Identification of key process areas in the production on an e-capability maturity model for UK construction organisations

Uptake of e-procurement by construction organisations has been slow (Martin, 2008). Positive e-business achievements in other industries, point towards the potential for the construction industry to accomplish similar results. Since the Modernising Government White paper set targets through best value indicator BV157 for implementation in the public sector, Government has supported many initiatives encouraging e-procurement. These are based on documented efficiency and cost savings (Knudsen, 2003; Minahan and Degan, 2001; McIntosh and Sloan, 2001; Martin, 2008). However, Martin (2003, 2008) demonstrates only a modest increase in the uptake of e-procurement in the UK construction industry. Alshawi et al (2004) identified the significance of possessing a model to sustain the embedment of any business process within an organisation. Saleh and Alshawi (2005) describe a number of model types used to gauge maturity in an organisation. One of these models is the capability maturity model. Paulk et al (1993) released the Software Capability Maturity Model (CMM) in 1991. Since then many CMM’s have evolved. This paper reports on how a CMM based on Drivers and Barriers to e-procurement identified in Eadie et al (2009) can be developed to gauge the maturity of an organisation in relation to e-procurement. This paper presents details of a research project which used factor analysis to produce a set of Key Process Areas (KPA) from the drivers and barriers identified in Eadie et al (2009). These KPAs were then subjected to a mapping process linking them to maturity levels to develop a CMM to analyse the e-procurement capability of construction organisations. The mapping will be reported in a later paper. This termed as e-readiness of organisations will indicate the current state of a construction organisation in terms of its readiness to carry out e-procurement. The paper describes in detail the identification of the KPA’s

Analysis of the use of e-procurement in the public and private sectors of the UK construction industry

Summary: Eadie et.al (2010a, 2010b) identified 20 advantages in the adoption of e-procurement within a construction organisation. The Glover report (2008) indicated that by the end of 2010 all public sector procurement should be electronic. The use of e-procurement within the construction industry has been inadequately researched. Martin (2009) examined quantity surveying organisations perspectives on the use of e procurement across the United Kingdom. This paper seeks to address the knowledge gap that exists in the analysis of the level of usage of e-procurement within the construction industry. It compares the findings for the construction industry with other industries on company size and spend. Martin (2009) does not seek to investigate the size or spend on procurement activities of those quantity surveying organisations who have adopted e-procurement. This paper investigates the correlations between size, procurement spend and adoption of e-procurement in construction organisations comparing it with other industries. It concludes that the findings of Griloa and Jardim-Goncalves (2010) and European Commission (2007) were correct in suggesting that the AEC sector has been lagging behind other sectors in the adoption of e-procurement and provides a breakdown of the different types of organisations who currently use e-procurement. It further identifies the size of organisations which have implemented e-procurement within construction. On the client and consultant side in traditional contracts, company sizes of 21-50 employees make the highest use of eprocurement. This confirms that when analysing according to the size of organisation, construction organisations perform in a similar way to other industries as reported in Batenburg (2007) and Gunasekarana and Ngai (2008). However, this study indicates that very small companies may still be put off by the costs of software (corroborates De Boer et al, 2002; Kauffman and Mohtadi, 2004). The study proposes the types of construction organisation most likely to be utilising the benefits of eprocurement in construction by procurement spend and size. It also indicates that the deadlines in the Glover report (2008) relating to e-procurement in construction are unlikely to be met

Mapping the e-business profile and trends in cost management in the UK construction industry

The advancement of e-business applications and IT infrastructure has had massive impact on construction business processes over the last decade. The added effects of globalisation coupled with global economic recession have forced businesses to implement e-business applications within their organisations. It is clear in all industries, that e-business technologies have become a key strategic vehicle in improving performance. In Construction, e-business applications complement most of the business functions and have removed geographical boundaries resulting in a global construction market with increased competition, increased collaboration and have helped reducing the fragmentation of the industry. However, even though the successes are inevitable, it is scrutinized that the advancement is still constrained within the industry. Thus there is a need to undertake an analysis of current construction e-business usage and attitude of construction professionals towards e-business trends to ensure a productive and beneficial implementation of construction e-business tools within organisations. This study acknowledged the niche for research into current e-business usage in UK construction organisations and aimed to determine and map the use of ICT in construction cost management activities, and explore the attitudes of professionals towards e-business approaches. Initially a comprehensive literature review was carried out together with an online web search to identify what ICT and software packages are being used for construction cost management activities. Results from this review aided in developing the research questionnaire and a detailed an online structured survey was carried out using the chartered quantity surveying organisations within the UK. This paper presents the findings of the survey and discusses the ICT usage within construction organisations for cost management activities and the attitude of construction professionals towards BIM and construction e-business trends

The State of Construction e-Business in the UK

The UK Construction industry has gradually ebbed out of the great recession which started in 2008. Output from the construction sector in the UK in 2015 currently sits at around the 2005 level in real terms (Rhodes, 2015). However, its direct contribution to the GDP (over 6.5%) makes it a key sector in the national economy (DBIS, 2013). This is due to its size: the contracting sector is responsible for 2 million jobs, the services sector for 580,000 jobs and the products sector for another 310,000 jobs (DBIS, 2013). ONS (2015) states that compared with April 2014, output in April 2015 in the construction industry increased by 1.5%, resulting in positive growth for the 23rd consecutive month year-on-year. Despite this growth within the construction industry, little work has been carried out to determine the current level of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) /e-Business penetration within the sector

E-PROCUREMENT USE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The advent of internet technology has resulted to increasing use of e-Commerce applications, particularly e-Procurement systems in supply chain management by firms across the different industrial sectors. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies on e-Procurement use in the construction sector of African countries. This study therefore investigated the use of e-Procurement in the South African construction industry. The data were derived from an online questionnaire survey involving 603 respondents and interviews with seven experts conducted in South Africa between March and July 2014. Descriptive statistical and content analyses were used to analyse the data. Findings show that the four categories of e-Procurement used were e-mail, static websites, web.2.0 technologies and portals that have capabilities of supporting the execution of functions limited to intra and inter firm communication and exchange of project information and data. Consequently, between 11 percent and 12 percent of the respondents used these e-Procurement technologies for communication of information, exchange of bill of quantities, CAD drawings and project specifications. Whereas the factors with the highest positive impact on the use of these technologies in the firms were the speed of transactions, lower transaction cost and ease of use; unreliable IT infrastructure, established cultures and security concerns were the main impediments to the uptake of these e-Procurement technologies in the South African construction industry. The study implies that construction firms in South Africa predominantly use e-mails and websites to support the execution of pre-award phase of construction procurement; and that the factors that affect the adoption of these e-Procurement technologies in the South African construction industry can be explained using Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory. It also implies that in addition to technological issues, culturally related challenges are hampering the adoption of e-Procurement in the South African construction industry. The study suggests that to accelerate the rate of uptake of e-Procurement and maximize its benefits in the South African construction industry, there is a need to improve the quality and quantity of ICT infrastructure across the country; and to embark on aggressive enlightenment campaigns, training and skill development programmes in the use of e-Procurement in the construction industry in this country. It also suggests that future studies be carried out to identify how the existing e-Procurement technologies and tools can be innovatively used to suit the needs of the construction sector and people of diverse cultures

E-MATURITY OF CONSTRUCTION STAKEHOLDERS FOR A WEB-BASED E-PROCUREMENT PLATFORM IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

It is been over 40 years since the introduction of ICT tools and systems into the construction industry, yet construction organizations are still unable to obtain the many potential benefits of ICT investment. The purpose of the study was to investigate the e-maturity of construction stakeholders for a web-based e-procurement platform in the construction industry. The study utilized an attitudinal survey research design and the design of a web-based e-procurement platform. Using a system block design and a use case diagram in relation with PHP programming language, MySQL, CSS and HTML a web-based e-procurement platform for tendering purposes in the construction process was developed. The study was conducted within a private tertiary institution in South-Western Nigeria that has the desire to exploit the potentials of a web-based e-procurement system. The sample size of one hundred (100) respondents were selected through a non-probabilistic sampling method, while a questionnaire instrument was administered. Statistical tools such as Stacked Bar chart, percentage, Wilcoxon signed rank test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to analyze the data obtained. The study revealed that there is no significant difference in the e-maturity between client and contractor for a web-based e-procurement platform for tendering purposes within the institution. The study showed that the tertiary institution and its registered contractors have the same positive perspective on the benefits of utilizing a web-based e-procurement solution for tendering purposes. In conclusion, the study developed a prototype web-based e-procurement platform for tendering purposes that can be utilized for construction works within the tertiary institution. The study recommended the use of web-based e-procurement platforms due to the many benefits that can be acquired from its use. In addition, the construction industry should readily embrace ICT solutions in order to solve diverse challenges pervading the industry

Exploring anti-corruption capabilities of e-procurement in construction project delivery in Nigeria

The use of electronic (e-­) procurement to support the execution of supply chain management activities in the different industrial sectors is permeating all regions of the world. However, in countries in sub-Saharan Africa where there is a significant level of corruption and unethical practices in the procurement process, there is a need for a better understanding of how e-Procurement can help to check the incidence of corrupt and unethical practices in construction project delivery. This study relied on a cross-sectional survey of 759 respondents, including architects, builders, engineers, estate/facilities managers, contractors, construction/project managers, quantity surveyors, supply chain managers and others to identify and analyse the anti-corruption capabilities of e-Procurement in construction project delivery in Nigeria. The results of the descriptive statistics, relative importance index and principal components analysis identified 18 anti-corruption capabilities in e-Procurement in construction project delivery with the three most important ones being the capability of e-Procurement to ensure good inventory management/record keeping; accountability by providing audit services trail and minimise direct human contacts during bidding. The key underlying dimensions of these capabilities include the advantage of e-Procurement over the traditional paper-based method; transparent bidding process and increase in competition in construction project delivery process. The findings of this study have implications, especially, on the use of e-Procurement to curb corruption in construction procurement activities