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Information in the Building Industry - Problems and Solutions
Editor:
Prof. Colin H. Davidson
First EditionMontrŽal, May, 1998.
© IF Research Corporation and CIB. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical - without the written permission of one or other of the copyright holders; this notwithstanding, the author of a paper may reproduce a part or parts of the document in the course of his or her normal professional or academic activities, provided a complete reference to the source is given.
We specially thank Junji Hiyamuta, Information Consultant, Tokyo, for his support and encouragement from the outset of this project.
preface
Professor Christer Sjšstršm, President of CIB
The Team which promoted and edited this electronic ÔbookÕ could not have chosen a more opportune time to publish an informative document on ÔInformation in the Building Industry - Problems and Solutions.Õ
We are all living in the Information Age and unless CIB can squarely confront the demands of the attendant and dynamically evolving technology, its position as the foremost global building and construction research and technology development organization will come under serious threat.
Information is of vital importance to the entirety of the CIB membership. As one of CIBÕs specialist groups in this field, the Team sees its remit as covering the systematic handling of information in any environment now characterized by the emergence of Information Technology. Its domain is aptly called ÔInformation Science.Õ
This electronic ÔbookÕ brings the formidable experience of the TeamÕs membership to bear on highlighting ways to improve the use of information as an aid:
- to decision-making in design, manufacture and construction, and
- to promoting research and innovation in the building and construction sector.
CIB wholeheartedly commends Professor Davidson and his Co-authors for their contributions; collectively, they have addressed the international building and construction needs of institutions, researchers and industry in a practical, up-to-date and meaningful way.
LIST OF MODULESClick on the title to see the abstract.
presentation OF ÔInformation in the Building Industry - Problems and SolutionsÕ, by the editor 4 pages
THE INFORMATION PROBLEM IN BUILDING -
CAUSES AND EFFECTS, by Colin H. Davidson9 pages
SCIENCE AND PRACTICE INTERPLAY - A STUDY OF THE USERÕS ROLE IN INFORMATION EXCHANGE By thomas tydŽn 13 pages
BUILDING PRODUCTS, TRADE LITERATURE AND STANDARDIZATION: THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE,
by Charles Rogers51 pages
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION EXCHANGE IN BUILDING PRACTICE, by peter vice 13 pages
CSIRO INFOBUILD: PROVIDING AN INFORMATION SERVICE TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY by gaye mcdermott 10 pages
practicalities of the transfer of information from research to practice, by wilhelm wissman 6 pages
ARCONIS - A SYSTEM FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS
BY elke N†rMberger5 pages
Watch for the Second Edition, which will be available on this site at the end of summer 1998. It will include the first set of additional papers.
Abstracts1
Abstracts:Click on the button to select the paper (to print it, see below)
presentation of ÔInformation in the Building Industry - Problems and SolutionsÕ
The Editor
The information revolution implies a switch in the organization of work. In the building industry, this can be difficult, because of the way work is organized in a project-by-project environment. Information falls into two categories: project-related information and general information; the former grows with the project and is ÔlostÕ in the final product, whereas the latter constitutes an ever-increasing, publicly available stock of knowledge (access to and immediate use of this stock by practitioners presents difficulties). This electronic ÔbookÕ discusses aspects of the presentation and use of information.
THE INFORMATION PROBLEM IN BUILDING - CAUSES AND EFFECTS,
Colin H. Davidson
The building industryÕs professional and commercial enterprises are used to operating in a project-by-project format, joining loose networks; as they do so, they reconcile, as much as possible, their strategic goals with the short term objectives of the single projects, reflected in the procurement documents. This is a situation rife with a potential for conflict. Evidence shows that from among the conflict-inducing factors, adequacy and ease of access to information is a prime source of difficulties and hence of loss of performance. In addition, general information is insufficiently used, often leading to a loss of project quality. There are reasons that explain this situation, and recommended correctives often appear like wishful-thinking. Information management must be planned for, and information-based quality demanded in the procurement strategy.
SCIENCE AND PRACTICE INTERPLAY - A STUDY OF THE USERÕS ROLE IN INFORMATION EXCHANGE
Thomas TydŽn
Two current trends impact on the use of research results in practice, namely the shift to a stricter market economy and the increase in research conducted outside academia. There is a tendency to overrate the achievements of research to the detriment of everyday knowledge and skills; the emphasis should shift to knowledge utilization. This implies education and motivation, and the adoption of the Ôlearning organizationÕ paradigm. There are human and organizational barriers to knowledge utilization, often blocking the acceptance of information; indeed, research dissemination is not a technical problem. Each organization is unique, particularly in the building industry. It is important that the research users (by their education and culture) contribute to breaking down the barrier between research and practice.
BUILDING PRODUCTS, TRADE LITERATURE AND STANDARDIZATION: THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE
Charles Rogers
This document traces the main initiatives aimed at guiding or regulating the presentation and content of trade literature in the United Kingdom - up to the late 1990s. In a context of an ever-increasing use of factory-prepared products, ready access to information allowing comparisons to be made is seen by designers as essential - a view which is probably not shared by the product manufacturers and their marketing advisors. A succession of British Standards has been prepared, in an evolving context of accompanying research and recommendations. Principles relating to the kind of information to be provided and how, are suggested.
ELECTRONIC INFORMATION EXCHANGE IN BUILDING PRACTICE
Peter Vice
Information Technology (IT) shows promise for the construction industry, but progress in IT and in construction are not synchronized. At present, Electronic Information Exchange (EIE) does not yet solve the problems associated with communications between the participants in the building process - particularly for repetitive or complex operations such as preparing tenders, managing Ôjust-in-timeÕ aspects of contracts etc. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is already being used for transactions between suppliers and manufacturers where there is continuity; it seems that EDI can be logically extended to cover matters related to Bills of Quantities. Developments with EIE must be adapted to the needs of building practice; research tends to be short-term or long-term focused - but the need is for coordinated yet easy-to-implant solutions. Internet technology holds promise, but protection of information is a source of concern.
CSIRO INFOBUILD: PROVIDING AN INFORMATION SERVICE TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Gaye McDermott
In the fragmented construction industry, the adoption of innovative technologies is slow, largely because research and development, and information dissemination are seen as unrelated to practice and its concerns. A common language of communication is needed, integrated into an information framework. The CSIRO has developed such a framework. Also, an integrated information service has been set up to answer questions arising from industry; it draws on the vast amounts of information and knowledge in CSIRO. Marketing such a service needs care to avoid wasted resources. However, without such a service, knowledge gets lost and is unavailable when a new cycle in building demands its recall.
practicalities of the transfer of information from research to practice
Wilhelm Wissman
Building research is not seen as a distinct research activity in Germany; support for it is decentralized. Access to research findings can adopt several routes, even though it is often not considered a priority; building research results have to be made known actively. Several structures are in place to distribute information, and Fraunhofer Informationszentrum Raum und Bau (Information Center for Building and Planning) - IRB plays a key role in collecting together and then disseminating the information - systematically. Marketing research reports is important and is done through carefully structured IRB reference publications. Providing an information consulting service is also an important way to disseminate knowledge.
ARCONIS - A SYSTEM FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Elke NŸrmberger
ARCONIS Information Consulting is a service of IRB that specializes in answering queries related to building and planning. To do so, ARCONIS has access to IRBÕs in-house databases and to a national and international network of contacts. ARCONIS provides advisory services too. Queries are treated systematically and with complete confidentiality (examples of queries are given). Charges are agreed with the client before work commences (typical tariffs and rates are given).
Note 1: when you select an article and read it on the computer, the Notes and References are hyperlinked to the reference numbers in the text and can be accessed directly from the text by clicking on the numbers in square brackets.
Note 2: the headings in the summary (at the start of each article) are hyperlinked to the corresponding portions of the text.
After scanning the selected article, it is, of course, possible to print it; use your preferred printing software (the articles were set up with MSWord).
Information transfer from research to practice 1
THE INFORMATION PROBLEM IN BUILDING - CAUSES AND EFFECTS
Colin H. Davidson
UniversitŽ de MontrŽal, Canada
summary:
the building industry - its nature
procurement, performance and conflict - the importance of project-related information
the non-use of general information
THe full circle: procurement and information
notes and references
the building industry - its nature
The nature of the market for building products and services has an overriding influence on the way information is thought about, sought for and used, because it is the market that largely predetermines the way the participating businesses set about running their short-term and long-term affairs. As we will show, procurement is the matching factor that fits the building industry (considered as a resource on offer) to the need for built facilities (considered as the demand).
The enterprises that operate within the building industry do so on a project-by-project basis [1]. With the exception of a few enterprises (professional or commercial) which have established long-term links with a particular multi-project client, the general rule is that industry participants react to each emerging or firm request for their services, filtering to them through the industry, starting from each single initiative taken by each potential building client (see Figure 1, next page).
As a result, the professional offices and business enterprises within the building industry organize themselves in a way that enables them to find continuity of work by maintaining a continuous flow of individual projects in which they can appropriately take part. Through this strategy, the discontinuity of the actual demand for their products and services is transformed into a semblance of stability of operations; they have developed internal ÔmechanismsÕ that enable them to reconcile strategic (i.e. long-term) planning with the tactical planning needed for each project. Thus, they succeed in maintaining a level of performance, presumably ÔsatisfactoryÕ by their standards, in an environment of double turbulence - (a) the turbulence inherent in the building industry itself and its ÔriskyÕ ways of working plus (b) the turbulence percolating into it from the broader business and economic environment of each region or nation, or indeed from current globalization.
Figure 1. The building team (a temporary multi-organization) represented in its building industry environment, and the building industry (a multi-industry composed of many stable organizations) in its broader societal environment.
A recent study [2] of architectsÕ and engineersÕ offices, and of contracting companies
Òsuggested that building industry organizations are resilient and robust, and are set up to weather turbulent environments and the cyclical nature of the industry. [...] Building industry firms operate on a project by project basis, and consequently, they operate in a network mode. However, the role of the ÔdesignerÕ of the network is often assumed by the building owner [through his procurement approach] (often without him realizing it) and not by a principal actor in the industry. [...] With respect to strategy, firms operate for the most part on a tactical versus strategic level [... where] performance indicators tended to be financial for engineers and contractors, with architects more commonly focusing on issues of professional reputation.Ó
The obligation to reconcile strategy and tactics, i.e. the long term view and the short - which is common to the building industry and to the building process as well - places each building firm in an unnatural situation. Participating in the so-called Ôbuilding teamÕ - Òa term generally but somewhat loosely used to describe the group of professional and commercial enterprises which design and construct a building project [and who] as they carry out their mission of designing and constructing a particular facility [must] cooperate with other partiesÓ [3] - determines the short-term context; the strategic plan of the firm establishes the long-term setting. Significantly, the short-term project context brings with it a set of objectives and constraints (to produce the required facility within the conditions imposed by the client and supposedly accepted by the participants as they sign their several contracts), whereas the long-term setting includes typical business or professional goals and mechanisms, designed to ensure the continuing survival of the firm.
ÒThe first level of objectives in building projects is generally defined by the client [...]. Various requirements and constraints are imposed upon the project jointly by the client and by the environment within which he/she operates and within which he/she must build; the project organization is obligated to meet them. The second level of objectives includes those which are typical of all permanent organizations, namely, their survival in the market place, enhancement of their domains and their position in it, and so onÓ [4].
In the world of management, this kind of situation is recognized to be rife with potential for conflict. In effect, each participating firm has to reconcile elements of its own strategic plan with the tactical consequences of its decision to participate in a particular project. In such a situation, there are generally three categories of variables which can induce inter-firm conflict: (a) consensus about the domains of intervention of each participant in a multi-organization or ÔteamÕ, (b) the ease of access to and adequacy of information available to them, and (c) the degree of interdependence of tasks involved in carrying out the project [4].
procurement, performance and conflict - the importance of project-related information
A study of the performance of building firms, carried out in the early eighties [5], confirmed the pertinence of the three categories of variables regarding conflict, and further showed (as one might expect) that the amount of (i.e. the gravity of) inter-firm conflict is inversely proportional to the performance of the building ÔteamÕ. To obtain a more useful view of the situation, the variables were further broken down as follows:
-the consensus variable (a) was split into (a1): clarity of the scope of participation (the greater the clarity, the less risk of inter-firm conflict and the higher performance of the team as a whole), and (a2): specialization (the greater the degree of specialization of all participants, the less conflict and the higher performance);
-the information variable (b) was split into (b1): sufficiency of information (the greater the sufficiency, the less conflict and the higher performance), (b2): access to information (the easier it is to access additional information, the less conflict and the higher performance), and (b3): rapidity of access to the information (the quicker the access, the less conflict and the higher performance);
-the interdependence variable (c) was split into (c1): interdependence of tasks (the greater the interdependence, the more conflict and the lower performance) and (c2): coordination (the better the coordination of tasks, the less conflict and the higher performance).
It was found that - taken together - these variables accounted for over 75% of the variance observed. Significantly, the highest impacting variables were in the information block, accounting for over 50% of the observed variance, with (b1) - sufficiency of information - being the most important. [In a similar study of projects procured using the construction management approach, the Ôavailability and access to informationÕ variable (the ÔbÕ block) was also found to be highly significant]:
ÒDue to its overwhelming importance, Ôavailability and access to informationÕ must be considered in detail. As in many other industries, information is an increasingly important factor in the building industry as well, and its availability in sufficient amount and the task organizationsÕ access to further information if and when they need it, are becoming universally acknowledged to be necessary conditions for high performanceÓ [6].
A more recent study - of delay-related claims (traced through in-court judgments related to building projects) - yielded similar results. Claims, it should be pointed out, can be interpreted as a consequence of unresolved conflicts; they often have dire consequences in terms of costs (the costs of litigation and the amounts awarded) and time (preparing for, and going to court) which, incidentally, explain the current move to ÔABC - Anything But CourtÕ. Once again, it was found that, of the 22 causes of claims cited in the court documents, the Ôavailability and access to informationÕ block (containing 9 of the cited causes of claims) was mentioned in nearly 60% of the cases as a ÒclaimsÕ causation factorÓ [7].
Other research has shown that despite the importance of information in the context of the performance of the building process, many of the participants have a ÔcasualÕ attitude to its exploitation and management. For example, when confronted by a problem in the design process, architects usually give up their search for information before contacting external documentation services or research centers, while engineers may only do so after exhausting internal and informal sources [8]. Searching for information is not seen as a productive activity, even though Lockley and co-authors, for example, showed that when, in the design and design-development phases of a project, a task has to be redone (with consequent loss of time and, presumably loss of profit too), it is usually because insufficient information led to faulty decisions having been made in the first place [9].