USAGE OF ICT IN CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES
1.0 Background of the Study
Applications of information and communication technology (ICT) have influenced business strategies, organisational structures, and management processes in the construction industry. ICT is one of the important driving forces for modern development. (2004). With the advancement of ICT, one can live in the global village irrespective of distance, national and international boundaries. The term ICT springs from the convergence of telecommunication, computing and broadcasting through the use of digital information. ICT encompasses the broad fields of information and communications by means of computer and telecommunication tools that are being increasingly used for organizational/personal information processing in all sectors of economy such as the construction industry, and the society as a whole.
Moreover, any assessment of the extent of the economic benefits for the construction sector from technological change is difficult to determine accurately but in view of the construction sector’s contribution to a nation’s economy, it is important that the impact of technological change on the industry is properly recognized (2006). One area of technological change in the industry the increased use of information and communication technology (ICT) is considered in this study, which examines the evidence concerning the crucial role of ICT usage and investment in generating growth and improving technical productivity in the construction industry and considers the question of how the gains from ICT can be evaluated at the industry level.
2.0 Statement of the Problem
The benefits from investment and use of ICT in the construction industry are expected to show themselves as improved efficiency and productivity but an evaluation of the economic benefits for the construction sector is notoriously difficult to accurately determine. How does the construction industry compare to others in its adoption and use of ICT? And what is the contribution of ICT to economic growth in the construction industry would be another issue to deal with.
Analyzing the benefits from ICT use and investment at the construction industry will provide a comprehensive review of prior studies of the impact of ICT investment. The construction industry certainly is among the foremost industries in its use of many categories of ICT and the significance of the efficiency gains from the use of ICT in the construction sector will be further understood.
3.0 Objectives of the Study
The aim of this paper is to explore the current use of state-of-the-art ICT applications by construction companies. This paper will report on the findings obtained from a questionnaire survey that will be conducted and thus will represent various construction companies. This study will determine the barriers for the effective implementation of ICT in the construction industry. In addition, this study will analyse the obstacles and preconditions for an effective use of ICT by focusing on characteristics of interorganizational communication in construction projects.
4.0 Research Methodology
Interorganizational communication and ICT are studied by elaborating on these phenomena from the perspective of two paradigms – the traditional functionalist and the radical humanist – and theories representative for these paradigms – the agency theory and Habermas’ critical social theory. By using the method of metatriangulation, it is shown that in addition to the functionalist perspective, the critical social theory of Habermas is an appropriate theory for analysing obstacles and preconditions for an effective interorganizational communication and the use of ICT. Based on this analysis, a critical research agenda on communication and ICT in construction is formulated. It is concluded that this type of research will lead to a more articulated view on the alignment between ICT applications and communication in construction projects and will show new directions for ICT development in the future ( 2004).
In addition, the findings will be presented in written form with the addition of data charts which will present the project’s results. Pie charts and network charts will be needed to illustrate some of the analyzed data.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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