Using mobile computing for construction site information management

Abstract

In recent years, construction information management has greatly benefited from advancesin Information and Communication Technology (ICT) increasing the speed of information flow, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of information communication, and reducing the cost of information transfer. Current ICT support has been extended to construction site offices. However, construction projects typically take place in the field where construction personnel have difficulty in gaining access to conventional information systems for their information requirements. The advances in affordable mobile devices, increases in wireless network transfer speeds and enhancements in mobile application performance, give mobile computing a powerful potential to improve on-site construction information management. This research project aims to explore how mobile computing can be implemented to manage information on construction sites through the development of a framework. Various research methods and strategies were adopted to achieve the defined aim of this research. These methods include an extensive literature review in both areas of construction information management and mobile computing; case studies that investigate construction information management on construction sites; a web-based survey for the investigation of the existing mechanism for on-site information retrieval and transfer; and a case study of the validation of the framework. Based on the results obtained from the literature review, case studies and the survey,the developed framework identifies the primary factors that influence the implementation of mobile computing in construction site information management, and the inter relationships between those factors. Each of these primary factors is further divided into sub-factors that describe the detailed features of relevant primary factors. In order to explore links between sub-factors, the top-level framework is broken down into different sub-frameworks, each of which presents the specific links between two primary factors. One of the applications for the developed framework is the selection of a mobile computing strategy for managing on-site construction information. The overall selection procedure has three major steps: the definition of on-site information management objectives; the identification of mobile computing strategy; and the selection of appropriate mobile computing technologies. The evaluation and validity of the selection procedure is demonstrated through an illustrative constructions cenario.