CONSTRUCTION IT ALLIANCE CITA: ADDRESSING THE ICT CHALLENGES OF THE IRISH CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN IRELAND

Dr.Alan V. HoreLecturer in Dublin Institute of Technology (Quantity Surveying)

Presentation for CEEC / Asociace rozpočtářů staveb (ARS) Seminar in Prague

Friday 11th April 2008

““Realising Standards”Realising Standards”

Irish Construction Industry

• Output €35bn - 23% of GNP (compared with EU average of 10%)

• Components:– Residential: 65%– Infrastructure: 20%– Commercial, Industrial and Public

Sector: 15%• Employment - 255,800 (12.5% of

persons in employment compared with EU average of 7%)

• Over dependency on housing, now in decline

• Shift towards infrastructural spend

Challenges facing Irish Construction Industry

• Changing economic climate –interest rate fluctuations, job losses, residential slowdown

• Changing procurement landscape – more D&B, New Public Sector Contracts

• Risk Allocation - does not support innovation

• Islands of information – lack of interoperability, discrete separate ICT systems

• New Technology - take up low• Climate Change – Need for more

sustainable solutions, BER regulations, waste management

• R+D - spend inadequate

Sub-contractor

Construction Site

Architect

Contractor

Consultant

Client

Facilities Manager

A fragmented Industry

Correspondence, Minutes and ReportsCAD drawingsProgrammesCost Plans and CashflowTender Documents and ReportsCost ReportingValuationsFinal AccountsOrdering and InvoicingE-MailWeb access

Computers are used throughout a construction project for:

However, the use of computers aloneis hardly impressive!

What is the promise of IT?

•Save time

•Automate tasks and reduce payroll

costs

•Radically improve the way we work

•Use less paper

What is the reality of IT?

•We are busier

•We employ more people

•We continue to use the same

processes

•We use even more paper

How do we use IT

•Receive information (usually in

hard copy)

•Input into computer

•Print it out

•Send it to someone else

How should we use IT?

•Across the project life cycle

•Collaborative working

•To achieve business benefits

Future directions for effective use of IT in our Industry

Construction Site

PROJECTMODEL

Sub-contractor

Preferred Project Model

Operations Maintenance

Collaboration & Knowledge Management

Construction Design &

Specification Inception Feasibility

eCommerce & Supply Chain Management

eTendering and Estimating

Back office applications

ICT should be utilised throughout the construction process

CITAs Response

To inform the Irish construction sector of relevant ICT developments

To establish and disseminate standards in the use of ICT in the construction sector.

To encourage ICT related research and training collaboration between the Irish Institutes/Universities and firms in the Irish construction sector

To establish and maintain links with relevant national and international organisations

To encourage the strategic use of ICT by all firms in the Irish construction sector

• Re-affirm the inefficiencies that currently exist in particular construction processes.

• Demonstrate by the adoption of a live pilot project that particular ICT tools can led to verifiable reduced costs, improved effectiveness and increased productivity to participant companies.

Two year project

End June ‘08

Five Modules

CAD

Purchasing

Tendering

Project Management

Measurement

Module 5 – Electronic Measurement

Deliverables: Re-affirm the inefficiencies that currently exist in the production of Bills of Quantities.

Demonstrate by the adoption of a live pilot project that the direct use of CAD information by the Construction Economist can cause the production of tender documentation and building estimates to become more accurate.

CITAX – Work in Progress

Project Planning

Process Analysis

Identify Software

Process Re-Design

Testing

Implement Pilot

Final Reporting

Process Mapping Process Measurement

Benefit Evaluation

Paper Processes - Loss of Knowledge and Time

TIME

DESIGN

KN

OW

LE

DG

E

DOCUMENT

BUILDMANAGE

ARCHITECT FACILITIES MANAGER CONTRACTORPROF TEAM

Bid

Selection

Completion

Inaccuracies

Errors

Inexperience

Insufficient detail

Poor training and education

Lost data

TIME

DESIGN

KN

OW

LE

DG

E

BUILDMANAGE

After Phil Bernstein’s “Sawtooth” : VP Building Solutions AutoCAD

Bid

Completion

DOCUMENT

Selection

QUANTITY SURVEYOR

ARCHITECT FACILITIES MANAGER CONTRACTORPROF TEAM

WE NEED TO OPTIMISE THE DATA QUALITY PASSEDON FROM ARCHITECT TO QUANITY SURVEYORWE NEED TO OPTIMISE THE DATA QUALITY PASSEDON FROM ARCHITECT TO QUANITY SURVEYOR

eMeasurement

Need to optimise CAD Data for the Construction Economist

eTendering

ESTIMATOR

eManual

CLIENT

DESIGN DRAWING MEASURE PRINT BOQ

Document

Pricing – Speadsheets etc

Scaling & Counting

Conventional Drawings

Digitising

Familiar territory

E-measure

Pricing – Integrated Databases/BIM

CAD

Training Needed2D/

3D/BIM

Need for Construction Economist to become proficient in CAD Systems

CITA Skillnets Training Initiative

Success in securing €350,000 to form NEW Training Network

Training Needs Analysis completed

Development of Post Graduate Diploma in Construction Informatics

Introduction of CAD information systems to Construction Economics Programme in DIT

m2

m2

FLOOR FINISHESFLOOR FINISHES

1

2

INTERNAL WALLSINTERNAL WALLS

MECHANICAL SERVICESMECHANICAL SERVICES

WallsWalls

Building Information Models Lead to More accurate Estimating if Used Correctly

FRAMESFRAMES

ROOFSROOFS

Construction Economist and ICTConstruction Economist and ICT

Job TitlesQuantity Surveyor

Construction Economist Cost Engineer

Building Estimator

Core DutiesUndertaking feasibility studies

Cost EstimatingPreparing Bills of Quantities

Prepare interim paymentsPreparing financial claims

They all with NO exception study architectural and

engineering drawings and specifications

They all with NO exception should be knowledgeable in the use of Building Information Models

ConclusionConclusion

• Number of competing challenges

AEC/FM

• CITA is a vehicle to respond to

challenges

• Industry needs to be the driver

• Industry – academic collaboration is

essential

• Construction economist/QS needs to

be proficient in CAD

• Need for ICT standards and protocols

to be developed

• Perhaps there is a role for CEEC in

achieving this

•CITA would welcome dialogue with

CEEC

THANK YOU