The Current Strategic Use of ICT - Case Study Example

Table of Contents Construction Industry ICT Adoption 3 ICT Contribution to Economic Growth 4 Critical success factors 5 Gains from ICT 6 New ICT technologies 7 Constraints to the Use of ICT 9 Future Prospects 10 Conclusion 11 References 12 Introduction In the report I will present the detailed analysis of the current strategic use of ICT in the construction industry. I will present the potential future deployment of advanced ICT tools. The main purpose of this research is to identify current and emerging ICT tools and initiatives and how they are used. In this paper I will investigate what are the potential benefits could be obtained through the implementation of this technology. A key construction procedure demands intense swap of information and data involving project contributors on a daily basis. This creates the construction industry individual of the majority information-intensive businesses, and needs close organization between a huge amount of specialized although mutually dependent organizations and persons to attain the price, time and excellence objectives of a construction project (Adeyemi et al, 2005). ICT has been revealed to be a very important tool in supporting the construction industry to supervise with the rising difficulty of its products in addition to the rising demands of its customers and controllers, and to look up construction productivity (Adeyemi et al, 2005). To evaluate the effect of ICT on construction in this monitoring, analysis on the exercise of ICT in the construction businesses of a selection of countries in diverse divisions of the world have been passed out in latest times (Egbu et al, 2002). In the present few years, the fast augmentation in ICT development production and investment has been a significant source together to economic and output enlargement in worldwide industry. As well as ICT investment has added the global capital stock and assets services with higher term consequences on the universal economy (Idrus et al, 2002). The advantages from investment and making use of ICT in the construction businesses are predictable to demonstrate themselves as enhanced effectiveness and efficiency however an assessment of the economic payback for the construction division is disreputably hard to precisely come to a decision (Rivard, 2000). Whilst researchers examining the paybacks from ICT utilization and investment has been inclined to spotlight their estimate at the company level, research at the business level have been limited (Idrus et al, 2002). Construction Industry ICT Adoption The adoption of ICT by industry in common has carried about main transforms in the method business is carried out. Though, the acceptance of ICT by the construction business has not been as imperative as in other areas (Tam, 1999). The causes for the industry's small practice have been the focus of a number of studies. There has been anxiety for the previous two decades that the construction business has wrapped at the back other business areas in its take-up of most modern technology (Idrus et al, 2002). A study of U.K. business in 1990 demonstrated that, at the same time as the 1980s had been a era of fast technological transform, this did not effect in main investment by the construction zone in contrast to a assortment of other business areas. In the phase because that study, connected with the noticeable disappointment or opposition of the business to take benefit of latest technologies yet be present and the small level of outflow by the business persist (Adeyemi et al, 2005). This moreover points to a small stage of significance in the comparative association of ICT in investment in the construction zone. Information and data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis or BEA would able to be employed to evaluate the degree of IT equipment supply as an amount of on the whole resources stock throughout an assortment of international industry regions. ICT Contribution to Economic Growth The previous quarter of a century has been an era of fast systematic transforms however this has not in effect revealed itself in financial or efficiency enlargement. The extent of the role of ICT to the efficiency of the construction business is filled with trouble (Idrus et al, 2002). Investment in ICT creates a contribution to vision good organization possible in the course of the capital services acquiesce by ICT and the transformations of the capital stock (Adeyemi et al, 2005). As in other nations, the United Kingdom's ONS or Office of National Statistics is carrying out to build up the capacity of capital keep back and the ONS is functioning jointly with the Bank of England to expand an amount index of resources services. The computer services business itself is, perceptibly, the business area by means of the greatest expansion rate. Usually, the business and organization business by means of a strong contribution of ICT services delineate in the top-ranking places. At the other excessive are the serious manufacturing businesses of the financial system, at the present in fast decline. The construction business lies towards the peak of the middle-ranking businesses. Critical success factors Critical accomplishment issues are the fundamentals that are very important in the achievement of the strategic thrusts and policies, and ultimately the vision. It is necessary that business players disburse close concentration to these aspects as the vision’s accomplishment depends on them. Productivity: An additional productive business is one that has an elevated rate of production per time or labor aspect. The business has to struggle for continuously augmenting the efficiency, in the course of the utilization of additional higher technologies, techniques and design contributions inside the building society (Adetola, 1998). Quality: Quality is underlined not merely in the end-products however as well as in the employment of excellent manpower, practice, building and construction resources, tooling important machinery and equipment. Professionalism: The construction industry wants to get better its stage of professionalism to hold up a shift in attitude of the construction society and develop the reflection it schemes to the public. One essential fraction of this force will be the introduction of a system of ethics for all business players (Adeyemi et al, 2005). Gains from ICT Empirical research into the association among ICT investment and efficiency in the 1990s did not usually determine good organization developments connected through ICT investment. A number of empirical analysis’s have established verification that ICT is connected by means of developments in productivity and in economic development, on the other hand additional researches stressed the potential unconstructive consequences of augmented diversity on effectiveness, the delayed result of ICT speculations on efficiency gains and its dependence on network externalities and on transforms in the balancing infrastructure (Adetola, 1998). With the objective to observe the majority related theoretical forecasts from the ICT we have to evaluate the effect of investment in hardware and software of the organization on a succession of intermediary variables and on efficiency (Lui et al, 1997). Between intermediary variables, they believe need for skilled staff, the foreword of latest procedures and products and the rate of capability usage. In the middle of efficiency events, it encompasses overall issues efficiency, labor productivity and the distance from the "most excellent practice' by means of a stochastic limit approach (Adeyemi et al, 2005). It is accessed that the consequence of ICT investment on business competence could be additional obviously noticed at organizational stage by data decomposing it addicted to software and telecommunications asset (Murray et al, 2001). It is originated that telecommunications investment in construction really have an effect on the arrangement of latest products and procedures, at the same time as software investment augments required for skilled employees, standard labor output and immediacy to the best production boundary (Lui et al, 1997). New ICT technologies In the ICT the communication network technologies are mainly significant for a number of areas. It is accessed that ICT had a constructive result on multi-factor efficiency (MFP) growth in the 1990s previous to the max out in ICT investment however there was substantial distinction crossways business areas (Lui et al, 1997). The method concerned the use of DEA, a linear programming technique, to make a decision a manufacture critical edge comprising of the mass well-organized produce points in a space of manufacture and participations and through DEA consequences (Murray et al, 2001). It is signified that unmeasured reserves in insubstantial managerial assets, linked with the situation of ICT as GPT or all-purpose purpose technology' would be able to give details divergent U.K. and U.S. TFP act after 1995. It is suggested that premeditated TFP should amplify ICT employing areas, possibly with extended lags. Contemporaneously, savings in ICT may possibly in actuality be linked with negligible TFP as capital is abstracted to renovation of knowledge (Lui et al, 1997). In a lot of regions of the U.K. financial system, TFP enlargement does not come into view connected with wrapped ICT capital enlargement. However TFP enlargement in the late 1990s is powerful and optimistic linked with the enlargement of ICT assets services, at the same time being powerfully connected by means of the enlargement of ICT investment. The construction business is at present experiencing a pattern transfer from customary paper-based to new-fangled digitally based information transfer, which other businesses like that goods manufacturing and banking have established and gained from extended ago (Okuwoga, 1998). This transfer has been helped to a huge degree by the radical decrease in computer software and hardware costs and the augmented power, value and fames of computers in excess of the previous a number of years (Murray et al, 2001). As additional computers are linked in the course of the Web (internet) to build the world-wide web, therefore letting companies located on dissimilar streets or in dissimilar cities, regions, nations, or even continents to willingly transfer information, the arrival at and reimbursement of ICT to businesses and organizations have certainly turned out to be global (Sarshar et al, 2004). Makin use of ICT would be able to impact the customary procedures of organization in construction and consequence in transform in organizational procedures, functioning techniques and society. In this view, a number of payback of ICT vital to the performance of the construction business is to diminish the instance for data processing and business communicate information, and to build up communications for effectual decision-making and management between construction participants to get better construction efficiency (Sarshar et al, 2004). This is probable for the reason that the Internet-based tools of ICT consent communication among yet distant clients and allows them to share files, statement on transforms and post requirements for information (Oladapo, 2006). The common categories of software utilized in construction consist of word processing, CAD, spreadsheet and Internet software. These software are used for marketing, desktop, publishing, administration, communication appearance and project administration. While engineers, architects and contractors utilization CAD typically for plan, drawing and arrangement, amount surveyors apply it for measurement, grounding of bills of amounts, approximations and presentation (Sarshar et al, 2004). The engineering examination software for correct branches of engineering comprises MathCad and Microstran. By means of 3D modeling capability in contemporary structural design software, calculating difficult structures is at the present made easy where before this was approximately not possible. For amount surveying, there are CATO, QS Plus2001, WinQS32 Masterbill and QsCAD in the middle of others, which not simply speed up however as well as advance the accuracy of quantity surveying purposes from expected approximations to final economic records. A complete explanation of a lot of the obtainable software for engineers, architects, amount surveyors and contractors is accessible on the Web (Oladapo, 2006). Constraints to the Use of ICT Here I have outlined a few constraints in use of ICT. I have researched and tried to discover main reasons behind the less use of ICT in construction industry. A number Constraints are given below (Egbu et al, 2002): Elevated price of employing computer professionals Be short of appreciation of ICT by firm’s management Safety/privacy fears Danger of ICT making professionals redundant Insufficient ICT content of construction learning Insufficient/erratic power supply Not having adequate jobs High rate of obsolescence of software/ hardware Danger of workers abuse High price of hardware and software Danger of virus attacks Small return on investment Fear of accumulation job losses in the industry Future Prospects The scope of ICT is very large from the prospect of its implementation in the construction industry. Here I will elaborate its future growth chances. When inquired to rate the potential of a number of ICT applications not at present employed in the worldwide construction business, the respondents thought and accessed the following future potential applications of ICT in this industry, given by (Oladapo, 2006): E-tendering 86.0% Electronic cost data service 64.5% Videoconferencing 47.1% Teleworking 28.7% These are few predictions of ICT for its accomplishment in the universal construction industry. It is also accessed that a high hope of the elevation of ICT diffusion in the prospect with the mean make of 4.22 on a scale of 1 to 5 Conclusion In this research we have discovered the intensity of practice of ICT in the global construction business by means of web research. This paper has inspected that the present position of ICT utilization highlighted the projections for its extensive diffusion of the business in the close to future. A number of the main results I have found are: ICT comprise really effective tools for the enhanced management and handling of the construction project. It has a huge scope for its implementation in this area, so we are hoping that this business will take the advantages form the implementation of this way of working. It is hoped that this research will be helpful for the people who want to access the ICT diffusion in the construction industry. References 1. Adetola F. O. 1998. ‘The role of computerization and information technology in quantity surveying practice’, Paper presented at the Nigerian institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) Biannual Conference (1998), Kaduna, Nigeria. 2. Adeyemi A. Y. Oladapo A. A. and Akindele O. 2005. ‘Balancing globalization, globalization and the sustainable development equation in the Nigerian construction industry’, Proceedings of the 3rd Postgraduate Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa, 289-302. 3. Egbu C.O. and Botterill C. 2002. ‘Information technologies for knowledge management: their usage and effectiveness’, Journal of Information Technology in Construction Vol. 7, Special Issue ICT for Knowledge Management in Construction, pg. 125-137, at http://www.itcon.org/2002/8 4. Fellows, R. & Lui, A. 1997. ‘Research methods for construction’, London. Blackwell. 5. Idrus A. B. and Newman J. B. 2002. ‘Construction related factors influencing choice of concrete floor systems’, Construction Management and Economics, 20, 13-19. 6. Murray M., Nkado R. & Lai A. 2001. ‘The integrated use of information technology in the construction industry’, Proceedings of the CIB 78 Conference: IT in Construction in Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, 39-1 to 39-13. 7. Okuwoga A.A. 1998. ‘Cost-time performance of public sector housing projects in Nigeria’, Habitat International, 22 (4), 389-395. 8. Oladapo A.A. 2006. ‘The impact of ICT on professional practice in the Nigerian construction industry’, The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 24(2), 1-19. 9. Rivard H. 2000. ‘A survey on the impact of information technology in the Canadian architecture, engineering and construction industry’, Journal of Information Technology in Construction, 5, 37-56, at http://www.itcon.org/2000/3 10. Sarshar M. and Isikdag, U. 2004. ‘A survey of ICT use in the Turkish construction industry’, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 11 (4), 238-247. 11. Tam C. M.1999. ‘Use of the Internet to enhance construction communication: total information transfer system’, International Journal of Project Management, 17(2), 107-111. Read More