Design and Visualization
· Building Engineering Applications
· Computer Aided Cost Estimation
· Planning, Scheduling, Site Management
· Computer Aided Facilities Management
· Integration
· Business and Information Management
Construction industry has lagged behind other sectors in terms of applying Information Technologies. In the main, the boards of operating construction companies are dominated by engineers and surveyors whose knowledge of computing is very often limited to what systems have been implemented at head office, and whose interaction with computer is limited to occasional meetings with senior computer professionals rather than fellow engineers. Their general view is that the implementation of any new system takes a long time, is expensive and involves 'outsiders', and this is aggravated by with the degree of skepticism in terms that it's generally believed that the end product will in any case not achieve its initial specification.
Nevertheless, many software is currently being used by the construction sector like CAD tools, Spreadsheets, Word Processing and so on. Information is used and should be managed from the conception stage, design, and execution, to the facilities management stage.
With the growth in the use of information technologies by construction companies, the increasing availability of electronic documents, manual classification becomes impractical. With such amount of information, Document Management Systems which are considered as a glue or integration of all the other software for cost estimating, planning, scheduling, etc., generated in a specific stage of the project, are an indispensable tool for the current Project Management activities.
References:
1) 1) Andi and Minato, T. 2003. Design document quality in the Japanese construction industry:
factors influencing and impacts on construction process. International Journal of Project
Management, 21, pp537-46
2) 2) Ang, J and Koh, S. 1997. Exploring the Relationships Between User Information Satisfaction,
International Journal of Information Management 17(3), pp. 169-177
3) 3) Burn, J. M. 1990. The Strategic Use of IT in Hong Kong Organizations: An Analysis of
Applications in Small to Medium Sized Organizations, Proceedings of Internationa Conference on IT.
4) 4) CIDB. 2003. CIDB Contractors Registration Report, Construction Industry Development
Board, Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: CIDB Publications
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