Tutesigensi, A and Parcell, K (2007) Benefits of mobile telephones for construction contractors in the United Kingdom. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 23rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2007, Belfast, UK.
Abstract
Mobile telephones have been widely used for communication purposes over the last ten to fifteen years. The construction industry is increasingly using mobile telephones in the day to day execution of construction projects. To date, there is little information in the public domain about the contribution mobile telephones make to project performance. This paper presents findings from research undertaken to quantify the benefits of mobile telephones to construction contractors in the United Kingdom. The research employed a case study research strategy. The case was a large construction contractor (annual turnover in excess of £350m) whose portfolio of work was divided into four main sectors: utility services, highway services, rail services and infrastructure services. Data about mobile telephone call events were carefully collected from inside informants using a survey sheet. The data comprised of three dependent variables: duration of telephone call, cost implications and time implications; and two independent variables: sector and source/destination of call. The data were analysed following standard analysis of variance procedures. The results showed that even though there were variations from sector to sector and source/destination to source/destination, it could generally be said that mobile telephones were of great benefit to the construction contractor (for example the estimated cost saving associated with mobile telephones was over £4,000 per person per week). Although this study was based on one contractor, it is argued that the results provide a good insight into the benefits of mobile telephones for construction contractors in the United Kingdom.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | communication; contractor; mobile telephone; performance |
| Index terms: | dependent variable, duration, construction industry, construction contractor, cost saving, project performance, variation, construction project, survey, United Kingdom, independent variable, strategy, case study, variance, turnover |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, statistical analysis, project controls, measurement and scaling, production management, Geography, contractual condition, project management theory and practice, management, economics, business management, practitioner, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Time Control, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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