Making the Case for Mobile IT in Construction

Abstract

The construction industry is typically characterised as being slow to change and to adopt new information technologies. Mobile technologies have been no exception; the primary reasons given for this hesitancy are the perceived lack of return on investment and an absence of industry-specific examples of successful adoption. A series of eleven case studies have been undertaken to facilitate the removal of these barriers. The case studies, detailed in this paper, were selected to demonstrate the use of mobile technologies by point-of-activity workers in construction, their influence on process efficiency, improved opportunities for data collection, and that rapid return on investment is usually achievable. The analysis identifies generic benefits of the applications and the lessons learnt provide clear guidance that should help ensure mobile technologies are appropriately deployed in construction. This paper concludes that the successful implementation of mobile technology typically produces a return on investment within one year of adoption, regardless of the initial set-up costs, and that the adoption of mobile technologies can make a significant contribution to the ongoing drive for process improvement. As such, they are a valuable tool to reduce some of the unnecessary costs currently inherent in construction projects.