Zhai, D; Goodrum, P M; Haas, C T and Caldas, C H (2009) Relationship between automation and integration of construction information systems and labor productivity. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 135(8), pp. 746-753. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Information technology (IT) has been used to increase automation and integration of information systems on construction projects for over two decades. However, evidence that overall costs have been reduced or project performance has been improved with IT in construction is limited and mostly focused on application specific studies. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between IT and project performance helps industry practitioners better understand the likely outcomes of implementation of IT application and likewise benefits researchers in improving the effectiveness in their IT development efforts. An opportunity to examine new evidence exists with the emergence of the Construction Industry Institute's Benchmarking and Metrics database on construction productivity and practices. This article presents an analysis of that data to determine if there is a relationship between labor productivity and level of IT implementation and integration. Data from industrial construction projects are used to measure the relationships between the automation and integration of construction information systems with productivity. Using the independent sample t-test, the relationship was examined between jobsite productivity across four trades (concrete, structural steel, electrical, and piping) and the automation and integration of various work functions on the sampled projects. The results showed that construction labor productivity was positively related to the use of automation and integration on the sampled projects.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | automation; information technology; labor; productivity |
| Index terms: | construction labour, labour productivity, effectiveness, project performance, construction productivity, industrial construction, implementation, automation, productivity, database, Construction Industry Institute, integration, construction project, practitioner, evidence, information system, information technology, emergence, benchmarking |
| Subjects: | information systems, systems engineering, organizational analysis, data management, building construction, production management, automation and robotics, project management theory and practice, management, performance measurement, performance management, contractual arrangements, operations management, practitioner, computing systems, evaluation and assessment methods, research organizations |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Quality Management, Organizational Design, Site Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Roles and Professions, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here