Information Technology(IT) in Construction

The involvement of many stakeholders and phases in the construction project has resulted in the fragmentation of the construction industry. The fragmentation of the industry has created documented problems that have resulted in the propagation of argumentative relationships between the parties to a project. 

Studies have shown that this fragmentation is the main reason behind the low productivity observed in construction.

Now, the problems related to fragmentation is somewhat reduced by the employment of Information Technology (IT) in the construction industry. The use of IT helps in improving the coordination and the collaboration between the firms that are participating in the construction project. 

The benefits of the IT implementation in construction are

• Ø The quality of documents is increased
• Ø The work speed is increased
• Ø Better financial control is gained
• Ø Better communication
• Ø Common data access is easy and fast
• Ø Errors due to documentation are reduced

The applications of the IT industry in the architectural or engineering or the construction firms are increasing within the past few years. This indicates that the A/E/C firms have an increasing interest in IT applications in order to facilitate projects in construction.

Among the different IT technologies, the available Internet is the best technology that suits and supports the collaborative and dynamic nature of the construction industry. It is marked by Walker and Betts that the Internet and the WWB are the keys to bringing change in the global construction business in the future. This will affect the construction profession, collaboration, and the construction business structure. 

The use of the Internet as a medium for communication will facilitate the easy transfer of information enabling new chances for distribution systems. This will help in providing a unique opportunity for teamwork and workflow automation.

Smart browsers and servers help to overcome the incompatibilities related to the data formats. The advantages of web technologies in the construction industries can be explained in three categories:

1. The support from the most desirable information services 

2. The communication between the project participants 

3. Engineering computing 

4. Management Computing

Also Read: Digital Twin in Construction - Features & Applications