Understanding IT in Construction

Ming Sun,Rob Howard

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781134574032
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Construction & Architectural Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

In recent years, Information Technology (IT) has been transforming business practice in many sectors resulting in efficiency gains and improved services for the client. The construction industry lags behind other manufacturing and service industries in adopting the new technology. To promote the wider use of IT in construction, it is essential to equip practitioners and graduates of construction related disciplines with knowledge of existing construction IT applications. This book provides an overview of a broad range of IT applications currently available for all stages throughout the life cycle of a building project, from essential office and information management through to computer-aided design (CAD), cost estimating, project planning and scheduling, and facilities management and building maintenance. It is an invaluable and handy reference for construction professionals and clients, as well as being a clear and comprehensive text for students studying construction, building or architectural courses.

CHAPTER 1
Overview of IT Applications in Construction

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Appreciate the impact of IT on modern society.
2. Gain knowledge of computers and computer networks.
3. Understand the development of computers in construction.
4. Recognise the major categories of current IT applications and their use in the construction process.

INTRODUCTION

Computing and communication technology, also commonly known as Information Technology (IT), have been radically transforming the way we live, learn, work and play (Capron, 2000). Although it is widely acknowledged that the construction industry is lagging behind other industries in adopting IT (Department of Environment, 1995), the penetration of computers in construction has been gathering pace in recent years due to rapid improvements in computer hardware and software (Stevens, 1991; CICA, 1993; CICA, 1996; Building Centre Trust, 1999). Today, a large number of software packages are available to all disciplines of the construction team at all stages of the construction process. They provide support for a broad range of activities such as computer aided design and drafting, building visualisation, design appraisal, project management, information storage and retrieval, cost estimating, structural analysis, on-site management, facilities management and others.

In this chapter, we begin with an overview of the impact of computers on modern society and a review of the progress of computerisation in the construction industry. Then we briefly discuss the major types of IT applications to provide a context for more detailed discussions in the later chapters.

1.1 THE INFORMATION AGE

The impact of IT on modern society is profound. It is often described as the ‘Information Revolution’. The driving force behind this revolution is the convergence of computing and telecommunication technology. The changes IT has brought about to modern society are far beyond just automation of some routine tasks. In many cases, IT has fundamentally changed the way business is conducted. The pace of change is also unprecedented. Previous social revolutions such as the industrial revolution have taken a long time, hundreds of years, to spread out from their original sources, but the ‘Information Society’ emerged all around the world and within a single generation. Today, Internet access has spread to even the least developed regions of the globe.

IT has enabled the globalisation of the economy and competition, and has subsequently brought about large-scale changes in the industrial makeup of all the advanced industrial nations. We have witnessed the rapid growth of some industries such as computers, communications, software and financial services by enabling new products, services, and efficiencies, while other more traditional industries have stalled or even contracted by comparison.

As it is transforming the economic landscape, IT is also bringing a major shift in the job market. Many analysts have noted that information technology is resulting in a more polarised occupational structure, consisting of highly skilled, well paid jobs at one end and lower skilled, low wages at the other, with few jobs in between. For the modern work force, IT literacy is becoming an essential requirement. With the arrival of digital television, on-line shopping and banking, IT becomes a basic skill every member of the community needs to have.

Today computers are everywhere, in offices, stores, banks, homes and even coffee shops. The following are only a few examples of where computers are used.

Communication’. The ability to communicate underpins most human activities. Traditional communication media include telephone, fax and mail. In the new information era, people can exchange correspondence almost instantly using e-mail, access unlimited information on the Internet and meet other people over physical distances using video conferencing. The new communication technology enables people located in different places to work together as if they were in the same office. Big multinational companies are already exploiting this technology to achieve better use of the resources of their separate offices. For example, design may be done in one country while construction may be carried out in another. In this way, projects can be shared between offices so that the best expertise can be applied to the job. Furthermore, companies with international offices can now work around the clock. When workers in one office finish work at the end of the day, files can be passed on to an office in a different time zone for work to continue.

On-line services: The rapid development of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has enabled many services that traditionally require face-to-face contacts to be delivered on-line. For example, going to the local bank branch used to be the normal way for people to carry out financial transactions. Now, on-line banking allows customers to manage their own bank accounts 24 hours a day in the comfort of their own homes. People can pay bills, transfer money, and set up standing orders over a secure Internet link without the need to trouble a bank clerk. Similarly, many supermarkets also provide on-line shopping services. Customers can browse and order goods on-line. The shops will deliver the goods to the customers’ homes.

Internet distance learning: Providing more people with opportunities of university education is important to a country’s competitiveness in a global market. Widening access to higher education includes delivering teaching and learning to people who cannot attend lectures at the campus. The traditional correspondence based distance learning does not allow close interaction between students and tutors. Today, computers and the Internet allow students to study using an on-line virtual learning environment. In a similar way to a campus environment, students can interact with tutors and fellow students, They can access course materials and library services. They can even carry out on-line assessments. This new development is particularly beneficial to those people who are in work. Now they can study in their own time from home or workplace.

E-business: In addition to the above business-to-customer on-line services, there are more and more business-to-business services. The Internet provides a virtual market place for buyers, suppliers, distributors and sellers to exchange information, negotiate with one another and conduct trade. This development brings new market opportunities for many companies because trade is no longer restricted by physical distance. On the other hand, there will be more competition as many companies can potentially participate in a given business transaction.

Teleworking: As IT brings rapid changes in the workplace, it also brings dramatic changes in the way people work. With Internet access from home and public places, many workers no longer need to come to the office daily. They can access a company’s computer servers at any time and any place to download their assignments and keep in contact with fellow workers. This gives more flexibility for the individuals, especially for those who need to combine work with family responsibilities. Companies benefit from the need for less office space and, very often, more productive workers. The whole society also benefits from less traffic on the roads.

1.2 COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

A computer is a complex machine that can process information following predefined instructions. The creation of computers can be attributed to people’s need to do calculations in daily life and their desire to seek the help of tools. The Chinese invented the abacus 5000 years ago, and it remained in wide use in China until the 1970s. In Europe, the early pioneers of mechanical calculation devices include Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), Gottfried Wilhem von Leibniz (1646–1716), and Charles Babbage (1791–1871). In the middle of the 20th century, computers entered the digital age.

The first generation (1945–1956) digital computers were purpose built machines. Each of them had a specific program of instructions. Once they were built, it was difficult to program them for a different purpose. They used bulky vacuum tubes, which made the computers very large. Most of these computers would occupy a whole room. The second generation (1956–1963) used transistors. Transistors are much smaller than vacuum tubes so that more of them can be packed into one computer, and computers became smaller and faster. During this period, high level programming languages, such as COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) and FORTRAN (Formula Translator) came into common use. As a result, computers became programmable by their users. During the third generation (1964–1971) of computers, Integrated Circuits and semiconductors replaced transistors. These new components were more reliable and lasted longer. Computer operating systems emerged and many third party software packages could be installed and run on these computers. The fourth generation (1971-present) still uses integrated circuits. However, due to the improvement in manufacturing technology and the use of new materials, the size of the circuits becomes miniaturised and millions of components can be fitted on to a small chip. The cost of these chips also dropped rapidly. Computers were no longer exclusive to large businesses. They became affordable for small businesses and individuals. In addition to the shared mainframe computers, Personal Computers (PCs) have become more widely used in offices and homes.

The following table is a brief timeline of computing development since the first commercial computer in 1951.

Table 1.1 Timeline of computing since 1951

What make computers so useful are their fast data processing speed, massive storage capacity, reliability, and choice of input/output devices.

Speed: A computer processes information extremely quickly, from several thousand to several billions of instructions per second. Without computers, some tasks, such as space exploration, missile precision targeting, could not possibly be carried out. Real time computer systems are able to respond to the instructing input with a minimum of delay. The fast processing speed can help to increase the productivity of any task and improve the man/machine interaction.

Massive storage: During the past few decades, there has been a massive increase in information. At present, most of the tasks in scientific research, office work and building design involve handling large amounts of information in various forms, i.e. text, numbers or graphics. The computer provides an excellent means of storing and retrieving such information.

Reliability: Computers are extremely reliable at doing what they are told. It is true that sometimes computers have failures or ‘crashes’ during operation. However, these failures are usually caused, not by the computer itself, but by human error during either the programming stage or in use.

Multiple interface devices: There is a wide variety of I/O devices available such as keyboard, scanner, microphone, monitor, printer, plotter, etc., which can be used to read and present text, graphics and sound. The combination of the multiple I/O devices offers a rich capacity for developing application software.

Today, computer performance is measured in billions of instructions per second. Palm-top computers far exceed the performance of the 1960s mainframes at a fraction of the price. Wireless technology and the integration of data, voice, video and graphics capabilities over very fast, yet cost-effective, networks now allow ‘any time, any place, and any form’ communication and information sharing. These dramatic improvements in IT price/performance will lead to equally dramatic changes in organisational strategy, structure, processes, distribution channels and work.

1.3 COMPUTER NETWORK

A computer network is two or more computers being linked together so that data can be exchanged between them. Computer networks enable people to send messages to the other side of the world instantly at the click of a button. They also allow IT resources, such as computer servers, printers, and scanners, to be shared by all the employees in an organisation. The basic components of a computer network include:

1. A sending device
2. A communication link
3. A receiving device.

The sending device is usually a computer. The receiving device can be other computers or network printers. The communication link is the physical medium through which communication signals can be transmitted. The common types of link include copper wire, coaxial or twisted pair cable, and optical fibre. There are also wireless connections, such as infra red, radio wave and satellite links. These different types of link have different capacity and transmission speed. For example, twisted pair cable is faster than copper wire, and optical fibre is faster still. However, faster links are usually more expensive to install. Therefore, each organisation should choose its network links on the basis of a cost benefit analysis.

In practice, most computer networks have more complex configurations. The main types of networks and their configurations are discussed in the following.

1.3.1 Local Area Network/Wide Area Network

A Local Area Network (LAN) usually connects a group of computers in close proximity to each other such as in...