Ng, S T; Chen, S E; McGeorge, D; Lam, K C and Evans, S (2001) Current state of IT usage by Australian subcontractors. Construction Innovation, 1(1), pp. 3-13. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
The fragmented and highly competitive nature of the construction industry (CI) limits efficiencies and inhibits communication. However, through the effective use of information technology (IT), these communication barriers between clients, consultants, suppliers, subcontractors and contractors can be broken down. Public sector clients in Australia have proposed an IT implementation strategy with the aim of improving communication and increasing productivity in the CI. However, IT is relatively new to the industry and so are the problems associated with it especially for the small subcontractors. The aims of this paper are to examine the current usage of IT by Australian subcontractors, and to identify the potential problems for subcontractors in IT implementation. The results indicate that the uptake of email and the internet by subcontractors is at a low level and the awareness of IT training and education is very low. The indications are that Australian subcontractors are not yet ready for the implementation of even rudimentary IT technology.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | communication; construction information technology; subcontractor |
| Index terms: | public-sector client, strategy, information technology, subcontractor, Australia, productivity, low level, efficiency, construction industry, implementation, internet |
| Subjects: | contractual arrangements, computing systems, practitioner, measurement and scaling, sociology, industry analysis, management, performance management, Geography |
| Topics: | Procurement, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Quality Management, Digital Applications |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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