INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

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MILIEU OF THE PROBLEM

Construction is one of the largest industries in the world and one of the most disjointed as well. One of the reasons why the industry is so fragmented is that the construction industry involves parties from myriad professions. Different types of information are exchanged between the various parties for the purpose of communicating design, construction and contractual matters. Individual firms have developed their own means of classifying and disseminating procurement and cost information to facilitate the process. However, as there is no standardised system of classifying and sharing of such information, data is lost along the way. Proper planning to eliminate conflict, duplication and omission in the distribution of procurement and cost information is lacking, and this can be ascribed to the fact that modern information technology has not fully penetrated the industry. Many professionals and contractors still use old-fashioned paper-based methods of exchanging information, making communication slow and inefficient. Advanced and cost-efficient communication technology, based on a nationally accepted and internationally compatible standard, should assist in making the construction industry a more powerful and streamlined machine. This will allow professionals and contractors to collaborate more effectively with partners, staff, building owners, manufacturers, designers, etc on both the local and international levels.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Bills of Quantities: A document drawn up by a quantity surveyor, usually in a standard format, for purposes of tendering, payment and final account. It comprises a descriptive list of all the items of work required to construct a particular building or buildings and descriptions of the materials, workmanship and other matters, such as the nature of the building site, conditions under which the construction work has to be performed, etc. These items are measured from the drawings issued by the architect or engineer(s) and from information supplied in specifications that have been prepared by the architect, engineer(s) and other specialists appointed on the project.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The primary objective of this research study is to improve the effectiveness of producing quality and up-to-date procurement documentation for the construction industry, and to cause the achievement thereof in the shortest possible time. This research study will endeavour to illustrate the point that what is currently on offer in the RSA with regard to the procurement process falls far short of the local construction industry‘s requirements. Possible actions to be undertaken by the local construction industry to overcome these shortcomings will be investigated, with particular emphasis on establishing national standards for classification and specification systems that are modern, internationally compatible and suitable to accommodate present and future needs.

Interviews
At the initial stage of the research process (after the preliminary literature review), it was decided that it would be beneficial to investigate the development of classification systems for construction information elsewhere in the world, as very little development on this issue had taken place in the RSA.

PART 1: INTRODUCTION, PROBLEM STATEMENT, RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH APPROACH
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1 MILIEU OF THE PROBLEM
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.2.1 Introduction
1.2.2 Main problem and sub-problems
1.3 DELIMITATIONS TO THE SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT
1.4 STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY
1.5 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
1.6 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
CHAPTER 2 – RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH APPROACH
2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
2.2 RESEARCH APPROACH
2.3 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.4 DESCRIPTIVE SURVEYS
2.4.1 Interviews
2.4.2 Survey questionnaire
2.4.2.1 “Closed” type questions
2.4.2.2 “Open-ended” comments
2.4.2.3 Bias
2.4.2.4 Survey population
PART 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER 3 – AN OVERVIEW OF INFORMATION LOCATING AND RETRIEVING SYSTEMS
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 INDEXING VERSUS CLASSIFICATION
3.2.1 General
3.2.2 Example of an Indexing System
3.3 BIBLIOGRAPHIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS
3.3.1 Introduction
3.3.2 Classification in general
3.3.3 Principles of classification
3.3.4 Major classification schemes
3.3.5 Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC)
3.3.6 Universal Decimal Classification (UDC)
3.3.7 Library of Congress Classification System (LCC)
3.3.8 Bliss Bibliographic Classification (BC)
3.3.9 Colon Classification (CC)
3.4 GREY LITERATURE
3.4.1 The concept of grey literature
3.4.2 Non-trade material
3.4.3 Problematic bibliographical control
3.4.4 Wholesale trade sales of construction materials in the RSA
3.5 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
3.5.1 Introduction
3.5.2 Problems associated with the Internet
3.5.3 Preparing for the Next Generation Internet (NGI)
3.5.3.1 Introduction
3.5.3.2 Current developments
3.5.3.3 Standard for Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) and Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)
3.5.3.4 Extensible Mark-up Language (XML) and Web Standards
3.5.3.5 Summary
3.6 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4 – AN OVERVIEW OF CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 MAJOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED IN STANDARDISATION OF BUILDING CLASSIFICATIONS AND SPECIFICATION SYSTEMS
4.2.1 The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)
4.2.2 Conseil International du Bátiment (CIB)
4.2.3 International Construction Information Society (ICIS)
4.2.4 The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)
4.2.5 The International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI)
4.3 BUILDING CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS
4.3.1 General
4.3.2 An overview of the development of building classification systems in Europe after the Second World War
4.3.3 The Swedish building classification system – BSAB
4.3.3.1 Introduction
4.3.3.2 General description and structure of the SfB system
4.3.4 The Uniclass classification system for the construction industry in the UK
4.3.4.1 Introduction
4.3.4.2 General description and structure of the Uniclass system
4.3.4.3 Links between the British Uniclass classification system and other documents
4.3.5 The American UniFormat, MasterFormat, SectionFormat and PageFormat classification system
4.4 RECENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
4.5 Summary
CHAPTER 5 – A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MASTER BUILDING SPECIFICATIONS IN THE RSA AND IN SELECTED OTHER COUNTRIES
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND STRUCTURE OF THE SPECIFICATION SYSTEMS IN SELECTED OTHER COUNTRIES
5.2.1 Introduction
5.2.2 The Swedish National Specification System – AMA98, AFAMA98 and RA98
5.2.2.1 Links between the Swedish AMA specification system and other documents
5.2.3 The UK Specification Systems – NBS and NES
5.2.3.1 Links between the NBS specification system and other documents
5.2.4 The Australian National Specification System – NATSPEC
5.2.4.1 Links between the NATSPEC specification system and other documents
5.2.5 The Netherlands Specification System – STABU
5.2.5.1 Links between the STABU specification system and other documents
5.2.6 The American Specification System – MASTERSPEC
5.2.6.1 Links between the American MASTERSPEC specification system and other documents
5.3 GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND STRUCTURE OF SPECIFICATION SYSTEMS IN THE RSA
5.3.1 Introduction
5.3.2 Private Sector: The Model Preambles for Trades 1999 – ASAQS
5.3.2.1 Development and status of the Model Preambles
5.3.2.2 General description and structure of the Model Preambles
5.3.2.3 Links between the Model Preambles and other documents
5.3.3 Public Sector: Standard Specifications etc
5.3.3.1 General
5.3.3.2 The Department of Public Works’ PW 371 Specification of Materials and Methods to be Used (PW 371)
5.3.3.3 SABS 1200 and SABS 0120 documents
5.3.4 Commercial specification systems
5.4 SUMMARY
PART 3: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA, GUIDELINES FOR AND PROPOSAL OF NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFICATION, SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
CHAPTER 6 – SURVEY METHODOLOGY FOR COLLECTION OF THE DATA
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 SAMPLING METHOD
6.2.1 First stage
6.2.2 Second stage
6.3 SIZE OF THE SELECTED SAMPLE
6.3.1 First stage
6.3.2 Second Stage
6.4 SURVEY PROCESSES USED FOR COLLECTION OF THE DATA
6.4.1 First stage
6.4.2 Second stage
6.4.2.1 Analytical discussion of the questionnaire
6.4.2.2 Procedures and analyses
6.4.2.3 The criteria for admissibility of the data
6.5 RESPONSE
6.5.1 First stage
6.5.2 Second stage
6.6 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 7- FIRST STAGE SURVEY
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 CONFIDENTIALITY
7.3 DATA COLLECTED
7.4 TRENDS INDICATED BY DATA COLLECTED
7.5 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 8 – SECOND STAGE SURVEY
8.1 INTRODUCTION
8.2 ANALYSIS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE PART OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE
8.3 DATA COLLECTED
8.3.1 Arithmetic mean values and standard deviations of responses to Statements in Questions 1 and 2
8.3.2 Evaluation of data collected for Question 1: Is the current status of
specification writing for building works in the RSA satisfactory?
8.3.3 Evaluation of data collected for Question 2: Does the South African building industry need a comprehensive specification system similar to systems that are in use in other countries such as the UK, Australia, the USA, etc?
8.3.4 Frequency distribution of responses to statements in Questions 3 and 4
8.3.5 Evaluation of data collected for Question 3: How effective is the management of product information sourcing in the RSA?
8.3.6 Evaluation of data collected for Question 4: Is there a need for a classification system for use in procurement documentation in the construction industry in the RSA?
8.4 TRENDS INDICATED BY DATA COLLECTED
8.5 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 9 – NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION
9.1 INTRODUCTION
9.2 CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION
9.2.1 General
9.2.2 Scope of the proposed standard
9.2.3 Elemental classification
9.2.4 Work sections classification and their subdivisions
9.2.4.1 General index
9.2.4.2 Work sections and their subdivisions
9.2.5 Levels of groupings
9.2.6 Application
9.3 CLASSIFICATION OF CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES INFORMATION
9.3.1 Introduction
9.4 SUMMARY
CHAPTER 10 – SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
10.1 INTRODUCTION
10.2 HYPOTHESES
10.3 CONSEQUENCES OF AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTRODUCING NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR CLASSIFICATION
10.3.1 General
10.3.2 Proposals for the formatting of specifications etc
10.3.3 Proposals for the formatting of standard methods of measurement
10.3.4 Classification of construction products and services
10.4 RECOMMENDATIONS
10.5 CONCLUDING REMARKS
10.6 POSSIBLE AREAS FOR FUTURE RESE
BIBLIOGRAPHY