Assessment of Information Technology (IT) Uses at the Pre-contract Stage of Building Projects
Chapter One
Objectives of study
- To articulate the methods of information managementwhich are utilized in pre contract stage in buildingin Nigeria.
- To determine the challenges to the adoption of modern information managementpractices by construction design teams.
- To assess the attitude of construction design teams towards information technology.
- To assess the adequacy of the current information management practices of the Nigerian construction industry for sustained growth and international competition.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
Murali (2004), stated that the construction process begins with discussions between the architect and client on user requirements, and the initiation of the site planning process. This phase includes studying soil conditions, existing structures and also preparing detailed site drawings. He furthermore stated that the second stage entails preparing scheme drawings and the introduction of a liaison that is tasked with preparing approval drawings and getting all plans approved. In addition, he stated that the third stage was the most important, and entailed the preparation of final architectural drawings. The reason he cited for naming this stage the most important was that major changes/deviations were not possible after this stage. This stage also entails producing structural drawings based on architectural drawings. The fourth stage, which is construction, begins after the preparation of site drawings, and site clearance. He stated that the other stages are all related to construction, and are distinguished by the addition of different elements to the structure (such as floors, walls and window openings). According to him, the final stage entailed mechanical and electrical services being provided for the structure, Including painting and decoration. The construction process has also been said to comprise the following stages:
Pre-Design; which entails seeking design proposals.
Design; which entails selecting a design team that develops construction documents. The design also progresses through many stages before a final solution is agreed on.
Bidding/Negotiation; where the client accepts bids (prices) from contractors and sub-contractors, suppliers and manufacturers. This stage might occur concurrently with plans still being made in the pre-contract stage. This stage also includes opening of bids, considering them and selecting a contractor to execute the project.
Construction; where work is either underway, or scheduled to begin. The star of work is referred to as the start of site work to accommodate the building foundation.
Operation; which commences with a notice of completion, signifying the project has been formally completed and is ready for utilization (Anonymous, 2009a).
The pre-contract stage
At the commencement of a building project, the architect will determine the scope of work (program). This programming phase (which includes site analysis) will define key parameters and objectives. If the project entails constructing a house, the program would contain information that includes derived amenities, room square footage requirements, number of rooms and the budget earmarked for the project. Larger building projects would require more complex programs that highlight the functions and number of room types, the building systems e.g. electrical and mechanical, exterior design features that could be playgrounds. For very complex projects, a project would be split into separate buildings linked by a master program document.
The site analysis stage entails the architect researching applicable building and planning codes that relate to the project location. The site analysis will aid in determining the size and layout parameters for the building. The next stage is where schematic and developed designs are drawn up. The schematic design is carried out by the architect first sketching or modeling several design schemes. These preliminary sketches/models are subsequently transformed into schematic floor plans, elevations and 3-D images of the building design. Depending on the program and the site analysis, the architect then transforms the information into floor plan and site plan drawings that fulfills all the client’s design criteria. The end of each phase is signified by a presentation to the client which is followed by their approval of the architect’s design work. The early design phase requires a lot of client feedback, and is characterized by several changes to the initial schematic design, before one design is finally approved. The developed design phase involves the schematic design being refined to form a workable building. This feat is achieved by the architect assembling a consultant (design) team to design elements relevant to their profession.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Designing a study helps the researcher to plan and implement the study in a way that help the researcher to obtain intended results, thus increasing the chances of obtaining information that could be associated with the real situation (Burns & Grove, 2001). This study has used both descriptive and explanatory designs to reach at aforementioned objectives. Kothari (2004) explains descriptive research as a situation or condition at hand, it is one in which information is collected without changing operating environment. On the other hand, the researcher has explanatory design to analyse information technology as a tool in pre contract stage of building.
Population
The population of this study was comprised of the following members of the construction design team:
Architects
Builders and Engineers
Quantity Surveyors
Sample Size
From the central limit theorem which states that, “with very few exceptions, no matter what form the underlying populations Distribution takes, as ‘n‘ increases, the sampling distribution of averages approaches a normal distribution, thus the normal distribution can be used to approximate probabilities in cases of reasonably large samples(n ≥30) from non-normal distributions”, (Dawdy and Wearden ,1985), a sample size of 40, was chosen for this research so as to have a buffer of 10 which would cater for unforeseen circumstances.
The questionnaires were distributed using the simple random sampling method, where every member of the population (design team), had equal opportunity of being selected.
From the returned questionnaires, 30 samples from each of the design professionals studied were analyzed to achieve the research objectives.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
A total of 120 questionnaires were distributed, and 119 were returned. Out of this, 90 questionnaires were used for analysis, 30 for each of the three categories of professionals studied.
Methods of Document Storage
This section studies the various methods by which documents are stored by construction professionals. It seeks to show which method amongst soft copy, hard copy and a combination of both, is dominantly used to store documents. In addition it displays the frequency at which professionals use computerized tools for their tasks, and also the frequency at which hard copy documents are used by professionals.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following points outline the summary of the findings of this research, which sought to achieve the research objectives.
SUMMARY
It was discovered that the primary method of storing cost-based information by building design professionals, is via a combination of hard and soft copy. However, most of the information is converted into hard copy and used for information dissemination during projects. (Tables 4.1-4.3).
Tables 4.4 and 4.5 yielded the results that a majority of the construction design team members believe they are not hindered in adopting computerized information management tools in their professions. However, they opined that the ICT standards in the industry can be improved, by promoting greater awareness of modern technology.
From tables 4.6 – 4.11, it was deduced that the members of the construction design team are not opposed to adopting modern methods of information management. The team members also find ICT tools to be useful in aiding them execute their various tasks. However, concern is to be taken from the fact that construction organizations seldom train their staff on industry related technology. Also, the tables revealed that a majority of the design team rated the efficiency of traditional and modern methods of information management, to be very high. This result is interesting, because the two opinions are meant to be mutually exclusive.
It can be inferred that the information management practices among the design professionals do not adhere to most of the principles of effective information management. In addition, most of the design professionals rate the industry’s ICT level to be low, most professionals seldom, or do not participate in electronic tendering (which is a cost-effective means of bidding for international projects),and most team members seldom or never engage in international projects.
CONCLUSION
The facts obtained from this research indicate that the ICT standards of the industry are poor, and the information management practices to be ineffective. This situation prohibits domestic design professionals from enjoying and utilizing the benefits of ICT on project delivery and profiting from the proceeds realized from participating in construction activities being undertaken in the global construction marketplace.
RECOMMENDATIONS
For better utilization of modern cost-based information management tools and systems within the Nigerian construction industry, the following are recommended:
Further research should be carried out to develop more user- friendly technology for the building design professionals in general, and quantity surveyors in particular.
Further research should be carried out to provide a detailed method of supplying design team members with the knowledge of concrete benefits to be derived from embracing a particular technology/cost- based information system.
Professional bodies supervising the various practices that constitute the design team should formulate more stringent policies that demand a hands-on competency requirement in the area of profession related software, before certificates of membership are awarded.
Various firms should schedule regular training of their employees in the use of profession related software
Professional bodies should encourage a shift from “paper based” information management and processes, towards “electronic” information management and processes. E.g, there should be an encouragement for the practice of “e-tendering” to be used more frequently for bids.
Professional bodies should encourage their members to cultivate the practice of building computer networks to enhance communication with other design team members during projects.
REFERENCES
- Adetola F. O. (1998): The Rule of Computerization and Information Technology in Quantity Surveying Practice. Paper presented at the Nigerian institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) Biannual conference Kaduna, Nigeria.
- Andresen, J. L., Christianansen, K., Howard, R. (2002): Project management of a Project Web. Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark.
- Anonymous , (2008) [Online]: Introduction : What is ICT
- http://www.tutor2u.net. [Acessed November 2008]
- Anonymous, (2009a) [Online]: The Various Stages of The Construction Process
- http://www.wiki.answers.com/Q/The_various_stages_of_the_construction_process. [Accessed February 2009]
- Anonymous, (2009b) [online]: Information.
- www.BusinessDictionary.com/definition/information.html. [Accessed February 2009]
