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Transcript of 1 Literature Review
Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Construction industry is one of the most booming industries in the world. It is
a data based and information dependent industry. Construction Industry is the
second largest sector in India after agricultural sector and has an employee size of
32 million people. Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala is witnessing a remarkable
growth in the construction industry, especially in the real estate construction. Still it
is expecting that many new players will enter the sector provided the current
economic situation and consumer preferences. The information generated and
exchanged in the form of drawings, contract documents, analysis results, planning
schedules, photographs, and reports1. Construction Industry has gone to a new level
with the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with its
construction projects involving large investments, tighter schedules, stringent
quality standards and widely dispersed project participants2.The studies and
researches prove that construction industry is not using the benefits of ICT to its full
potential, but the with limited adoption itself the gains achieved is enormous
The reasons for using ICT in construction projects are the improvement of the
interaction of the business process with each other, bigger profits, and service
quality improvements and to gain a competitive advantage. The main hindrance to
proper information management is hefty and slow information management
processes, culture issues and the barriers of ICT adoption3.
1 McIntosh, G and Sloan, B (2001) The potential impact of electronic procurement and global sourcing within the UK construction
industry. In: Akintoye, A (Ed.), 17th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2001, University of Salford. Association of
Researchers in Construction Management, Vol. 1, 231-40.
2 Alshawi, M. and Ingirige, B. “Web-Based Project Management.” www.construct-it.org.uk, 2002
3 Gyampoh-Vidogah, R., Moreton, R. & Proverbs, D. 2003. Implementing information management in construction: establishing
problems, concepts and practice. Construction Innovation, 3(3):157- 173.
1.3 Purpose of the study
This study is an attempt at assessing the effectiveness of ICT application in selected
construction companies in Kochi, Kerala. Kochi being an IT hub city provides an
excellent opportunity to study about ICT application.
1.4 Objectives
To assess the current usage of ICT tools by selected construction
companies.
To examine the effects of ICT integration on construction companies’
performance.
1.5 Research Questions
What is the awareness level of construction companies about ICT tools?
What are the current trends in the usage of ICT tools?
What are the effects of ICT integration into construction activities?
1.6 Scope and Limitations
The survey is conducted within Kochi city and a similar survey in other cities in
Kerala like Trivandrum, Kozhikode and cities outside Kerala like Bangalore, Chennai,
and Kolkata may produce different results. The primary data gathered and analyzed
in this study contains only 50 completed questionnaires and a larger sample may
produce better results.
CONCEPTUAL REVIEW
CONSTRUCTION SECTOR OVERVIEW BUSINESS STRATEGY DEVELO
According to the report on European Construction Research Network4, a
construction sector is termed as a source of economic and social benefits. The
major characteristics of construction sector as defined by the report are as follows
Fragmentation of responsibilities, processes and resources
For every construction projects the structure of responsibilities will be independent
in term of design, site works and operations. This results in confusion of
responsibilities and ambiguity in the communication. A construction industry is
highly fragmented with large number of small firms. So the size of the companies
will negatively affect in the absorption and utilization of new information and new
technologies. Fragmentation is also unfavorable for learning process.
Lack of focus on end-users
In many cases the client or user does not have a direct link with the construction,
which results in complexity. The lack of tools to communicate with users after the
initial discussions causes the user to imagine the consequences of 2D drawings and
its specifications. This will result in the final product without the proper interest of
the user. The tools like virtual reality systems can assist in a proper communication
with the clients.
Lack of performance indicators
“Value for money” is the mantra for most sectors since the product and services
compete on the basis of relationship between performance and cost. Customers
should be able to distinguish between competing offers on the basis of performance
factors like delivery time, capacity, size etc. Unfortunately construction has few 4 European Construction Research Network (2005), E-CORE strategy for construction RTD, Strategy report, available online at:
http://www.e-core.org/strategy, 10.2.2007.
such metrics; buildings and infrastructure are commissioned on the basis generally
of other indicators (e.g. capacity) rather than by reference to their effectiveness in
supporting the activities within them.
Short-term, price-based competition
The contractors tender to construct a building with a design already specified since
design responsibility is separated from construction. So the selection of successful
tender is highly influenced and determined by price. Considering the long term
performance, the separation of construction from operation provides no incentive to
contractors. This encourage to cost cutting at the expense of performance and
create an industry focused on short maximizing returns. The clients will be seeking
an optimum performance over the expected operational life of the facility, but this
is not reflected in the business process.
Highly regulated
A construction sector is subject to several regulations. These regulations reflect the
society’s concern that its outputs which have impact on every one who use or do
not use, which have to be operated for many years, should be constructed to
recognized standards of technical performance. In the areas were customers are
unable to make informed judgment, the regulations set minimum standards. They
can introduce new ideas by setting new ideas by setting high standards without
stating the means of compliance. When written in prescriptive form they may also
act as barriers to innovation. More the complex performance is required, and more
the safety risks, the regulations will become more prescriptive.
.
High labor intensity, poor image
Construction is a very labor intensive activity. Usually the number of labor figure is
underestimated as the self employed and in-house maintenance staffs that are
huge in number are not counted. In spite of being a labor intensive activity,
construction does not offer good working conditions with poor safety record.
Construction is placed second after mining in terms of probability of injury or death.
The site conditions are unhealthy and the facilities are poor. The project based
nature of construction leads to employment insecurity and reduces the investment
in the development of skills. The noise, disruptions and dusts which are commonly
associated with site works also add to the poor image of construction. A different
balance between on-site and off-site activities is aroused because of the shortage of
skilled labor and new recruits. The attempts in the past to implement industrialized
construction failed due to the inflexibility and incompatibility of the systems with
local variations.
High resource usage
Even though energy efficiency of new buildings has increased in the past few
decades, sector still remains the highest in usage of raw materials, energy and
water. The re-usage of materials has increased like in road construction, but it is
only in small proportion of the material usage. Construction is responsible for large
waste source, including the new materials removed from the construction sites. The
extraction, processing and transport of construction materials use large amount of
energy and impact much on the environment.
Local environmental impact
Construction site activities produce pollution and disturbances in its locality. The
major issues caused are noise, dust, water run-off and gaseous emissions. The
associated impact on the activities is traffic disruption, potential loss of business
and additional costs. The adoption of well planned operation process and
technology can help to minimize these problems even though it cannot be
eliminated.
Slow to innovate
The traditional structures and relationships create barriers to the acceptance of new
ideas. The long operation life expected of the build environment encourages the
caution in the adoption of new technologies and construction methods. The small
size of the enterprise means that they do not have resources to implement
innovative techniques and ideas. The price based approach rather than
performance based one hinder the investment in research to improve the final
performance of the output. The communication of new ideas generated through
research and other mean is reduced by the vast number of small companies.
Interoperability among project parties and the interaction with clients and users are
still adequate. For the information intensive nature of construction sector, better
use of IT is the key element for the sector’s future development.
Poor dialogue with society
Construction takes different forms from small in-house works to the creation of
Olympic facilities. Construction is always seen as a destroyer of nature and habitats.
Construction often fails to communicate with society about its role in providing
living and working environment, how it uses new technologies to promote its ability
to construct building with less environmental impacts or to provide visions of how
future buildings and infrastructure will boost our lives.
INDIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY – OVERVIEW
According to construction industry report by Credit Analysis and research limited5,
construction is termed as an important component for the infrastructure and
industrial development of a country. Construction is the largest economic activity
after agriculture. Construction is broadly classified into three segment such as
infrastructure, industrial and real estate. Infrastructure segment refers to the
construction of roads, rails, ports etc. Industrial segment is responsible for the
construction of projects such as factories, processing plants etc. Real estate
construction is sub divided into residential and commercial constructions.
Residential constructions focus on the construction of houses and apartments.
Commercial construction includes the construction of shopping centers, hotels,
office buildings etc.
The report shows that in the financial year 2008 construction sector has contributed
about 8.5% to India’s GDP. The construction sector has offered a major part to the
economic growth rate of India. From FY 06 to FY 08 the construction as a
percentage of GDP has increased from 8.0% to 8.5%. As the construction activity
being labor intensive, it has generated employment for about 33 million people in
India.
The construction industry in India is extremely fragmented. Many unorganized
companies in the industry are working on the subcontracting basis. Subcontracting
is done when the general contractors doesn’t have time or skills to do some tasks
and is a kind of outsourcing. Higher technology projects can generate more profits
for the companies than low technology projects like road construction. Majority of
projects in Construction industry are working capital intensive. It is forecasted that
about Rs. 10000 billion investments will be used in construction industry in the next
5 Indian Construction Industry, Credit Analysis & Research Ltd. (CARE Ratings),October 2008,pages 99, Available at
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reportinfo.asp?report_id=661754
five years. Similarly there will be an inflow of Rs 1500 Billion in the construction
industry on the back of the investments planned by various manufacturing sectors.
The real estate segments also create an investment of Rs 1000 Billion over next five
years. The bulging order book position of the construction companies reflects the
whole scene clearly.
The strengths of the Indian construction industry are its manpower strength
including manpower with high level technical and management skills, and
construction experience of every type of construction in all types of terrains and
climates; government initiatives for providing financial incentives to construction
organizations; manufacturing of varied construction materials and equipment in the
country; agility and adaptability to the changing global construction scenario and
working with overseas organizations6.
The major weakness identified in the Indian construction industry is it is not IT savvy
sector. The surveys have shown that the technology has done little to transform the
Indian construction industry except for some larger organizations. It is high time to
recognize the true value of ICT and reengineering of the traditional systems of
working.
The major barrier with respect to ICT is that the method of formal reporting is not
practices in these organizations7.
ICT-DEFINITION
6 Mejie, H.S. and Punia, H.S., 2004. Strategy to Enhance the Standing of India’s Construction Industry - Review of Strengths and
Weaknesses of Existing Systems and Technology, Proceedings of Construction Opportunities and Strategies for Action With Focus on
Asia Pacific, Middle East and African Regions, September 2004, 2, pp.1-10.
7 Ranadive, M.S. and Gaikwad, A.A., 2006. Information Technology in the Indian Construction Industry, In Swarup, P.R. and Kumar, B.
Ed. Proceedings of the World Conference for Design and Construction, INCITE/ITCSED 2006, New Delhi, India, November 2006, 4,
pp.22-32.
ICT is an acronym for Information and Communication Technologies. The World
Bank’s definition8 of ICT says that:-
“Information and Communication Technology consists of hardware,
software, networks, and media for collection, storage, processing,
transmission, and presentation of information (voice, data, text, images).”
Thus ICT refers to all technologies that facilitates the information handling and
enables the communication among human beings, electronic systems and
between them.
ICT TOOLS IMPORTANT
Internet is the worldwide system of computer networks used for transferring and
exchanging information. For an information system, Internet is the perfect platform.
Now a day’s Internet is not just a scientific network, it is a tool for generating
business, performing e-business, e-commerce and e-tendering. Internet is been
adopted by the construction industry to help in the effective and timely project
delivery9.
Internet will serve as a communication platform which helps to attain speedy
transmission of information and saves money in the communication process with
long distance construction sites10. Thus, Internet helps to communicate information
more effectively during the construction process.
Web application is an application accessed via a web browser over a network such
as internet. Web based application helps in solving problems caused by the
8 World Bank (2002). Information and Communication Technologies: A World Bank Group Strategy. Washington, DC, USA.
9 How to Get Started in e-Business, 2000b. UK: Construct IT for Business Report. Available from: www.construct-it.org.uk (cited in
Dec’2002)
10 C M Tam, Use of the Internet to enhance construction communication: Total Information Transfer System, International Journal of
Project Management Volume 17, Issue 2, April 1999, Pages 107-111
geographical fragmentation. The major benefits of using a web based data base as
a central repository for the project information are 1) Reduced manual distribution
costs 2) Integration of project information 3) Simple management of access rights
4) Document storage & archiving 5) Continuous access to project information and 6)
Minimal software requirement11. The effect and efficiency of the decision making
process is upgraded by the technical. The integration of the organization data base
and World Wide Web (WWW) functions upgrades the effect and efficiency of the
decision making process and supports the decision makers in conducting long
distance evaluation at various project sites12. A collaborative work environment is
enabled by the project web sites. A web based four dimensional (4D) visualization
enables a collaborative construction planning and scheduling13.
Researchers have identified twelve critical factors affecting performance of web
based project management systems as: project type, project duration, Internet
access availability, type of Internet connection, level of internal support, ability of
project managers, usage frequency of advanced features, level of support provided
by a service provider, functionality and reliability of the web based system, data
security and reliability, external integration ability of the system and the unique
characteristics of the organization using the system 14.
11 How to Get Started in e-Business, 2000b. UK: Construct IT for Business Report. Available from: www.construct-it.org.uk (cited in
Dec’2002)
12 Hsueh, S.L., Perng, Y.H., Yan, M.R. and Lee, J.R., 2007. On-line Multi-criterion Risk Assessment Model for Construction Joint
Ventures in China, Automation in Construction, 16(5), pp.607-619.
13 Kang, J.H., Anderson, S.D. and Clayton, M.J., 2007. Empirical Study on the Merit of Web-based 4D Visualization in Collaborative
Construction Planning and Scheduling, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 133(6), pp.447-461.
14 Nitithamyong, P. and Skibniewski, M.J., 2007. Key Success/Failure Factors and their Impacts on System Performance of Web Based
Project Management Systems in Construction, ITcon, 12, pp.39-59.
An Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP) system in a construction company
can link together an entire organization’s operations such as accounting, finance,
human resources, manufacturing and distribution, etc and also connects the
organization with the customers and suppliers.
Supply chain software is also evolving towards Internet applications that
communicate with the Enterprise Resource Planning systems15. Internet has helped
in developing e-commerce applications for construction companies and hence the
buying and selling goods and services over internet are made possible.
Video conferencing is an element of collaborative work environment. As the
construction industry is more globalized and competitive than other industry, it
needs faster interaction to enable real-time collaboration, application sharing
between the office and construction sites. Video conferencing helps to conduct
meetings and share documents live over the internet and achieve real time
collaboration16.
The basic internal computer networks such as Local area network (LAN) and its
wireless technology (W-LAN) has become more common in construction companies.
The telephony services over internet which are called as Voice over internet
protocol (VOIP) helps in the communication cheaper and faster17.
Intranets are used by the construction companies to share information, collaborate
and manage across various technical platforms and information systems, and
across structural and geographical boundaries within the organization in a user
15 Green, F. B., 2001. Managing the Unmanageable: Integrating the Supply Chain With New Developments in Software, Supply Chain
Management: An International Journal, 6(5), pp.208-211.
16 Sahai, A., 2004. E-Collaboration in the Engineering Sector, Civil Engineering and Construction Review, March, pp.38-42.
17 ICT and e-business in construction industry, ICT adoption and e-business activity in 2006, Sector report No7/2006, pp 28-29.
friendly manner18. An extranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols and
the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization's
information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers or other
businesses.Extranets promote project collaboration, team working and e-
commerce19.
3D technologies are tools to generate three-dimensional drawings, plans and
construction outlines and to develop communication among the project
stakeholders.
3D technology is a part of digital construction process in which all the construction
project elements are created and stored in 3dimensional model20. 3D technology
provides better communication with the contractor or stakeholders and easier
evaluation of construction methods.
The development of Virtual Environment (VE) and Virtual Reality can help the
construction project stake holder in observation and in the successful completion of
project. The VR techniques can enrich the efficiency of all stages in the completion
of a construction project such as designing, planning and preparation. The ability to
review the design and rehearse the construction of the facility in a 3D interactive
and immersive environment can increase the understanding of the design intent,
improve the constructability of the project, and minimize changes and abortive work
that can be detected prior to the start of construction21.
4D model is developed by combining time sequencing in visual environment with
the
18 http://www.itcon.org/data/works/att/2007_27.content.00374.pdf.
19 Tayeh, A.E. and Gil, N., 2007. Using Digital Socialization to Support Geographically Dispersed AEC Project Teams, Journal of
Construction Engineering and Management, 133(6), pp.462-473.
20 Tredal & Johnsen 2005, 3D projketering hos rådgiver, BYG-DTU 2005.
21 W. Thabet, M.F Shirattudin , D. Bowman ,2002,Engineering computational technology Pages: 25 – 52.
3 D geometrical model (x, y, z). ‘nD modeling’ is an extension of 3D model by
integrating all the design information needed at each level of construction project
life cycle such as time, cost, organizations etc
Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) is the material tracking device used in
the construction industry to identify and track materials in the supply chain with
help of small electronic chips.
A study is conducted on the application of an integrated Global Positioning System
(GPS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) technology to the reduction of
construction waste. The study is developed from automatic data capture system
such as the bar-coding system for construction material and equipment (M&E)
management onsite, whilst the integrated GPS and GIS technology is combined to
the M&E system based on the Wide Area Network (WAN)22.
ICT AND INFORMATION
In a Construction organization, information can be classified under three
sections
Information needed for managing the internal operations of the
organization,
Information needed for assessing the industry and organization’s
position in industry
Information needed for managing the construction projects.
22 Li, H., Chen, Z., Yong, L. and Kong, S.C.W., 2005. Application of Integrated GPS and GIS Technology for Reducing Construction
Waste and Improving Construction Efficiency, Automation in Construction, 14(3), pp.323-331.
For the first section of information, ICT is needed to integrate the
communication between various departments, branch offices and sub units of
a construction organization.
For the second section the need of ICT is to deliver nimbleness to the
information system. The constant flow of information from internal and
external sources allows informed decision making environmental scanning and
coordination of a response23.
The third part of information is generated by due to the communication
between the organization and different agencies which are part of the project
team. Project information are processed and presented data which enables
action24.
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE
A study conducted by Syed Shah and Mohd Kamal25 investigated the factors
influencing the adoption of ICT in small and medium enterprises in Malaysia. Small
and medium enterprises are the back bone of industrial development in Malaysia
and play a pivotal role in its economy. Most of the Malaysian businesses and SMEs
are slow in adoption of technology. A survey instrument was initiated to get the
23 Retik, A. and Langford, D., 2001. Computer Integrated Planning and Design forConstruction, London: Thomas Telford.
24 Marsh, L. and Flanagan, R., 2000. Measuring the Costs and Benefits of Information Technology in Construction, Journal of
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 7(4): pp.423-435.
25 Syed Shah Alam, Mohd. Kamal Mohammad Noor, February 2009, ICT Adoption in Small and Medium Enterprises: an Empirical
Evidence of Service Sectors in Malaysia, International Journal of Business and Management, available online at
http://www.ccsenet.org/journal.html,Vol 4, No 2, pp.112-125.
feedback from the SMEs in Malaysia to assess the awareness, receptivity and
adoption of ICT in their business. The survey was conducted on a sample of 180
SMEs. Majority of the companies surveyed are in whole sale and retail business. Out
of 180 companies, 159 respondents were under local ownership which was 88.3%.
The foreign ownership company constituted only the remaining 11.7% which was
only 21 companies. More than 50% (53.8%) of the respondents surveyed were
middle managers which come to 97 respondents and executive’s came second in
this study with 27.8% followed by Managers with 12.8%. Due to the least
participation and lack of time, the top officials like CEO contributed only 5.6 percent
which is 10 out of 180 respondents. About 57.22% of the respondents specified that
they use computers in their company. 86 out of 180 respondents have indicated
that they have internet connection where more than 52.28% had been using
internet less than 5 years and 42.72% using internet for more than 5 years. The
results showed that most of the companies adopted Windows XP as their operating
system which was the latest OS at that time. There were 69 out of 103 respondents
using Windows XP which carried 66.99 % and 27 companies were using Windows
2000/98 as their operating system. Some of them were using Mac OS X but it was
as lower as 6.8%.
The study has showed ICT adoption as a dependent variable. The study has tested
five dependent variables such as perceived benefits of ICT, perceived cost of
adoption, ICT knowledge and skill of the employees, external pressure and the
government support.
The results in this study proved that a perceived benefit has a strong and significant
role in the ICT adoption. The adoption of ICT has given the business, a wide range of
possibilities. It helped to get access to new market opportunities and improved the
competitiveness. The immediate customer feedback is initiated and helps the
company to react fast to the changes. The respondents had agreed that the use of
Internet will be important for the future development and will generate desired
returns in terms of profit.
Perceived cost do not have direct impact in the ICT adoption. One of the reasons is
that Malaysian government is providing full financial support to the SMEs and also
SMEs will have other options for financial support for their ICT investment. These
reasons reduced the importance of perceived cost in ICT adoption.
The relation between the ICT knowledge and skill of the employees is very
important. The employee’s knowledge, skills and previous experiences will help and
influence the organization in ICT adoption. The opportunity of ICT use in
organizations increases with the knowledge and ability of the managers and
owners.
The external pressure always has critical importance. But the Malaysian SMEs are
not much involved in global business. So the external pressure from the customers
and suppliers is very less in adopting ICT.
The result showed that government support has a significant role in ICT adoption.
The government policies and initiatives have a direct impact and helps in producing
faster technology diffusion.
Adoption and usage of ICT in developing countries: Case of Ugandan firms
Information and Communication technologies play a major role in the economic
development of developing countries like Uganda. The study conducted by Joseph &
Michael (2007)26 investigated the extent of ICT usage and adoption in 101 firms in
Uganda. The study analyzed various characteristics, ICT usage, E-commerce;
Internet usage and connectivity, perception on the contribution of ICT to firms,
Government policies and barriers to the ICT adoption and use. The study reveals the
followings:
Majority of the medium sized firms were foreign owned. The large firms were locally
owned or joint ventures. 33% of the foreign firms and 8 % of the local firms were
less than 10 years old and 27% of foreign firms and 15% of local firms were
between 10 and 20 years old. 70% of the foreign owned firms, 77% of the local
firms and 83% of the joint venture firms were more than 20 years old.
All the firms surveyed had computers and internet access. When surveyed in terms
of ownership, results showed that all foreign and joint ventures had been using
computers for more than 5 years and 80% of foreign firms and 83% of joint firms
were using internet between 3 and 5 years.
The ICT access in terms of employees showed that those in administration and
finance have more access to computers and internet. Marketing & sales employees
had also similar access to computers, but their internet access is very less. Other
employees like support staffs and production had also very less computer and
internet access. The main use of computers by the employees was for word
processing, accounting, information processing, and inventory control and storage
optimization.
26 Joseph Ssewanyana and Michael Busler, International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication
Technology (IJEDICT), 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 3, pp. 49-59.
61% of the firms have website on the internet. Whilst 27% had their own website
hosts and 73 % of them outsourced their web hosting. Leased line and wireless
internet were the major type of internet connection used by small and medium
sized firms. The main use of internet was for communication and surfing. Only 27%
of the firms used internet for e-commerce (buying and selling of goods& services
over internet). The adoption of ecommerce was higher in medium sized firms than
larger firms.
The firms were asked to respond to various policies put forward by the Ugandan
government.75% agreed that the expanded coverage of radio and TV in the country
had improved the firm’s market share.71 % agreed that increased number of
telecom operators had reduced the firms operating costs. When asked whether the
increased number of telecom operators and ISPs had enabled firms to invest in
Internet, 31% strongly agreed and 56% agreed. Whilst 50% agreed and 28%
strongly agreed on the availability of well trained ICT personnel would encourage
the firms to invest in ICT.
The major perceptions or benefits as responded by the firms were increased
savings, increased efficiency, improved service delivery, low transaction costs and
improved market performance.
The major barriers to the adoption and use of ICT were expensive hardware and
software, expensive qualified personnel, high taxes on hardware and software and
lack of security on the internet.
The study proved that level of ICT adoption and use was still not favorable as
compared to developed countries. Medium and large firms were better in the
adoption of ICT as they were owned my foreigners than smaller firms.
ICT APPLICATION IN A DAIRY INDUSTRY: THE E-EXPERIENCE OF AMUL
Milk27 products are very important in India which is having a large vegetarian
population. A large number of farmers are depending upon the milk production and
dairying for their livelihood. When it comes to dairy industry in India, first name
coming to the mind will be Amul and its parent company, Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF). There is an argument that the investments
related to ICT in rural areas are not effective, but the case of Amul eliminates all
such arguments with its effective and efficient application of ICT. The Kaira District
Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd, popularly known as Amul diary is Rs 67113
million turn over institution. It is an institution built up with a network of over 10000
Village Cooperative Societies and 500000 members. Amul initiated the dairy
cooperative movement in India through an apex cooperative organization called
GCMMF which was formed in 1946.
A study was conducted by Bowonder, Raghu Prasad and Anup Kotla28 on the ICT
application in the dairy industry: the e-experience of Amul. Almost 4000 rural
locations in the dairy sector is already using computer for processing milk buying
and selling transactions in a transparent manner and daily around 500000 people
are benefitted by ICT. Amul had installed Automatic Milk Collection Unit System
27 http://www.amul.com/index1.html
28 B. Bowonder, B R Raghu Prasad and Anup Kotla,ICT application in a dairy industry: The e-experience of Amul, available online at
http://planningcommission.gov.in/reports/sereport/ser/stdy_ict/3_amul.pdf
(AMCUS) in all villages’ societies to increase the clarity in the transaction between
the farmers and cooperative society. AMCUS has helped to reduce the processing
time to 10 % than before. The entire supplier information is made accessible
through this system integration.
Each farmer is provided an individual identification card. At the milk collection
centre the farmer drops the card to the machine and the data is transmitted to the
computer attached to it. An electronic fast test machine is used to weigh and test
the milk. The information about members, fat content, volume of the milk procured
and the amount payable to the member are available to the Co- operative Society in
the form of a database. The zonal offices, regional offices and the dairy members
are connected through VSAT. Thus a seamless flow of online information is
achieved. Centralized monitoring is the major benefit gained from an ICT platform.
All the sales offices and distributors are connected through TCP/IP internet mail
account for information exchange. A Global Information System is also used by
GCMMF. It has got an all India map that enable it to plot the zone and distributor
location. GIS is used for sales and distribution planning and also for business
planning and optimization of collection process. With the success of AMCUS, Amul
diversified the use of ICT into all value chain activities to attain ‘Better management
practices’. An Enterprise wide Integrated Application System (EIAS) integrates and
optimize the logistic and supply chain activities. DISK (Dairy Information and
Services Kiosk) is an initiative started by Indian Institute of Management
Ahmadabad with GCMMF. It facilitates the data analysis and decision support in
improving milk collection.
The study has identified various benefits of ICT in dairy industry as follows:
Reduction in time
Human errors are minimized
Spot payment for farmers possible
Reduction in wastage
Transparency in operation
Integration of operations
It is a challenging task to implement and conceptualize ICT in the dairy industry.
There are many factors associated with it.
To design a customer oriented ICT platform, the start should be made from the base
line operations. The understanding of ground conditions helped Amul creating a
customer based system. The acceptance of new technology was enhanced by the
reputation of the agency. The customers were benefitted with reduction in waiting
time. The rate of diffusion of ICT will be high when the benefits weigh higher than
the costs. Amul always treated their customers identically. It helped to build trust
which enabled them to reinforce the working relationships.
EXPLORING THE EXTENT OF ICT ADOPTION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN MALAYSIA
A study conducted by Bee Theng Lau and Chia Hua Sim29 in Malaysia explored the
extent of ICT adoption among Secondary School Teachers.
A survey was conducted among some 250 secondary school teachers of
Mathematics and Science to collect the qualitative and quantitative data.29 Bee Theng, Lau and Chia Hua, Sim. Exploring the extent of ICT adoption among Secondary school Teachers in Malaysia.
International Journal of Computing and ICT Research, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp.19-36. http://www.ijcir.org/volume2-number2/article 3.pdf.
The respondents were asked to specify the frequency of ICT usage in teaching,
classroom management, communication and personality development was
investigated.
The report showed that ICT usage in teaching & instructional on daily or weekly
basis has a higher percentage with 75%. The ICT use in classroom management
activities came to 49% and in communication with 26%. The less frequent usage of
ICT was in personality development.
The use of ICT applications on daily or weekly basis showed higher percentage to
teaching courseware (73%), presentation tools (43%), internet browsing (53%), and
spreadsheets (32%). The lower rated applications were graphical visualization tools
(24%); multimedia (22%), simulation programs (14%), and online demos (7%).
The teachers were asked to rate their competence level in basic computer
applications including word processing, spreadsheets, presentation tools, e-mailing,
internet browsing, statistical tools, and teaching courseware. The teachers
responded themselves to be competent , either excellent or good in word processing
with 71 %, teaching course ware (63%), presentation tools (50%), emailing (41%),
and spreadsheets (39%), statistical tools (31%).
When asked to rate on what extent does they agree with the perceptions about ICT
adoption, the teachers responded that ICT makes them more effective in their
teaching (75%), organizing their tasks (80%), and helps to meet the needs of the
students (48%). They also agreed that with the increased use of internet and
technology, their lessons plans are getting richer (55%). These results showed the
positive perception of teachers towards ICT.
About 85% percentage of teachers specified that they like to integrate more ICT
application into their teaching. 87 % of the respondents perceived ICT as an
important tool to finish their tasks.
The major barrier for the ICT adoption as indicated by the teachers is the lack of
technical support. Then the lack of time, limited knowledge on how to make full use
of ICT, Limited understanding on how to integrate ICTs into teaching and Lack of
software or websites that support state standards
The study investigated the level of ICT use by teachers in schools, their
competency, perception and also the barriers for ICT adoption. The research showed
a positive attitude of teachers towards ICT and also the need of proper training in
the technology for teachers.
A SURVEY ON THE ICT ADOPTION OF BUSINESSES IN MAURITIUS
The National Computer Board, Mauritius (2001)30 conducted a survey to
assess the extent of ICT level in various Businesses in Mauritius. A sample of 300
establishments was taken from a population of 2132 establishments having more
than 10 employees. Of the surveyed establishments, 48% came from tertiary sector,
45.3 % from secondary sector (manufacturing & construction) and 6.7% from the
primary sector (agriculture).
All the establishments surveyed have more than 10 employees and can be
considered as large establishments. 60 % of the establishments have annual
turnover over twenty million rupees and 79.7 % of the establishments are 10 years
or more old.
Around 83.3% of the establishments have at least one computer and it
suggested the extent of adoption of technology, since the computer is the basic
term in ICT. The usage of computer by the business processes came in the range of
50% to 100%. The establishments with no computer have responded with no
necessity of it as the reason for it. But a 42% of those not having computer is
planning to computerize and 76% of them would be doing it in less than two years.
37.3 % of respondents have one to three servers for their computer network.
24.3% have one to three PCs and 20% of them have more than 20 PCs. The use of
Notebooks, laptops and thin clients are very low. About 90.3% of the respondents
are willing to upgrade their computer.
The office tools (96%), Accounting software (44.8%), inventory/stock control
system (28.4%) and pay roll system (27.2%) are the widely used software packages
30 National Computer Board Mauritius, 2002, http://www.gov.mu/portal/goc/ncb/file/ictusagesurvey2001.pdf
by the establishments. For the IT security establishments have used antivirus
software (96.4%) and uninterrupted power supply (UPS) with 73.6%. Whilst 90.4 % of
establishments have a practice of taking backups and 60.8% of them did it daily. A
55.2% of the establishments have a back up for their server. Even as 83.6% of the
business establishments reviewed their security procedures once in a year.
43% of the establishments indicated that they have Local Area networks and
12.7 % have Wide Area Networks. At the same time as 90% of the establishments
have access to internet. The use of internet was high in sectors such as
manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage
and communication and banking and finance. The usage of internet in education
and training sector is 63.2% and in public administration is 72.7% .The internet
usage was less in Construction (58.3%), banking (45%) and health (40%).
The main challenges faced by the e-commerce adoption are the limited size
of market (42.2%), inadequate infrastructure (31%), shortage of IT skills (26.2%) and
goods or services do not provide themselves to the transactions over the internet
(23%).
The establishments having ICT spending of greater proportions of their annual
budget are software (43.2%), consultancy (15.9%) and hardware (14.8%). All
establishments mentioned that they have a minimum of 50000 Rs of annual budget
for their ICT spending.
The proportion of ICT staff to the total number of employees turned out to be
11%. Around 46.1% of the staffs are computer literate. The survey showed that
there is a need of training for staffs in Office tools and operating systems and staffs
who is IT specialist is less than 1 %.
In terms of the benefits of ICT, 79.6% have responded that they are satisfied
with the return on IT investment and a great proportion of 88 % have indicated that
the technology have a positive impact on their organization. Whilst 68% of them
have confirmed that their turnover has increased in the range of 1-10%.
CONTEXTUAL REVIEW
THE CURRENT STATE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY USAGE BY SMALL AND MEDIUM TAIWANESE CONSTRUCTION
COMPANIES
Hung-Ju Chien and Stephen Barthobe31 conducted a research to find the current
state of Information and Communication Technology usage by small and medium
Taiwanese construction companies. To accomplish the goal they conducted a
questionnaire study on 100 small and medium construction companies in Taiwan.
They divided the small and medium construction companies into two categories
such as one with turnover between TWD 0.1 -2 billion (USD 3 – 61 million) and other
below TWD 0.1 billion (USD 3 million).
The study showed that majority of the companies (72.5%) specified that their ICT
investment is less than 0.1% (TWD 1 million) of their annual turnover. 25.5%
responded that their ICT investment is between TWD 1 million and 5 million and
only a 2% of the companies have a reasonable ICT investment between 5 million
and 10 million.
31 Chien H-J, Barthorpe S (2010) The current state of information and communication technology usage by small and medium
Taiwanese construction companies, ITcon Vol. 15, pg. 75-85, http://www.itcon.org/2010/5
The survey on the use of ICT applications revealed that accounting (76.5%) leads
the list. The other applications used are Financial Management (56.9%), Electronic
Document Management Applications (54.9%), Estimating (49%), Project
Management (47.1%) and Human Resource Management Applications (39.2%).
The ICT applications such as Accounting, Financial Management, and Electronic
Document Management were found to be more useful for the effectiveness of
Construction management
The use of CAD software was found to be so common such that 92.2% of the
respondents were using it. Even 87.5 % of the firms with turnover below TWD 0.1
billion have CAD software using in their company. The CAD software was found to
be 85.6% useful in the effectiveness in designing and drawing.
37% of construction firms with turnover between TWD 0.1 billion and TWD 2 billion
and 33.3 % with turnover below 0.1 billion used Virtual Reality technology. VR
technology is found to be 76 % useful in the effectiveness of marketing and
communications.
The main communication tools used by the construction companies are e-mail
(96.1%), intranet (58.8%) and video conferencing (33.3%)
Only a 29.4% of respondents used Knowledge Management software to handle
company’s knowledge and it is considered to be 67 % of useful in the effectiveness
of knowledge management
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF ICT IN THE NIGERIANCONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
A survey was conducted by Adebayo A. Oladapo32 to investigate the use of
ICT in the Nigerian Construction industry. The respondents targeted were mainly
Engineers, Architects and Quantity Surveyors.
Most of the respondents (98.5%) used computers and among them desktop
computers (91.9%) was the common one. The use of Laptops was 60.6% and of
notebook computers were 17.6%. The commonly used Operating System was
Windows XP (59.6%), Windows 2000 (55.1%) and Windows 98 (47.1%).
MS word (67.6%), Word Perfect (36.8%) and MS excel (55.9%) were the word
processing and accounting software used by the companies. Among the
presentation software MS power point (59.6%) was the commonly used.
The companies used CAD software for designing and drawing purposes.
AutoCAD (73.6%) was the leading software used by the companies. WinQs used by
41.5% is the most common Quantity Surveying Software. MS project (45.6%) was
the only project planning software used by the respondents.
66.9% of the respondents have internet communication facility in their
company. Other communication methods like intranet (19.1%) and voice mail
(12.5%) were used very less.
The respondents were asked to rate the importance of various benefits of use
of ICT in construction companies on a scale of Very high to very low. The most
important benefit was the improvement in the quality of work.
32 Oladapo A A (2007) An investigation into the use of ICT in the Nigerian construction industry, ITcon Vol. 12, Special Issue
Construction information technology in emerging economies , pg. 261-277, http://www.itcon.org/2007/18
The ranked benefits from very high to very low are:-
1. Improves quality of work2. Makes complex tasks easier to perform3. Saves time4. Improves productivity5. Enhances public image6. Saves cost7. Facilitates decision making
The main barrier for the use of ICT in construction was inadequate and erratic
electric supply, since the electric supply in Nigeria was very unreliable. The other
barriers that comes next were high cost of hardware/software, lack of sufficient
jobs, fear of virus attacks and high rate of waning of hardware/software
The survey showed that even the present state is not so good, majority of the
respondents were very optimistic about the future of ICT in the Nigerian
Construction Industry.
A SURVEY OF INTERNET USAGE IN THE MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Internet is an important tool in the ICT. The Internet came into Malaysia in the year
1990. Since then the development in the technology with the help of internet in
Malaysia is clearly visible. The study by Lim Y M, Rashid A Z, Ang C N, Wong C Y and
Wong S L33 investigated the current level of usage of Internet, its advantages and
disadvantages in the Malaysian Construction industry.
According to the survey 94% of the respondents had internet access. Whilst 84 %
33 Lim Y M, Rashid A Z, Ang C N, Wong C Y and Wong S L (2002) A survey of Internet usage in the Malaysian construction industry,
ITcon Vol. 7, pg. 259-269, http://www.itcon.org/2002/17
responded that Internet is an important tool for their company and only 14 % had
said that it is not important. 96% of the respondents were using Internet for
emailing purposes. 59% were using the internet for research and information
gaining purposes and 38% for marketing. For contracting, estimation, project
management and virtual meeting the respondents were only 35.6%.
When asked about the benefits of usage of Internet, 60% had said it as time saving
in the work. 51.4% agreed the benefit as Internet improves efficiency and 47%
responded with cost saving. For the benefits like expanding business and reduction
of employee, the respondents were 8.6% and5.7% respectively.
As mentioned by the respondents the main disadvantages of Internet are
downloading problem (59%) and virus problem (50%). About 47% responded that
the problem as connection problem or Internet traffic. Other disadvantages were
the difficulty in the extraction of data (27%), e-mail sending and receiving errors
(21%)) and security problems (21%).
24% of the firms had their own websites and 21% of those not having websites were
planning to own their websites in the near future. When asked about the reason for
setting websites, 49% responded with no reason. It showed that majority was
having website for the reason that others was having.
12% were using the website for advertising purposes, 11% for company status and
10& for information for employees. For the reasons like getting feedback from
customers, the response was 7% and for sharing information it was 5%.
The main problem for setting up websites was time consuming (52%). Other
reasons were security problem (12%) and cost (29%).
A SURVEY ON THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ONTHE CANADIAN ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING ANDCONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
The survey conducted by Hugues Rivard34 studied on the current use and impact of
Information technology in the Architect, Engineering and Construction Industry in
Canada (2000). The main respondents were engineering firms, contractor firms and
architectural firms. The gross revenue of the companies surveyed ranged between
$ 100000 and $ 100 million. The survey checked the computer availability, use, CAD
tools, network & communications and various research directions.
Almost 99% of the firms responded that they have computers and the result was
very encouraging than previous years. While in 1996 only 65% of the construction
industry was using computers. With the technology advancement, decrease in the
price, increase in usefulness and popularity of computers have made this result
more positive.
The average number of computers per employee was 0.8. 90% of the employees
used computers or their work and 80% have their own computer in the company to
do their work. As working on sites most of the times, contractors have less
proportion in computer availability.
Microsoft was main operating system (90%) used in the construction companies.
Among the office software, word processor (98.6%) and spreadsheet (91.5%) were
used by most of the companies. The usage of database (65.4%) and project
planning (47.4%) software was not so encouraging, but firms are planning to use in
the future.
34 Rivard H (2000) A Survey on the Impact of Information Technology in the Canadian Architecture, Engineering and Construction
Industry, ITcon Vol. 5, pg. 37-56, http://www.itcon.org/2000/3
The extent of computerization of various business processes was classified into
three categories such as highly computerized, partially computerized and not
computerized. The business processes like book keeping, invoicing and
specifications comes in the highly computerized category. Materials control and
purchasing was still done manually or without computerization, while costing,
budgeting and technical calculation were partially computerized.
The CAD software was mainly used by engineering and architectural firms and only
26.4 % of the contracting firms used CAD. Among the firms having computers, 76%
used CAD software. AutoCAD was the leading software used by the firms. Other
CAD software used was MicroStation and Visio Technical.
Geographical Information System (GIS) is a software application meant to analyze
and store geographical information and is used in land planning, surveying,
infrastructure management etc. GIS was mainly used by engineering firms (20%)
and only 5% of architectural firms used GIS software.
Most of the drawings and design work was done by CAD software. 71% of the firms
used CAD software for 80% to 100% of their drawings. The majority of the drawings
(94%) were two dimensional and only 4% of the firms used 3 dimensional drawings.
64% of the firms have computers connected through LAN (Local Area Network).
75% of the engineering firms used LAN, and the use of LAN in architectural firms
was 44%. 90% of the firms have access to internet. 97% of the engineering firms,
86% of architectural firms and 83% of contractors have internet connection.
E-mail was used by 87% of the construction companies surveyed. In terms of the
type of firms, the use of e-mail was engineering firms with 96.1%, architectural
firms (83.6%) with and contractors with (73.8%). 43% of engineering firms, 27% of
architectural firms and 27% of contractors have their own website.
The main benefit as mentioned by the firms was better quality of work. Other
important benefits were work done more quickly, better financial control, better
communications an simple and faster access to common data. The reduction in
staff, decrease in the use of paper, telecommuting and staff contentment was not
found to be major benefits by the firms.
The main obstacles for the application of IT in AEC industry were continual demand
of upgrading, high cost of investment and greater know how required by the staff.
The areas of future research as responded by the firms were the implementation of
computer integrated design and development of new tools to assist designers.