Construction informatics in Turkey: strategic role of ICT and future research directions

Construction Informatics deals with subjects ranging from strategic management of ICTs to interoperability and information integration in the construction industry. Studies on defining research directions for Construction Informatics have a history over 20 years. The recent studies in the area highlight the priority themes for Construction Informatics research as interoperability, collaboration support, intelligent sites and knowledge sharing. In parallel, today it is widely accepted in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry that ICT is becoming a strategic asset for any organisation to deliver business improvement and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. However, traditionally the AEC industry has approached investing in ICT with a lack of strategic focus and low level of priority to the business. This paper presents a recent study from Turkey that is focused on two themes. The first theme investigates the strategic role of ICT implementations from an industrial perspective, and explores if organisations within the AEC industry view ICT as a strategic resource for their business practice. The second theme investigates the ‘perspective of academia’ in terms of future research directions of Construction Informatics. The results of the industrial study indicates that ICT is seen as a value-adding resource, but a shift towards the recognition of the importance of ICT in terms of value adding in winning work and achieving strategic competitive advantage is observed. On the other hand, ICT Training is found to be the theme of highest priority from the academia point of view

Construction informatics in Turkey: strategic role of ICT and future research directions

Construction Informatics deals with subjects ranging from strategic management of ICTs to interoperability and information integration in the construction industry. Studies on defining research directions for Construction Informatics have a history over 20 years. The recent studies in the area highlight the priority themes for Construction Informatics research as interoperability, collaboration support, intelligent sites and knowledge sharing. In parallel, today it is widely accepted in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry that ICT is becoming a strategic asset for any organisation to deliver business improvement and achieve sustainable competitive advantage. However, traditionally the AEC industry has approached investing in ICT with a lack of strategic focus and low level of priority to the business. This paper presents a recent study from Turkey that is focused on two themes. The first theme investigates the strategic role of ICT implementations from an industrial perspective, and explores if organisations within the AEC industry view ICT as a strategic resource for their business practice. The second theme investigates the ‘perspective of academia’ in terms of future research directions of Construction Informatics. The results of the industrial study indicates that ICT is seen as a value-adding resource, but a shift towards the recognition of the importance of ICT in terms of value adding in winning work and achieving strategic competitive advantage is observed. On the other hand, ICT Training is found to be the theme of highest priority from the academia point of view

Planning and implementation of effective collaboration in construction projects

The 21st century is now seen as the time for the construction industry to embrace new ways of working if it is to continue to be competitive and meet the needs of its ever demanding clients. Collaborative working is considered by many to be essential if design and construction teams are to consider the whole lifecycle of the construction product. Much of the recent work on collaborative working has focused on the delivery of technological solutions with a focus on web (extranets), CAD (visualisation), and knowledge management technologies. However, it is now recognised that good collaboration does not result from the implementation of information technology solutions alone. The organisational and people issues, which are not readily solved by pure technical systems, need to be resolved. However, approaches that exclusively focus on organisational and people issues will not reap the benefits derived from the use of technology, especially in the context of distributed teams which are the norm in construction. Work currently being undertaken at Loughborough University aims to bring together the benefits enabled by the technology, with the organisational, and its people issues to provide a framework enabling high level strategic decisions to be made to implement effective collaboration. This paper reports on the initial stages of the project: the background to the project, the methodology used, and findings from the literature survey and the requirements capture survey conducted as part of the project

Construction safety and digital design: a review

As digital technologies become widely used in designing buildings and infrastructure, questions arise about their impacts on construction safety. This review explores relationships between construction safety and digital design practices with the aim of fostering and directing further research. It surveys state-of-the-art research on databases, virtual reality, geographic information systems, 4D CAD, building information modeling and sensing technologies, finding various digital tools for addressing safety issues in the construction phase, but few tools to support design for construction safety. It also considers a literature on safety critical, digital and design practices that raises a general concern about ‘mindlessness’ in the use of technologies, and has implications for the emerging research agenda around construction safety and digital design. Bringing these strands of literature together suggests new kinds of interventions, such as the development of tools and processes for using digital models to promote mindfulness through multi-party collaboration on safet

Developing a framework to enhance building handover practices in public sector construction projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Many public sector construction projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) aremarred by communication and coordination problems, with owners having to pay a highprice for schedule delays and cost overruns. The process by which building informationis conveyed to owners lacks standardisation, a holistic approach, and consistency. Thisoften results in KSA public sector owners receiving building information in a variety offormats, resulting in buildings operating at sub-optimal levels and relevant building databeing unavailable at required times to support decision-making and optimal operationsand maintenance. Existing systems of data management within KSA public sectorprojects cannot match the demand of operations and maintenance, as buildings arebecoming more complex, in terms of space management, energy demand management,and addressing environmental concerns, due to the functional requirements of moderninfrastructure. This research focuses on investigating key technology and processrelatedchallenges in order to ensure smoother transition of information from projectdesign and construction to maintenance and operation phases of a building’s lifecycle.This research aims to develop a framework to enhance data management in buildinghandover practices of public sector construction projects in the KSA. This frameworkhelps improve the operation and maintenance of buildings by establishing a relationshipbetween the project design and construction team, and the operations and projectmaintenance team. The research identifies key data requirements for effective buildinghandover from a Saudi client perspective.In order to achieve the research aim, an empirically based systems analysis of a singledetailed case study organization of Al Madinah Al Munawwarah, RegionalMunicipality in KSA was carried out. Substantial fieldwork was undertaken using bothqualitative and quantitative methods to match specific research questions. Thequestionnaire survey provides a wider view of building handover practices in the KSA,while the qualitative study provided an in-depth understanding of the state-of-the-art inpractice. Many tools were used to collect the data, including semi-structured interviewssupplemented by survey questionnaires together with documentation review. Theimplementation of more than one method to collect the data was used in order to achieve data triangulation, to explore implementation of data management in buildinghandover practices, and to provide a more an in-depth understanding.The finding of this research concludes some unique factors that affect theimplementation of actual building handover practices within the public sectorconstruction industry in KSA. These factors include: high manager turnover; lack ofknowledge and experience; lack of use of technology; lack of training; lack ofcommunication during project data at the Handover Stage; unclear responsibilities.However, the finding indicates that it is important for all managers in public sectorconstruction to understand that the handover is started already at the beginning of theproject. Furthermore, early handovers must be reviewed and strengthened during thefinal project handover.Also, the research findings confirmed that the lack of communication was possiblybecause of the fact that the project team is big and multi-cultural. Thus, the individualswere afraid to ask any questions as they assumed others would think that they were tooinexperienced to understand some technical specifications. Hence, it is highly critical todefine and use a clear communication procedure. Every manager is responsible forcommunicating internally and externally about status and issues. These findings willstrengthen the existing literature on effective data handover at project completion stageand will narrow the gap in knowledge in KSA studies in particular and to Arab studiesin general. Therefore, significant recommendations to the policy, practitioners, andresearchers, within both the public and private sector projects, are made to aid andimprove construction industry practices.This research provides specific original findings, which include an in depthunderstanding of factors that affect the facilitation of data management in buildinghandover practices of construction projects in the KSA via a case study conductedwithin the KSA public sector construction context. This research is the first study inKSA regarding issues that affect data management in building handover practices ofconstruction projects in the KSA. It is also the first academic study of the Al MadinahAl Munawwarah, Regional Municipality in KSA

The sources of management innovation: when firms introduce new management practices

Management innovation is the introduction of management practices new to the firm and intended to enhance firm performance. Building on the organizational reference group literature, this article shows that management innovation is a consequence of a firm's internal context and of the external search for new knowledge. Furthermore the article demonstrates a trade-off between context and search, in that there is a negative effect on management innovation associated with their joint occurrence. Finally the article shows that management innovation is positively associated with firm performance in the form of subsequent productivity growth