Information Management in Construction Organizations and Project Practices - Literature review Example

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION ORGANIZATIONS AND PROJECT PRACTICES Introduction Construction organizations certainly generate huge and multifaceted sets of information. Evidently, managing this bulk information efficiently to guarantee its availability and accuracy is a significant managerial duty (Bergeron, 1996). Studies have evidenced that, missing or poor information has resulted to making of uneconomical decisions, project delays, or even the total collapse of the set up facility (Heinrich, 2002). With better information management, such problems as delays in deliveries of materials are identified on time and alternative sought to prevent the project from failing. Project design and control are significantly reliant on timely and accurate information, on top of the capacity to use such information efficiently (Heinrich, 2002). Simultaneously, presentation of unorganized information to managers can lead to paralysis and confusion in decision making. For years, construction organizations have been managing information informally, but the challenges facing industry in the contemporary society imply that most firms necessitate a more structured logical approach to information management. The re-use and capture of learning from projects is deemed hard since teams frequently progress to the next project before completing the current one. Generally, these factors restricts effective flow of information, generates barriers to learning and habitually results to poor performance. Typically, construction projects necessitate substantial efforts, capital outlay and time. Information management offers a way for improving the management of the project, proper coordination of team effort, and also ensures reduction of cost and time used (Heinrich, 2002). This report discusses the main standpoints and arguments relevant to information management in construction organizations and project practices. In particular, the report will offer a literature review, analysis of pertinent issues, discussion on the impact of the issues for businesses and a general conclusion. Literature review The practice of information management is a key focus for most organizations both in the private and public sectors. This has been driven by an array of factors such as a need to deliver better results and a desire to advance the efficiency of the organizational procedures (Robertson, 2005). In most circumstances, information management has implied the employment of novel technology solutions including data warehousing, document management systems and portal applications. Studies have indicated that effective information management is a hard task due to the complexity of organizations, numerous systems to be incorporated and a wide array of organizations needs to be met (Robertson, 2005). Information management encompasses people, processes, technology, and content, factors which have to be addressed if organizations and their projects have to succeed. The start of a construction project encompasses four development phases which include the initiation phase, the design and development phase, the implementation phase, and the termination phase (Chassiakos, 2001). Furthermore, the organization of the project includes various external participants such as the financial institutions, consultants, suppliers, and the subcontractors and the construction organization. Research has indicated that due to the increased number of processes and a wide range of persons involved in the projects, proper communication and information management is essential to ensure the success of the project (English, 1996). Moreover, studies have indicated that, data, information and communication play vital roles in any construction organizations and its supply chain and the projects they engage in. Information management is very significant in construction organizations and in particular, in the elements of the organizations lifecycle. Project estimating includes the determination of the projected durations of activities and the costs involved. Generally, project estimating is based on the quantity of work, number and types of the resources employed, unit costs and average values of productivity (Chassiakos, 2001). According to studies, project estimating necessitates a significant amount of information to be processed due to a wide range of resources employed and project activities (Chassiakos, 2001). This can be facilitated by the use of suitably designed tables which sum up the analysis results. Project planning summarizes work flow and the project structure encompassing resource requirements, work activities, and interrelationships and sequencing amongst others. The use of a network diagram and a graphical output can assist in indicating the rational series of operation and work breakdown. The tendering process in a construction project necessitates that ample project information be presented in definite forms with the purpose of enabling contractors to set up well informed and competitive tenders (Chassiakos, 2001). In this case, the required documents incorporate the form of tender, the bill of quantities, the specifications and agreement form amongst others. Resource management begins with recording resource requirements such as equipments and manpower for every specific activity. Based on this information, resources are efficiently allocated to the activities of the project. Information management assists in proper procurement planning. Procurement deals with the purchase or attainment of goods and services needed to carry out the project activities including materials, drawings, supplies and professional services. Proper information management ensures that procurement planning is performed as required, and that, the quantity and type of required products are acquired form supplies in time and with no delays. Information management assists an organization to attain its goals and objectives. According to studies, information is the major factor that contributes to organization success. A survey carried out in most successful firms in the United Kingdom found out that, the most performing firms were more concerned with the issues of information management and most of them were working towards creating an information culture in order to guarantee continued success (Owens et al., 1997). The use of technology can greatly facilitate information management. There subsist various programs for resource management, project scheduling, project control and monitoring and cost budgeting (Cronin and Davenport, 1991). Research has revealed that, the use of software advances information organization and processing and makes certain accurate calculations, and standardizes the management of information. Analysis of pertinent issues It is apparent that almost all organizations are faced with numerous information management issues and problems. Furthermore, research has shown that the development of electronic communication over the last few decades has only accelerated these issues. Some of the pertinent issues in information management encompass: increased disparate information management systems, little recognition and lack of support of information management by organization management, lack of sufficient resources to manage or improve information systems, a wide range of organization needs to be addressed, and lack of corporate-wide taxonomy and difficulties in modifying work processes and practices for the employees (Robertson, 2005). Information management is usually facilitated by the employment of information technology. Some of the examples of information management systems encompass Document management system, content management system, records management system, digital imaging system, and learning management system amongst others (Heinrich, 2002). The wide range of disparate information management system is a major problem to many organizations. This is evidenced by the fact that, organization management needs to understand the most important applicable type of information management system to employ at a particular circumstance. Many are the cases when organizations employ information management systems that result to poor management of information. Failure to understand by the management and lack of knowledge and skills by the staffs to employ such proper information management has led to poor creation, distribution, publishing and management of organizational information. Furthermore, some senior managers have little recognition of information management whilst others totally fail to support information management. Managers have the core responsibility of formulating strategies which will ensure the success of an organization. Studies have revealed that, management is a sequence of decision-making procedures and decision making is at the center of executive actions in an organization (Heinrich, 2002). In this case, making decisions to the adoption of strategies which will enhance the success of an organization is a crucial management role. Proper information management is one of the success factors of many organizations. In our case, construction organizations managers should have high recognition and support of information management as such organizations involve a lot of information creation and dissemination and as a result, to ensure success and proper functioning of such organizations, information should be properly managed. Organizations usually have a wide range of issues and needs that requires to be addressed. In this case, information management may prove to be a hard task to undertake (Wilson, 2002). For instance, in a construction project, there are various development stages which a project requires to go through for it to be a success. Each stage on the other hand has its own information requirements, different ways for collection of information, recording, reporting, and purpose. Furthermore, the large numbers of persons dealt with in each stage and the diversity of needs have led to the failure of information management in these organizations. In addition, organizations may lack of sufficient resources to manage or improve information systems. Such resources as financial resources and expertise are required in the management and improvement of information systems. It is true that information management systems are modifying with the change in technology. For this reason, new and updated systems which will assist in proper management of information are necessitated. However, modifying processes and working practices for the employees may prove to be a hard task for the management as such staffs may resist the change. Most employees prefer using old versioned techniques which they are conversant with rather than learning new ones. The impact of the issues for businesses Poor management of information has greater impacts on businesses than they recognize. In many circumstances, the costs linked with poor information management are subsumed into the general costs of doing businesses (Owens et al., 1997). Nevertheless, real costs are linked with nonconforming information. It is true that, organizations can get rid of these considerable costs by introducing an information management program as a key element of its business intelligence strategy. Failure to adopt a proper information management system can result to duplication of information. This has cost business a lot as it has resulted to duplication of orders from supplies. For instance, in February this year, Nike Inc. found itself in a war of words with i2 Technologies. Nike experienced order issues with its new system provided by i2 Technologies which resulted to expensive manufacturing problems. For instance, some orders were placed twice while in some case, the orders fell through the cracks. As a result, the company experienced overproduction and at the same time, underproduction which made Nike to make shoes at the last minute in order to meet clients deadlines. In addition to this, the company’s sales, earnings and stock prices were greatly affected. Furthermore, businesses can experience the difficulties of sharing information easily both externally and internally. It is true that, for efficient functioning of organizations, information must be created and disseminated appropriately to the intended bodies. Failure to do this can result to critical problems such as failure or delays in receiving deliveries from supplies or make deliveries to customers, poor performance of duties by the staff, and overall lack of understanding between the staffs and their managers (Owens et al., 1997). Lack of consistency of information can also result from poor information management. What keeps businesses going is how information is communicated between the employees, and the management. Conclusion It is apparent from the above discussion that the practice of information management is very essential for the success of any organizations. Information management has been linked with the desire to improve the effectiveness of business procedures, and the need to deliver novel services. Some of the pertinent issues in information management encompass: increased disparate information management systems, little recognition and lack of support of information management by organization management, lack of sufficient resources to manage or improve information systems, a wide range of organization needs to be addressed, and lack of corporate-wide taxonomy and difficulties in modifying work processes and practices for the employees. Studies have evidenced that, missing or poor information has resulted to making of uneconomical decisions, project delays, or even the total collapse of the set up facility. With better information management, such problems as delays in deliveries of materials are identified on time and alternative sought to prevent the project from failing. In order to make certain that the activities of information management are efficient and successful, an organization should implement the following principles: recognize complexity, mitigate risks, offer strong leadership, focus on adoption and extensive communication (Robertson, 2005). References Bergeron, P. 1996. Information resources management. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, vol.31, pp. 263-300. Chassiakos, A.P., 2001. Information Management for the Construction Industry: A Review. http://www.saxe-coburg.co.uk/pubs/contents/sl01_03.htm [Accessed November 12, 2011] Choo, C. W., 1998. Information management for the intelligent organization: The art of scanning the environment. Medford, NJ: Information Today Inc. Cronin, B. and Davenport, E., 1991. Elements of information management. Metuchen, NJ: Scare­Crow Press. English, L.P. 1996. Redefining information management. Information Systems Management, vol.13 no.1 pp. 65-67. Heinrich, L.J., 2002. Information management. (7th Ed.). Munich: Oldenbourg. Owens, I. and Wilson, T.D. and Abell, A. 1997. Information and business performance: a study of information systems and services in high performing companies. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, vol. 29, pp. 19-28. Robertson, J., 2005. 10 principles of effective information management. http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_effectiveim/index.html [Accessed November 12, 2011] Wilson, T.D., 2002. Information management: International encyclopedia of information and library science, (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge. Read More