Use of IT in the Construction Industry Research Paper

Use of IT in the Construction Industry - Research Paper Example Most businesses have switched over to IT enabled communication and sharing of Information and taken advantage of the new software available through IT for managing their work. Relatively, the Construction Industry had been lagging behind others in adopting these innovations in management. However the industry is making up for its late entry by accelerating the rate of adoption of IT in their work. 1.1 Statement of purpose This paper aims at exploring of importance of IT in the construction industry, and for this purpose, the significant applications of IT utilized by the construction industry are reviewed. Further, the challenges posed by the adoption of these IT technologies are studied in brief followed by suggestions for the future. 1.2 Importance of IT in the Construction Industry The association between design and construction in the industry is of significant interest to the study. Design and Construction personnel’s in an integrated team rely heavily on real time and ra pid exchange of information during the execution phase. Also, the project construction team available on-site faces many challenges with regards to proper information management, like documentation and record keeping. Many I.T. innovations have become available which facilitate such rapid exchange of information. These technologies can: Provide current updated drawings and related documents to every member of the team, thus reducing the chances of errors and eliminating the need for re-working. Reduce the time involved in the consultation and approval process through real time transmission of drawings and documents Facilitate communication of changes on real-time basis during design and construction phases of the Project. Maintain all past and current drawings and files in chronological... Today Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facilities Management are heavily dependent upon I.T. for their mutual interaction as well as for own functions. Innovations in technology that helps sharing and transmitting data have brought about major changes in the industry through research and development in the areas of linking and sharing of information, (Pena-Mora, Vadhavkar, Perkins, and Weber, 1999). Interoperability is defined as the capacity for making the information flow from one point to other. Development and use of standardized information structure form the foundation on which Interoperability is based. For a highly fragmented industry like Construction (AEC/FM), the emerging inter-operability will hinge on web-based collaboration. The following section presents a study on the topic of web based systems and their utility in the industry. Most of the evolution of Electronic Data Interchange had emerged from internal needs of organizations. Naturally, the software pos ed problems and lacked effectiveness when applied to inter—organizational exchange needs of the Construction Projects. The advances in Web-based exchange of information, currently applied to the Industry, facilitates the exchange of documents as also the sharing of construction data among participants. Its versatility allows documents to be created, dispatched and received, stored and removed through the medium of the Web. Web based systems offer the use and application of XML for documentation requirements.