Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Automation in Construction
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon
Review
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 18 November 2013
Received in revised form 3 June 2014
Accepted 10 July 2014
Available online 26 July 2014
Keywords:
Construction procurement
Digital technologies
Information and communication technology
ISO 10845
Literature survey
a b s t r a c t
Digital technologies are increasingly being used to support the execution of all aspects of the construction procurement process. However, there has been no systematic attempt to identify and catalogue the different digital
technologies and tools available for executing construction procurement activities so as to guide those involved
in procurement on the options available to support the six basic procurement activities identied in ISO 10845.
The method used to identify 36 different digital technologies and tools used in construction procurement was a
literature survey involving systematic identication and review of 78 articles published in 52 different sources
between 1993 and 2014. The 36 digital technologies and tools identied include ten generic tools used across
the procurement process. This is followed by four applications for establishing what is to be procured; four for
soliciting tender offers; one for establishment of procurement strategy; two for tender evaluation, two for
award of contract and thirteen for contract administration. The research shows that the majority of existing digital technologies are web-based applications that facilitate real-time communication and collaboration across
construction supply chains. The effort made to map digital technologies with the ISO 10845 framework presents
a useful contribution to current discourse on digital technology use in construction procurement. It seems interesting that despite the progress made in the evolution and use of digital technologies in construction, there is still
no single digital technology which integrates all six construction procurement activities into a system that
procurers can adopt to manage the entire construction procurement lifecycle. This should be addressed.
2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research design and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Construction procurement activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What are digital technologies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intersection of digital technologies and construction procurement . . . . . . .
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1.
Digital technologies available for construction procurement activities . .
6.2.
Evolution of digital technologies for construction procurement activities
7.
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.
Conclusion and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1. Introduction
The use of digital technologies (DTs) as electronic tools for conducting
business transactions, including production and marketing of products as
well as procurement of goods and services, has grown signicantly in different industrial sectors in the past ve decades (see e.g. [13].) Despite
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: Eziyi.Ibem@wits.ac.za (E.O. Ibem), Samuel.Laryea@wits.ac.za
(S. Laryea).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2014.07.003
0926-5805/ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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11
12
13
14
14
15
15
17
17
20
20
20
12
The initial selection was based on the titles of the articles and conference
papers. This was done to eliminate articles that are not directly related to
the subject matter under focus. The selection criterion was based on the
review of abstracts of the articles. This was to ensure that only the most
relevant articles were reviewed. The third was based on the citations of
the articles as priority was given to articles that have been previously
cited in other articles. However, to ensure that majority of the articles
and conference papers reviewed were not dated; recently published articles were also selected. In addition, the references of selected articles were
also reviewed to identify other relevant peer-reviewed articles that may
not have been captured in Scopus database. A total of 78 published
works were reviewed as shown in the references section.
A majority of articles reviewed are case studies and surveys and the
basic unit of data analysis was the individual articles. Since the data are
mainly qualitative in nature, content analysis was the primary method
of data analysis. This involved identifying the individual technologies
and tools and their specic applications in construction activities as
captured in the articles. The technologies and tools identied were
classied according to their applications in supporting the execution
of construction project activities.
3. Construction procurement activities
In view of the vast amount of literature on DTs used in construction
project activities, it was important to identify the aspects of construction
activities our survey is focused on. The ISO 10845 framework was
adopted because this is the only international standard on construction
procurement which fortunately outlines six specic construction procurement activities. There was also a need to establish an operational
denition and generic roadmap of construction procurement. This was
done by examining some of the seminal works published by researchers
and practitioners.
Although there are different denitions of construction procurement, most are closely related in terms of meaning. For instance, in a
paper on knowledge-based design of project-procurement, Moshini
[22] described construction procurement as a process involving a sequence of decisions and/or actions that a client engages in as soon as
the need to acquire a new facility arises. In a survey of 22 professionals
on the methodology to evaluate and improve procurement process in
construction projects in Chile, Alarcon et al. [23] dened construction
procurement as the process used to supply equipment, materials and
other resources required to carry out a project. From the architectural
perspective, Charvat [24] in the Architect's Handbook of Professional
Practice noted that construction procurement is the process through
which the client brings together the team and resources needed to
translate project plans into physical reality. The International Standard
Organization's document on construction procurement [14] also dened construction procurement as a process which creates, manages
and fulls contracts relating to the provision of goods, services and
engineering and construction works or disposal, or any combination
thereof. Construction procurement has also been described in the
Scottish Government Construction Procurement Manual [25] as the
purchase of construction-related services with the ultimate aim of creating a new building or structure, including all associated site works;
and or alteration, refurbishment, maintenance, extension or demolition
of an existing building or structure.
From these denitions, there appears to be a consensus among researchers and practitioners that construction procurement is a process
involving a series of activities and steps through which clients acquire
specied goods and services related to engineering and construction
works within a given period of time, cost and agreed terms. On what
constitutes construction procurement activities, this may be described
as the strategic activities performed by those engaged in the construction procurement process from start to nish. A number of authors
have put forward a generic roadmap to construction procurement by
identifying the activities and tasks that are typically carried out in the
13
Moshini [22]
Charvat [24]
Watermeyer [29]
Vitkauskaite and Gatautis [30]
ISO 10845 [14]
Scottish Government
Construction Procurement
Manual [25]
14
Table 2
Classication of digital technologies based on their functions.
Types of digital
technologies
Examples
Capturing technologies
Storage technologies
Processing technologies
Communication
technologies
Display technologies
Integration and
collaborative
technologies
15
16
Table 3
Digital technologies available for construction procurement.
Construction procurement activities
Digital technologies
Brief description
Establishment of what is to be
procured
Software applications
Computer Aided Design (CAD) based software
applications for architects, engineers and
construction materials quantity takeoff for cost
consultants
Building Information Modeling (BIM)
technology
Web-based applications for the selection and appointment of professional consultants by clients
Used in the production of construction drawings, quantities take-offs and optimize information ow and communication of
design intent. Format for transmission of drawings to contractors and sub-contractors via the Internet
Evaluation of tenders
Award of contract
Videoconference
Cloud computing technology
Multi media technology
Wireless technology
3D scanner or LADAR (laser distance and
ranging) technology
Radio Frequency Identication (RFID)
technology
Project camera
Bar code technology
Multi media technology
BIM technology
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
e-Marketplaces
Special information system, which maintains, manages, integrates and analyzes location-related (or spatial) information of
different types and scales. Used in construction material procurement e.g. location of suppliers and construction sites and
analysis of suppliers with best competitive price.
Outdoor satellite-based worldwide radio-navigation system formed by 24 satellites, ground station and user. It used in material
handling at construction site that is receiving and unloading; sorting, storing, recalling and agging, picking-up and loading tasks
Exchange of information between client and bidders before nal award is made.
These are wireless sensor network used in monitoring and collecting data on physical and environmental conditions of
construction sites and transmitting same to central computer network work system
1
4
2
2
13
Advanced CAD technology for is for the production of construction documents; visualization; coordination, analysis and supply
chain integration (e.g. Autodesk Revit, Graphisoft ArchiCAD, Bentley Architecture)
Tekla Structures, Vico Constructor and Autodesk Naviswork
Interactive, real-time 3D computer application that can be used at the early stages of project for client brieng, bringing together
the different participants in different locations in the planning and design processes.
Used in managing construction supply chain. It also helps in Integrating all departmental and functional information ow in
organizations into a single computer system, and thus assists in planning and managing organization's resources
Provide information about organizations, their products and services. Also serve as on-line transactions and exchange of information; medium for the transmission of drawings among project participants among other uses.
Social networking platforms e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Blog, YouTube used in exchanging information and communication
Provides access to computing resources and information technology services such as Custom made Internet-based software for
e-Tendering e.g. Software-as-Service (SaaS) on rental basis without any concern to the ownership, management and maintenance of the network's resources, applications and services
Combines multiple audio and visual media and text data with computer as the integrator used in recording of instruction to
bidders.
Used to conduct clarication meetings between client and bidders during tendering process before nal award is made.
Custom made Internet-based software for e-Tendering known as Software-as-Service (SaaS) (e.g. DecisionMax Software).
Combination of multiple audio and visual media (e.g digital cameras) with text data and computer as the integrator used to
capture contract award data.
Internet based applications for capturing and communicating data and information.
Works together with photogrammetry to facilitate rapid tracking of changes of quantities of work done in construction sites such
as excavation works.
Uses radio frequency waves to acquire data. It used in identify, monitoring and tracking contractual, design or project
management document and materials along the supply chain.
Web-based cameras used to capture and transfer live pictures of project sites directly to the computers of project team members
for effective remote monitoring of progress of work.
Automated data acquisition method used to track project cost and schedule information. Improves the speed and accuracy of data
entering into computer systems. Similar to RFID but works on light waves.
Use to track the performance of project progress in terms of time, cost, quality and safety as well as and performance and stored
in different formats e.g. audio, video, text, animation and graphics. Records and documents project history, site visits, provide
digital pictures of material samples and specications.
Used for the optimization of information ow among projects participants, including consultants, contractors, fabricators,
manufacturers, and material suppliers via the Internet
Automated linkage between buyers and suppliers to transmit orders, receipts and payments electronically. Developed mainly for
direct materials purchasing in industrial sectors. EDI involves computer-to-computer exchange of business documents in standard, machine process able format between and among inter-organisational trading partners. Help in exchange of information
and data between contractors and material suppliers of manufacturers
Online market for suppliers and purchasers; e-catalogues play key role by providing information on products and services. Also
provides search engines; On-line inquiry forms for quotations; electronic order f placement and transaction; send purchase
orders; receive e-quotation; notication of the receipt of the purchase order;
Internet-based applications for capturing, communicating and transmitting data from project eld ofces to the internet. Help in
the logistic aspect of construction supply chain management in request for information, material management, jobsite record
keeping and quality control using voice, video and batched data formats.
No. of Technologies
Component technologies/tools
Data acquisition
technologies
Communication
technologies
Intelligent systems
Total
Number of
technologies
identied
8
10
36
17
It can be inferred from the data in Table 5 that in the past 60 years or
so, three phases in the evolution of digital technologies used in the execution of construction procurement activities can be identied. The rst
phase was the evolution of information capturing, storage, processing
and retrieval technologies such as computers and computer accessories,
photo printers and CAD used in converting paper-based les storage
system to digitized information system. The second phase was the
development of communication systems for information and data exchange such as EDI, network systems, e-mails, the internet for inter
and intra organisational connections and exchange of project information and data. The last phase was the evolution integration
technologies that bring together data capturing, processing, storage and
communication technologies. These phases can be related to the major
developments observed in the evolution of different categories of computers from mainframe computer; BIM technology from 2D-CAD systems; wireless from wired communication networks; mobile from xed
communication technologies and the evolution of internet-based transaction platforms from value added network (VAN)-supported EDI as well as
the development of web-enabled project management software
application packages as shown in Table 5. This evolutionary trend of
DTs shown in Table 5 can also be linked to the account by Froese [35] as
previously discussed.
7. Discussion
Arising from ndings of the survey are three key issues for discussion. These relate to the research questions. The rst deals with the
number of the exiting digital technologies and tools for each of the six
basic construction procurement activities. The second is related to
how the DTs published in the literature relate to the six basic procurement activities outlined in ISO 10845. The third issue is the evolution
of the DTs used to support the execution of construction procurement
activities. The discussion of these issues is linked with the broader issues
of interoperability among the digital technologies adopted in a
construction project; and the security problem while information is
exchanged among different systems.
First, the research reveals ten generic data storage and processing
technologies and tools as well as computer supported information and
communication technologies similar to those identied by Usman and
Said [48] and Onyegiri et al. [49] in their respective studies on information and communication technologies in construction design and production, and twenty-six other digital technologies available to support
the execution of the six basic construction procurement activities. In
all, the survey result shows that 36 DTs and tools are available to support the execution of the six basic construction procurement activities.
In relation to the above result, it was found out that a majority of the
DTs and tools published in the literature and identied in the survey are
web-based integrated technologies such as the intelligent systems and
communication technologies, while very few are stand-alone tools for
the performance of specic tasks (see [8,50,36]). Examples of webbased digital technologies identied include cloud computing technology, which provides an options for e-Tendering application known as
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) currently used in tender prequalication
and selection as described by Fathi et al. [51] and other related applications also used in the selection and appointment of consultants as described by Leipold et al. [52] in a study of the World Bank's online
platform for the selection of consultants. There is also BIM technology
for visualization, coordination, analysis and supply chain integration
and project management software application packages. In fact, web/
internet-based DTs and tools generally play important role in each of
the six procurement activities as they help to integrate work processes,
ensure effective exchange of information and forge collaboration among
project participants as explained by Campbell-Kelly and Garcia-Swartz
[53] in their paper on the history of internet. Specically, in e-Tendering,
web-based technologies and tools have been found to be very useful in
facilitating the exchange of project information and data between
18
Table 5
Evolution of digital technologies used in construction procurement.
19601970
19711980
19811990
19912000
Elements of
construction
procurement
Establishment of
what is to be
procured
Personal computers
3D-CAD; CATO, Word
processing machines;
lap-tops
e-mail; marketplaces;
Internet;
3D-CAD
Establishment of
procurement
strategy
Soliciting for tender
offers
Mainframe computers;
ERP
Desktop publishing
Internet, WWW
Tablet computers;
BIM;
BIM QT;
Web 2.0 tools;
smartphone
WPMSAPs;
broadband mobile network,
Online services
Evaluation of tenders
W PSAP
Computer-based fax
machines; digital cameras; scanners
Computer-based fax
machines; online shopping platforms
e-mail, Internet
WPMSAPs
Cloud Computing
Video Conferencing
Web.2.0 technology (e.g. social
media)
Award of contract
Administration of
contract to ensure
compliance with
requirements
client's team of professional consultants and bidders [54,13]. This nding indicates that there is yet no single system or application that can
be used in the execution of all the functions in the construction procurement lifecycle; and that the existing DTs tend to facilitate real-time
communication and collaboration across construction supply chains
rather than promote individual performance of construction procurement tasks.
In the use of DTs and tools to facilitate real-time communication, coordination, collaboration and exchange of project information and data
among the participants in construction procurement activities, several
studies, including [21,5558,13] report that procurers have expressed
concerns over the interoperability or incompatibility of the different
systems and software packages. Ibrahim [19] described this as a perennial challenge that has generated enormous debates and discussion in
the literature. From Table 4 it is evident that in the procurement of construction works, goods and services, a wide range of systems, software
packages and applications from different vendors are used. Sharing
data and information, real-time communication, coordination, cooperation and collaboration among project teams using these heterogeneous
systems and applications can be difcult due to the lack of interoperability of the systems as Shen et al. [59] explained.
Interoperability is a multi-dimensional concept which can be viewed
from four perspectives, i.e. technical (hardware/software components,
systems and applications), syntactic (data formats), semantic (denition
of content of data to be exchanged), and organisational (organisational
culture and human) aspects (see explained by Rezaei et al. [60] in a review on e-business interoperability frameworks). Grilo and JardimGoncalves [61] noted that technical interoperability is of great concern
in construction projects. According to Gu and London [57], this may be because the technical interoperability problem does not allow for effective
and successful exchange of project information and data among participants without compromising the integrity of such data. Rezaei et al. [60]
identied technical interoperability issues as relating to the incompatibility of hard/software components, systems, and platforms that enable
machine-to-machine communication as well as standards, communication protocols and the infrastructure required for the processing, exchange, storage, presentation and communication of data through
computers. Several studies, including [6265,61] have identied the lack
of common language and standards for the exchange of data and
BIM; LADAR WEPMAP; Internetbased GIS FRID, GPS; BT, EFT, credit
cards; MT; Wi-Fi; VC; broadband
mobile network
information among the different software packages and information systems as the major cause of technical interoperability challenge. Consequently, in a case study of interoperability in collaborative networks,
Chituc et al. [63] observed that solutions to interoperability problem
have been approached from two angles: application integration (e.g. the
technology solution: message, process, transport and interface); and information integration (e.g. the linguistic, social and philosophical solution,
comprising data, context, ontology and interpreter).
Specically in the context of this research, the issue of interoperability in the use of digital technologies in the procurement of construction
projects can be addressed in at least four different ways as identied in
the literature (see summary in Table 6).
Firstly, from Table 6 it seems evident that one of the ways in which
technical interoperability can be addressed in the use of DTs in construction procurement is the use of web services to integrate technologies, systems or applications. Web services provide a primary means for
system component interaction and application integration within the
enterprise and with external project partners and suppliers [34]. For example, on the Service Oriented Architecture for BIM (SOA4BIM) framework, communication technologies/networks have been integrated
with BIM, web-supported project management software applications
and construction e-marketplaces [61,64]. Notably, through this framework, project participants can exchange construction drawings; tender
information and documents. It has also facilitated the buying and selling
of construction materials and services over the internet. In a study on
tendering process implementation for business-to-business integration
in a web environment, NG et al. [70] explained that web-based services
provide viable solution to interoperability challenge because they use
standardized extensible markup languages (XML) that are not restricted to any particular operating system or programming language and
can easily integrate different environment. Chan et al. [62] also revealed
in a case study on e-Tendering with web services in Hong Kong that the
use of common languages such as XML provides standard method that
facilitates easier exchange of business messages, communication of
data and conducting of trading activities over the internet by organisations using different systems and applications. Similarly, in a study on
the use of integrated e-Bidding framework for construction by Michigan
Department of Transportation, USA, Lenin [64] identied two types of
construction specic XML. These are bcXML developed by the Europe
19
Table 6
Challenges associated with the use of digital technologies in construction procurement.
Challenges
References
Security and
condentiality of
project
information and data
[38,55,56,58,66,67]
Interoperability or
incompatibility
between software
packages and
systems
[19,38,5557,61,62,6466,68,69]
their activities [75] and also allow groups of users to perform coordinated processes that lead to the solution of problems or execution of
tasks [76]. Acar et al. [7] in their study in Turkey found that the use
of Groupware helped in managing and tracking various stages of
project lifecycle; and allowed project participants collaborating on
specic tasks in the exchange of ideas, data and synchronization of
their works. Despite the advances so far made in addressing the
issue of technical interoperability as discussed in this review
(see also [77]), Grilo and Jardim-Goncalves [61] observed that
technical interoperability issues have persisted across cloud and
e-market environments as there are little or no interactions between
AEC agents (e.g. architects, clients, contractors, builders, material
merchants) in different cloud and e-market platforms. This is
because presently, most cloud and e-marketplace vendors are not
allowing interoperability between AEC agents in disparate clouds
and e-marketplaces.
In addition to the issues of interoperability is the security and condentially of project information and data exchange among the different
systems. This concern may have been heightened by the ndings of
studies [13,56,78], indicating that people have fear in the exchange of
information and data via web-based applications or that systems are
not safe and may result to loss of condentiality of data and information.
However, evidence in research literature (see Table 6) suggests that the
development of different security systems and features such as digital
certicate, data and system encryption technologies, digital signature
and others may have put an end to the concern over data protection
and condentiality.
Secondly, as regards how the DTs and tools published in the literature relate to the six basic procurement activities outlined in ISO
10845, data in Table 3 reveals that of the six construction procurement
activities, administration of contract to ensure compliance with requirements of contracts has the highest number of DTs and tools available to
conduct the tasks and functions associated with this stage of construction procurement process. This is followed by soliciting tender offers,
and establishing what is to be procured. Mapping the number of
technologies and tools with the different tasks in each of these activities
identied in ISO 10845 [14], it is evident that the administration of
contract to ensure compliance with requirements of contracts, which
involves tasks and functions related to monitoring, enforcement, coordination, integration, purchase and handling of materials, equipment,
labour and several others has thirteen different DTs and tools to
support the execution of these activities. Similarly, tendering, which
also involves several other activities and functions is next to contract administration in terms of the number of DTs and tools required at this
stage of construction procurement process. Based on evidence from
this study, it can be inferred that there is a relationship between the
20
number of DTs and tools published in the literature and identied in the
survey and the diversity of tasks/functions in each of the six construction procurement activities.
Lastly, examination of the result on the evolution of DTs and tools
used in the procurement of construction projects in the past six decades
as presented in Table 5, shows that the existing technologies have
evolved from stand-alone creative tools such as CAD and computer supported communication technologies (e.g.-mail) to web-based integrated technologies and tools (e.g. cloud computing; project management
applications). This really shows a progression from technologies and
tools that enhance individual performance of construction procurement
tasks to those that facilitate real time communication, collaboration and
integration of construction procurement activities. On the one hand,
this can be seen as a response to digital revolution that has permeated
all aspect of human life. On the other hand, it can also be explained in
the context of lack of effective communication and collaboration; and
the need to forge closer integration of functions and activities among
the multi-disciplinary and geographically dispersed participants in
construction procurement.
8. Conclusion and recommendations
This paper examines and analyzes the different kinds of DTs and
tools available to support the execution of the six basic construction
procurement activities based on a survey of evidence-based literature.
Three main conclusions are presented in relation to the research
questions. Firstly, the result shows that a total of 36 different DTs and
tools were identied most of which are web-based applications that
procurers combine in the process of carrying out construction procurement activities; and that the interoperability of systems remains a challenge in using these technologies in the procurement of construction
projects. Based on this nding, it can be concluded that despite the
progress made in developing and using BIM technology in construction
procurement, there is yet no single system or application that can support the execution of all the functions in the construction procurement
lifecycle; and that the issue of interoperability of systems, particularly in
cloud environments and e-market platforms remains a challenge in the
use of DTs to execute construction procurement activities.
Secondly, the DTs and tools identied in the survey were mapped
with the six basic construction procurement activities identied in ISO
10845 [14] and the result shows that the highest number of technologies and tools are available to support the administration of contracts
to ensure that they comply with requirements, while the establishment
of procurement strategy has the least number of technologies.
Therefore, it can also be concluded that there is a relationship between
the number of technologies identied in the survey and the tasks or
functions in each of the six basic construction procurement activities.
Lastly, it was also found out that the existing DTs and tools evolved
from stand-alone tools and computer-supported communication
technologies to web-based integrative and collaborative technologies.
The conclusion that can be made from this is that the majority of
existing DTs used in the execution of construction procurement
activities tend to promote collaborative and integrative activities rather
than enabling individual performance of construction procurement
tasks.
Based on ndings of the survey, the following suggestions are made.
The rst is that the developers of digital technologies should give more
attention to new applications that have capabilities to support the execution of all the six basic construction procurement activities without
procurers having to combine several technologies and tools or switch
from one application to another. The second is that, much still need to
be done in dealing with the problems of interoperability of systems,
particularly between different cloud environments and construction emarket platforms. This relates to the development of platforms and
standards for the exchange of data or migration of applications from
one e-marketplace and cloud environment to another. Therefore, new
21
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