Information Systems In Construction Industry: Advantages, Challenges And Applications

Information Systems (IS) in Construction Industry

Every business sector involves a large set of activities that are required to be executed and implemented in order to attain the business goals and objectives. Construction industry is one of such industries that are composed of a number of elements and activities. The basic sets of tasks that are executed in a construction project include the erection or installation of a particular portion or project. There are also a large set of activities at the back-end that are performed, such as, procurement of goods, accounting activities, supply chain management, inventory management, resource tracking and many more. Construction industry is highly fragmented in nature as compared to the rest of the manufacturing and production industries that are present.

Information Technology and Information Systems are being used and applied in all of the business sectors and areas in the present times. There are a number of Information Systems (IS) that can be used in the construction industry as well to enhance the quality of the operations and provide the resources with the ease and accuracy that is essential in the execution and implementation procedures. The essay covers the various information systems that may be used in the construction industry along with the advantages and challenges that are involved.

Management is an essential activity that is required to be carried out in all the tasks and activities. The management not only involves the tracking and management of the human resources that are involved, but it also includes the management of each and every project task and activity along with the non-human resources.

There is also a lot of information that is usually associated with the construction projects that is also required to be efficiently managed and handled. The implementation of MIS in such projects will make it easy to execute the following tasks.

• There are longer period of data collection that are normally involved in the construction projects. It is because of the reason that the timeline of such projects is relatively longer as compared to other manufacturing projects. The construction projects take many years to complete and the data and information that is associated with such projects is required to be collected at regular and frequent intervals. MIS will make it easier to handle such long period of collecting and managing the data for the projects.
• There are a lot many spatial characteristics that are associated with the data and information that belongs to the construction projects. MIS makes it possible to store the attributes of the data along with the spatial characteristics and the relationship that exists between the two.
• There is a lot of diversity that is involved in the data and information that is associated with the construction projects. It is because of the reason that the data sources that are involved with the construction projects are diverse in nature. There are many internal sources that are involved along with a number of external sources as well. The data needs to be combined from all of these data sources and it shall be brought together at a common platform. This diversity of the data can be handled efficiently by making use of the MIS packages for better management and decision-making.
• There are a lot many sub-systems and sub-activities that are involved in a construction project. The set of activities in such projects are not restricted to the construction of a particular portion or a building. It however, ranges from many other functions as well, such as, management of finances and schedule, management of the contracts, resource management and many more. These sub-systems are included in the MIS packages for the overall handling and management of the construction projects.

There are three components that are managed efficiently and accurately by the MIS packages used in the construction projects. These three components include schedule control, cost control and quality control. The management and handling of these three components makes it easier to achieve the aims and objectives of the project.

Construction safety is one of the most essential and significant concepts that is associated with the construction projects. It is because of the reason that any mis-happening during the life cycle of the construction projects may results in extremely severe impacts. The injuries that may be caused due to failure of compromised security can have serious repercussions.

Management Information Systems (MIS)

There is a lot of information and analysis that goes in determining the security and safety features that need to be included. The components of technology can be used in the task and this is where the role of GIS packages comes into the picture.

GIS refers to the information system that can be used and applied for storage, analysis, display, capture and query of the geographic data and information. It is a category of information system that comprises of four different elements viz. a computer system, software that is used in the system, human analyst or expert along with the data sets.

There are various activities that are carried out by these systems, such as, input of the spatial data in the system and its analysis, management of the attributes, exploration of the data along with modeling activities. These systems have the ability to handle the spatial as well as attribute data. Spatial data is the category of data that comprises of geometry of the features that are involved, whereas, attribute data includes the specific characteristics and properties.

In case of GIS for construction projects, there are various tables that are used and stored in the database comprising of the spatial as well as the attribute data. The relationship that exists between these tables and data is also stored in the database. There is an analysis that is made on the basis of these data sets, tables and relationships which is then used to give shape to the quality and safety measures that shall be used and applied.

The results are based upon the geographic data and therefore, it includes all the components and parameters that are involved with the safety measures that shall be applied.

Building Information Management (BIM) refers to the process of spanning the generation along with the management of various physical and functional information sets that are associated with the project. The output that is provided is referred as BIM or the models which are in the form of digital files. These files provide information on all the aspects that are associated with the construction project that aid in the decision making activities as well. It is often believed that BIM refers and restricts to 3D modeling only; however, there is a lot that is associated with BIM systems that determine the time, cost, building operations and layout using 4D, 5D and 6D mechanisms.  

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

There are a number of activities that are carried out by BIM in the construction projects.

Activities carried out by BIM in construction

Real-time graphical simulation is obtained with the use and application of 3D models in the construction projects. The scheduling and planning activities are made easier with the determination of the schedule using 4D. With the aid of the 3D and 4D models, the time that is required for achieving the project activities can be easily determined and the risks that are associated with the schedule of the project are avoided. Estimation of the costs and value engineering processes are made easier with the aid of 5D modeling.

The 6D model allows the management of facilities to be done with ease in association with BIM. There are enhanced forms of descriptions of building elements and the value engineering services that are added to the databases for better management of the facilities. The components of sustainability as added with the aid of the 7D model in BIM.

BIM in the construction projects can carry out effective knowledge management as well. There is a lot of information and knowledge that is related with the construction projects that is stored in the form of databases, project closeout interviews and a number of other informal methods and techniques. It is often stored in a fragmented manner with varied formats. BIM is a concept that is data-rich in nature and is also intelligent and object-based.

It can carry out knowledge management associated with the construction projects with ease. BIM provides a centralized global context which can be of great aid in the knowledge storage and management. The issues with the traditional concepts that make use of multiple formats are also avoided with the use of BIM. 3D and 4D CAD based knowledge maps may be used for the sharing and reuse of the explicit and tacit knowledge.

There are a lot many benefits that are provided by BIM to the construction industry and projects. Some of the advantages and benefits are as listed below.

• Higher Quality: BIM is the information system and process that provides the construction team with the scalability in terms of the exploration and modifications. These changes can be done in terms of the design or documentation at any of the project stages without any re-work involved. The application of BIM results in the minimization of the coordination time that is involved and also allows the design team of the project to have enhanced time for problem-solving. There are also modeling tools that are involved that provide a close control over the technicalities and architectural processes that are associated with the project. There is a digital and electronic record of the building renovations that is also maintained that proves to be of a great aid in the process of planning and management.
• Greater Speed: The time that is required in the construction projects is higher as compared to the projects in rest of the domains. There are often risks and threats that have been witnessed in the areas of schedule overrun. With the use and implementation of BIM, it becomes easier to dynamically create and manage the schedule, diagrams, associated planning, and effective communication along with value engineering processes. The original models can also be modified as per the site conditions, climatic conditions and other factors. In this manner, the speed of operations is enhanced and the accuracy is attained.
• Lower Cost: The cost that is associated with construction projects are reduced with the aid of the BIM. There is lesser miscommunication that is involved among the team members which brings down the need to re-work and the cost is reduced as the operations are accurately executed. There is also maintenance of better quality and execution of proper planning that is involved which further brings down the costs of the project.

There are many advantages that are offered by the information systems and their installation in the construction industry. However, there are also many challenges that come up in front of the construction team members and management that is involved. Some of these challenges are as listed below.

• The use and implementation of the information systems in construction is not done as per the requirements of the project and its specifications. There are many information systems that are available in the market and some of these systems are more popular than the rest. The construction team often fails in the planning and analysis of the tool that is required and is adequate as per the specifications of the project. The decision is made on the basis of the popularity rather than relevance which leads to the inapplicability of the automated systems and tools.
• There are various operational and technical errors that are performed by the team members that lead to the occurrence of invalid results and outcomes. In such a manner, there is a lot of time that is involved and the use of incorrect results in the long run can be fatal for the project as well. Some of these errors can also not be rolled back which lead to extremely damaging impacts.
• The information systems that are provided by the vendors are provided with adequate support and maintenance. However, there are certain systems that lack the required amount of support and assistance features. It is due to the reason that there is a lot of time that the project team members spend in becoming used to the tools and gaining results out of the same. It leads to the deterioration of the overall productivity of the resources that are involved in the projects.
• There is a lot of critical and sensitive data that is usually associated with the construction projects. With the use of the information systems and tools, the probability of information and data security risks increases. It is due to the reason that the data and information that is stored in these systems and tools is accessible to all the project team members. There can be breaching and leakage of data that may be given shape or there may also be risks that may be executed during the sharing of the data along with its transmission. The internal employees and entities may make incorrect use of the privileges that are granted to them in terms of the ability to view or modify the data. This may lead to the occurrence of various risks and attacks.
• There is an additional cost that is required to be spent on the maintenance and updates of these systems and packages. Some of the construction projects have a restricted budget and it becomes difficult to extract as share of cost for the maintenance and update of the tools. There are many new entries that stepping into the world of construction. These new set-ups have a limited budget to be allocated for a particular project and the ability to acquire the IS as suggested above may not be possible for such units.

Conclusion

Information Systems have become an integral part of the business operations and activities. There are specific systems and tools that are applicable to the specific industries and areas of business. In the construction industry, there are many information systems that may be used and applied. Some of these systems include Management Information Systems (MIS), Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Business Information Modeling (BIM). These packages and systems must be acquired and implemented as per the specifications of the business. The challenges that are associated with these systems must be analyzed and the measures must be developed to put a check on the same.

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