INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY(ICT) IN CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING ANDMANAGEMENT RESEARCH PROPOSALPage 1 of 47Table of ContentsAbstract 3Chapter 2: Introduction .. 42.1 Overview 42.2 Background of the research . 52.3 Research aims and objectives . 72.4 Research questions .. 72.5 Problem statement .. 82.6 Significance of the study 82.7 Rationale of the research .. 8Chapter 3: Literature Review 93.1 Introduction . 93.2 Review of literature . 9Theme 1: Impact of ICT on construction engineering and management 9Theme 2: Improvement in construction works and management ..10Theme 3: Future prospects of ICT in the field of engineering and management .11Theme 4: ICT tools to support the unified approach to project management ..12Theme 5: Factors reducing the use of ICT in the construction industry 13Theme 6: ICT and Communication Management in Construction ..14Theme 7: Data privacy and management in construction industry 16Theme 8: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) innovation: Building InformationModeling (BIM) ..173.3 Gaps in literature 18Chapter 4: Methodology ..194.1 Research Design ..194.2 Research Philosophy .204.3 Research approach .204.4 Research on construction procedure with ICT role ..204.4.1. Tender Phase ..214.4.2 Design and construction phase ..214.4.3 Drivers for ICT execution in the construction industry ..224.5 Research Strategy ..22Page 2 of 474.6 Data collection methods .224.7 Data sampling techniques ..234.8 Data Analysis .234.9 Ethical Considerations ..244.10 Limitations and recommendations .244.11 Virtual Collaboration and its limitations ..24Reference list .41Page 3 of 47AbstractCommunication plays an important role in construction projects. This paper provides informationabout the use of information and communication technology in the construction industry. Themain reason for me to choose this topic is, most of the countries adopted the methods andtechnologies developed by ICT. Many countries made further investments in ICT. Thisinvestment had led to a great change in the productivity in construction industries. There is also agreat increment in construction work, and it also helps in maintaining the finance of thecompany. This chapter provides a piece of clear information about the construction projectsaccording to their lifecycle. These construction projects mainly depend on the need of the owner.The main aim of this research is to proper information about the strategies, methods that areinvolved in ICT. This paper is also provided proper suggestions that help the viewer tounderstand the concept of ICT easily. These methods and technology help in providing commoninformation and also helps in improving communication in the construction industries. The firmsthat are developed by ICT help the construction industries in understanding the important pointsand helps in developing their construction industries. There are many advantages of using theinformation provided by ICT. This information helps the construction industries to maintain cost,it also helps in solving administrational issues and it also helps the construction industries inproviding the information needed for completing projects.The main aim of this paper is to document Analyse the information that is provided by ICT. Thispaper also provides information about the obstacles that are faced by construction industries. ICTprovides the information that helps the construction industries to overcome obstacles. Thisinformation contains works of literature and journals that help in developing communication inthe construction industries. Many activities are being carried out by construction industries.These activities are performed by using the information that is provided by information andcommunication technology. ICT also helps the construction industries in monitoring theactivities and protect them from being destroyed.These activities are used by the workers of the construction induction for future reference. ICTalso provides some strategies that help the enterprises of the construction industries tosuccessfully deliver the projects. By using the tools provided by ICT helps the constructionindustries in improving their accuracy in project works. These tools help the constructionPage 4 of 47industries to identify the problems and provide solutions. The construction industries face someproblems while implementing the methods provided by ICT. This may affect the work efficiencybut helps the construction industries to provide quality projects.The information that is provided by ICT also helps in communicating between the parties thatare involved in the project. There are some construction industries in which traditional methodsare used. These methods make the construction process slow and cannot provide the requiredinformation for completing the project. This paper also shows a clear reference to the viewersabout the difference between the techniques that are used in traditional methods and ICTmethods. This paper is provided with proper information about the information provided by ICTby interviewing some people who are a part of the construction process.Chapter 2: Introduction2.1 OverviewInformation and Communication Technology (ICT) is a branch of engineering that has come intoexistence in recent years with the aim of widening the appositeness and relevance of technologyin the living world. It has rightfully revolutionised the perspective of technology by impactingthe society in such a way that now technology has become one of the basic things that people usein their lives on an everyday basis.Digital technology has widely accelerated technology information. With the introduction ofInformation and Communication Technology (ICT), there is a need for every organization toconcentrate and be focused on improving the service quality. In their review of the articleAmusan et al., (2018), the construction department is said to be complicated and multidimensional. The use of information technology in the construction department can solve severalproblems. In recent times, compared to a manual solution, technological solutions can increasethe competence of construction development. The communication streams are integrated with theappropriated software data of construction. According to Amusan et al., (2018), technology canenhance data and communication in the construction industry. ICT in the construction industrycan enable the adoption of IT tools in the design, construction, and management of projects.According to Lin et al., (2014), workforce safety is an important topic across globalconstruction industries. Site safety acts as the major performance indicator. The ICT-basedPage 5 of 47approach can retrieve application-based safety procedures on different construction activities.With these safety approaches, the construction industry can focus and improve on day-to-daypractices and management especially at the site. Technology advancements have emerged inobtaining various positive and negative changes in the environment. Among all, the positivechange of improved productivity and quality can be achieved through ICT tools in theworkforce. With these tools, there could be real-time tracking of every activity and can evenidentify the attacks or accidents if happens at the site. Increase demand for automation in theconstruction process can be observed in the ICT approach.In the digital era, technologies and their advancements are changing very fast. The focus on timemanagement, construction sustainability, and cost management is essential in construction. So,digitalization in construction has increased the project performance with diverse applications.According to Wikforss and Löfgren (2007), ICT-based communication could practice andeffective use of technical aspects of information modeling such as modeling, classification, andstandardization. Technological communication can improve project procedures as well therecould be sharing and transferring of knowledge in the construction department. While most ofthe projects face technical challenges especially in project management. But, ICT-enabledcollaboration in the construction industry can eradicate these types of technical challenges byimproving technological communications. Large adoption of ICT in the construction industryderives demandable advantages only if there is experience gained at its early stage.2.2 Background of the researchInformation and Communication Technology can be defined broadly as the collectivetechnologies that aid in the communication of humans with one another. The technology can bein the form of software or hardware. However, it may be mentioned that ICT is a broad subjectthat is still evolving to reach its full potential to serve mankind. ICT has made a prominentimpact on the different phases of engineering and construction such designing, construction,maintenance and so on. The engineering and construction processes have become relativelyeasier, faster and as a result considerably more cost efficient than before (Latif et al. 2017). Inthe present study, the huge prospect of Information and Communication Technology in the fieldof engineering and communication has been pondered upon. There has been a good amount ofstudies done in the field of Information and Communication Technology in engineering andPage 6 of 47communication which educates about the various aspects of the topic. However, it still is thelong way for this field of engineering to be explored and utilized to its highest potential. ICT hasthe ability to leverage the operating and functioning capability of various sectors of engineeringand communication and hence can revolutionise these sectors by upgrading them to a whole newlevel.According to Peansupap and Walker (2005), ICT has been identified as an essential tool thatwidely improves communication in the construction process and may also create constructionbusiness opportunities. However, the manual process of construction would raise many issuessuch as miscommunication, improper management, and proper understanding. But, ICT providesopportunities globally for a construction business. In their review of the article by Kong et al.,(2001a), ICT can create and support the construction business by improving and achievingcustomer service. The Nigerian construction sector is not aware of ICT according to the article(Amusan et al., 2018). The awareness should be provided on the benefits of ICT in theconstruction industry should be done by government bodies.According to Peansupap and Walker (2006), ICT implementation requires a greater commitmentfrom a greater number of users where they are focused on IT innovation with individual ICTapplications. In their review of the article Weippert et al., (2003), the construction industry isfacing a significant challenge of inaccurate and untimely communications among project teammembers. Data management is a vital task that needs to be ensured of every constructionindustry. Even the change in work practices which is dependent on client-oriented has to bereviewed appropriately as it increases overall performance and productivity (Weippert et al.,2003).According to Rankin and Luther (2006), effective applications of ICT lead to efficientmanagement of project execution and productive constructive industry. The development andapproach of strategies need the construction industry. However, with an efficient strategy, theproject contributions may analyze the construction adoption to technology (Rankin and Luther,2006). While there are intangible factors in the construction industry that would quantify certaincosts and benefits of ICT innovation. However, it is equally important for the constructionindustry to justify the ICT costs for the project.Page 7 of 47The critical review on the construction industry can reveal many uncertain factors such asunproductive, unsafe, and time conflicts. According to Gajendran and Brewer (2007), ICT waswidely be used to increase the effectiveness of project delivery by minimizing the aboveuncertain factors. But, the productive gains by ICT would be achieved by proper strategies.However, the challenges and success factors of ICT may come within the firm. So,understanding the ICT integration is thus became essential for better ICT management(Gajendran and Brewer, 2007). The rise of harmony and conflicts may arise if there is adequateknowledge on ICT.2.3 Research aims and objectivesAimThe aim of the research paper is to analyse the feasibility and practicality of adopting ICTtechnologies in the construction industry in regards to challenges like the continuous andnever-ending demand for regular upgrade of the software and the hardware in use, noncompatibility of the software, data security and others.ObjectivesThe main objectives of the research are as follows: ?To understand the range of applications that Information and CommunicationTechnology has in the field of construction engineering and management.To analyse the challenges like data security, regularly updating software and thehardware regarding the use of ICT technologies in the construction industryTo analyse the methods and mitigation steps for adapting more compatible hardware andsoftware and reducing the need for regular updates to minimise the costs.To analyse the issues related to security of data and take mitigation steps to ensure thesecurity of the data.??? 2.4 Research questions1. To what extent Information Communication Technology has impacted the field ofconstruction engineering and management?2. What are the challenges in regarding the adoption of ICT tools and techniques in theconstruction industry from an economic and feasibility perspective?Page 8 of 473. What are the steps that can be recommended for meeting the challenges and minimisingcosts for increasing feasibility?4. What are the measures that can be taken to maintain data privacy and maintaining thehuge volumes of data being generated?2.5 Problem statementInformation and Communication Technology has impacted almost every field of humancivilization in a revolutionary way and has brought about constructive changes in the day to daylife. The adoption of ICT tools and techniques although a path breaking development in thefield of construction brings along certain challenges and issues regarding successfulimplementation and cost feasibility in relation to factors like hardware, software, data privacyand others. The paper aims to analyse the problems regardi
ng the adoption of ICT tools andtechniques in the construction industry without burdening the budget and maintaining costfeasibility and practicality.2.6 Significance of the studyThe present study focuses on the various aspects of the application of Information andCommunication Technology (ICT) on construction engineering and management. The study hasmade an attempt to have a deeper level of understanding of the topic and gather as muchinformation as possible in order to have clarity of how big of an impact ICT has created on thementioned sectors (Redwood et al. 2017). Furthermore, the limitations of ICT and the researchgaps on the subject has also been studied and discussed through the course of the study.2.7 Rationale of the researchUnderstanding of the possible future prospects of Information and Communication Technology(ICT) on construction engineering and management together with the analysis of the presentlimitations of ICT in the engineering sectors have been the major rationale of the study. Thesefactors are crucial points of research in order to explore the field of ICT in a vivid manner andutilize it to its fullest potential to upgrade the engineering and management sectors.Page 9 of 47Chapter 3: Literature Review3.1 IntroductionThe future prospects of Information and Communication Technology in the field of constructionengineering and management depends on the development of new technologies and theirstrategic deployment. However, a thorough review of the existing secondary sources provides astrong foundation of knowledge to proceed with the possible future prospects (Amusan et al.2018). A rich literature review will help in identifying the key areas which need to be researchedfurther or in a more comprehensive manner. Additionally, an intricate literary review furnishesan opportunity to critically analyse the existing works of the experts in the field of ICTapplication in engineering construction and management.3.2 Review of literatureTheme 1: Impact of ICT on construction engineering and managementInformation and Communication Technology is a major instrument that is capable of acting as acatalyst in the development of a country by modernizing the engineering and managementsectors as suggested in the study of Adwan and Al-Soufi (2016). ICT has a tremendous potentialto boost a countrys economy by filling the gaps created due to time constraints, low budget, lackof skilled workforce etc. It hugely impacts the functionality of an organization by theintroduction of features like automation, digitalization and other advanced operations to upgradethe efficiency of the firm. ICT has played a predominant role in changing the scenario of presentconstruction and engineering works in the present times and has completely updated the entiresector in that regard. As opined by Redwood et al. (2017), various pivotal aspects of constructionprojects such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), networking and other technologies fordesigning, monitoring etc have been completely upgraded by the application of Information andCommunication Technology.As mentioned before, the application of Information and Communication Technology hasfurnished numerous beneficial implications on various aspects of the construction andmanagement field. It has led to the development of a vast range of softwares that makes anykind of management work more effective by reducing the operational time, the cost and theoverall expenditure. Furthermore, the ICT tends to cover a wide area of management expertiseand considerably makes any task of engineering and management effortless and speedy. ThePage 10 of 47same amount of work which used to be tedious in the past has definitely become less challengingand more productive. Overall, Information and Communication Technology has marvellousinfluence on every sector of construction engineering and management and has catapulted theeconomic prospects of an organisation as well as a country that has the knowledge or the accessto the technology.Theme 2: Improvement in construction works and managementAccording to Akinbile and Oni (2016), one of the major improvements that Information andCommunication Technology has brought with it is the increased productivity in a limited periodof time which ascertained that an enhanced quality of the work or product is attained.Additionally, ICT has further enriched the knowledge of a given construction and managementtask by channelling relevant and potent information which is crucial for the accomplishment ofany task. It also promotes the ability to take logical decisions on the basis of the advancedinformation that can be obtained in the least period of time due to the available access to instantconnectivity. ICT further provides efficient and better alternatives for a wide range of previouslyexisting resources that becomes a huge factor to upgrade the quality of the task and also drive outbest possible working capability from the taskforce (Gono et al. 2016). The collective cost of thetask of construction engineering and management is also considerably reduced due to the factthat the overall time period also gets hugely shortened due to the multifaceted efficiency level.The overall quality of the engineering and management tasks revolutionarily gets improved andthe affordability of the whole project is ascertained (Hasan et al. 2019). ICT has also contributedto the accuracy of the construction and management tasks by reducing the chances of errors invarious levels and areas of the mentioned sectors. As a whole Information and CommunicationTechnology helps in improving the public image of the entire organization which furtherincreases the future prospects of the organization as well as the contributory technologies andsoftware. More modern tools and technologies can be adopted for ensuring that feasibility andpracticality can be maintained din terms of cost. Advanced tools like Big Data analytics can beadopted for maintain the huge amount of data being generated and ensuring that no instances ofdata uncertainty take place (Latif et al. 2017). Using such tools and techniques will ensure thatvarious processes involved in the construction sector remain uninterrupted.Page 11 of 47Theme 3: Future prospects of ICT in the field of engineering and managementThe highlights of the deployment of Information and Communication Technology in the field ofengineering and management is to accelerate the task, financial effectiveness, avoidinginaccuracies, better communications, access to abundant data, quality enhancements and finallysimplification of the overall projects (Latif et al. 2017). Consequently, ICT has huge futureprospects for the work efficiency and affordability of construction engineering and managementprojects to get modernized, provided the key limitations of the technology is conquered. ICTchanges the structural and functional aspects of the engineering constructions and managementand hence, impacts the future of the mentioned sectors in every aspect and how they will beperceived and interpreted. However, There are some critical areas for the Information andCommunication Technology to explore in the future of the mentioned sectors, for instancebuilding a system that will furnish master solutions to the ICT complexities, developingsoftwares that ensure safe and secure connectivity and exploring technological intelligence to agreater extent (Ozumba et al. 2019). ICT being an emerging field of technology has a hugepotential to develop a plethora of prospects for the construction engineering and managementsector and furnish enormous amounts of opportunities to explore.The technology also offers huge scopes of improvement and advancements in order to furtherstrengthen the knowledge base which will ultimately raise the potential level of ICT. Futuredevelopments in the field of ICT will also witness major implications in the energy and resourcemanagement of an organization as the time and cost consumption will decrease to a great level asit has been discussed in the previous sections (Ozumba et al. 2019). The adoption of ICT toolsand technologies in the construction industry has revolutionised the operations of the sector. Forexample, construction companies do not have to depend on developing physical prototypemodels but can easily create simulations for maintaining cost feasibility save time.One of the biggest challenges though in the adoption of ICT in the construction sector is regularupdates of hardware and software and compatibility of the new technologies with redundantones. Regular updates of software and hardware involves huge costs and therefore canoverburden the budget and moreover, during the regular updates taking place, the system can bevulnerable to cyber-attacks and data pilferage attempts. Organisations need have a three prongedchallenge in this regard. Firstly, adopting the latest hardware and software which will minimisethe need for regular updates, secondly encrypting the data and installing firewalls forPage 12 of 47preventing any cyber-attacks or data theft (Latif et al. 2017). Lastly, developing sectors can startphasing out redundant tools and technologies to ensure that the compatibility of modernhardware and software is not compromised. By addressing these challenges, the organisationscan drastically cut costs and improve profitability.Theme 4: ICT tools to support the unified approach to project managementFroeses reviewed article (2010) illustrates that the ICT platform has to be understood andutilized by all the project participants. The author developed a framework to make ICT supportproject management. Project environment when used traditional tools and ICT may radicallyidentify the comparison. With an ICT platform, a few tools may tend to be more efficient and anincrease in functionality due to ICT-based project information (Froese, 2010). A new softwareintroduction in the project can collect all individual information as overall project information.Here, the new software is acted as an information aggregator. With these aggregators,technology-based ICT can interlink and represent the project information most efficiently. Heretechnology-based Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) can categorize the data sets andrepresent them by applying various data visualizations.With the visualization views, every member in the construction project can identify their tasksand work accordingly. Here, information aggregators allow the project users to work with interrelationships between others rather than working individually. The entire project workflowmanagement systems can be automated automatically by the ICT platform. According to Ahujaet al., (2009), project management requires effective coordination and collaboration betweenproject members. ICT provides opportunities for project management with real-time access toinformation. People and their communications are a vital part of the construction industry. So,the communication protocols would thus balance the coordination and collaboration among theproject members.The main purpose of the article is to enable IT-enhanced communication protocols inconstruction project management. According to authors Ahuja et al., (2010), IT enhancedcommunication or the use of ICT includes generating, coding, processing, storing andcommunicating information. The authors have followed methodology by strategically wheredata collection and its analysis are conducted by both quantitative and qualitative research.However, IT adoption at the construction level requires a clear understanding of its opportunitiesPage 13 of 47when aligned with organization-level strategy. The authors Ahuja et al., (2010), found that astrategic model for enabling ICT diffusion for a construction project is approached by frameworkor protocol. This ICT diffusion suggests a benchmark process in a step-by-step approach forbuilding and implementing strategies for increasing ICT users in the construction industry.In their excellent study of the article Yang et al., (2007), ICT can enhance the business strategyfor building project managers for the successful delivery of the project. Both the small and largebased enterprises have the major need for implementation of ICT framework in the constructionindustry. A technology-based approach such as BIM-based tools supports constructionmanagement with a unified approach compared to the traditional approach. Compared to otherindustries, construction industries are slow in adopting ICT (Yang et al., 2007). The particularattention to technology and its process require to formulate the ICT strategies. Technologyadvancements may reflect on global trends of obtaining a clear understanding of ICT processescan be distinct on a regional area of the project. The issues in traditional construction such astechnical, managerial, cultural, social, and political are mainly arisen due to differing perceptionsof construction project team members. The organization can identify the benefits of ICTadoption where those issues are mitigated.Theme 5: Factors reducing the use of ICT in the construction industryAccording to Adriaanse et al., (2010), ICT creates opportunities for more efficient and effectiveproject execution. Often, construction projects are vast. Members from other departments have tocollaborate temporarily. There would be the division of projects based on contractualagreements. So, these agreements use a particular ICT application. So, most construction firmsreact to external factors due to a lack of strategic vision on IT solutions. So, these externalbarriers such as time and costs approach for ICT-based solutions. The other important factor thatICT provides is detailing the roles and opportunities of project members. However, thoseopportunities may clarify the functioning and project progress (Adriaanse et al., 2010). An ICTbased model can enhance the factors such as personal motivation, external motivation, actingopportunities based on knowledge and skills.According to Hosseini et al., (2012), the construction industry is not at pace with the area ofCommunication and Information Technology (ICT). This is because of a lack of awareness bypractitioners of utilizing ICTs in construction. According to the article, two main factors arePage 14 of 47market pull and technology push. The market is never being stable due to technologicaladvancements in recent times. The driving force factors are productivity, globalization, andidiosyncrasies of the construction industry. An increased level and its necessity for productivityin the construction process may skip the ICT approach. Lack of framework facilitating has thekeen scope in managing change in globalization. Thus, enhancing the factors and increasing theuse of ICT within the construction can provide good outcomes.According to Gholizadeh et al., (2018), advances in ICT have enabled architects, engineers, andcontractors to reduce project time and cost. One important factor that can be observed in thearticle is the willingness of the ICT approach by project managers and project members.Inadequate awareness of the ICT approach would make the unwillingness by project managersand project members. The reduction factors are most influential in construction industries. Onemajor external factor that influences ICT is government regulations (Gholizadeh et al., 2018). Ithas become more prominent around the world. Adopting the ICT-based innovations evenencourages other organizations to adopt the innovation. But the pro-innovation bias might not bethe same in all cases. Thus, results in the factors that reduce the use of ICT in the constructionindustry.According to Jacobsson and Linderoth (2010), the project-based model of organizing conflictsanalyzes the development of ICT. Indefinite time structures are altered due to impropermanagement of project activities. So, the use of ICT-based applications can organize the projectswith a well-defined strategy. When ICT-based applications are introduced in interconnectedconstruction projects, the challenging factors create gaps for technological innovations.However, projects under their own and proper management require appropriate technologytesting based on organizational agreements. The other major factor is when organizationsimplement the ICT-based technologies, then the other alternative spaces for innovation fortesting ICT may lack in projects. In their excellent study of the article Jacobsson and Linderoth(2010), may focus on solving technical problems with an ICT-based approach irrespective ofreducing factors.Theme 6: ICT and Communication Management in ConstructionAccording to the authors Kasim and Ern (2010), they want to identify the ICT implementation inthe construction materials management process. If there could be any transformation of materialsPage 15 of 47and contractors, then ICT could identify them in construction projects. The authors approached atriangulation research approach that combines qu