ICT VISION FOR MALAYSIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Prologue in trying to address the numerous weaknesses in the construction industry delivery system which often result in excessive cost overrun and quality deficiency in the final output, the construction industry stakeholders have agreed that a long-term construction industry development plan is needed. Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), in conjunction with the Works Ministry, the relevant government departments and agencies, industry-players and organisations representing industry stakeholders, have sat together and collectively addressed the issues and successfully developed the first Construction Industry Master Plan (CIMP). To keep the public informed of CIMP which will be launched on 2006, CIDB will publish articles regularly outlining and explaining the rationale of the seven Strategic Thrusts of the CIMP and the Enabling Recommendations. It is hoped that through this exercise we shall together be able to mould our construction industry into a world-class, innovative and knowledgeable solution provider.

 

Unlike the financial, entertainment, tourism and retail industries, the construction industry does not have a systematic method for collecting and disseminating information among its industry stakeholders. It needs a mechanism that promotes knowledge sharing among its diverse industry players. To set up a knowledge database for the construction industry would require a huge amount of resources especially in the application of information and communication technology or ICT. This setback is not only peculiar to Malaysia, as it applies to the construction sector in other parts of the world, including developed countries.

 

A 2005 study by the e-Business W@tch for the European Community confirmed the low ICT uptake as well as the untapped potential for ICT-based developments in the construction sector. The study said while basic Internet access has been established in the construction sector, the basic ICT infrastructure in general is poorly developed. The numerous SMEs in the construction sector do not focus on ICT skills development and/or employing ICT experts. Despite the potential of Enterprise Resource Planning systems to increase productivity and internal ICT efficiency, construction companies hesitate to adopt these ICT solutions, it added. The construction sector is also not making full use of the potential of collaborative systems for information sharing and coordination with external partners while construction companies do not take advantage of ICT solutions for digital information exchange and sharing documents on-line.

 

E-Procurement has also not matured in the construction sector at this point and will take longer do be developed than originally anticipated. The same also applies to the area of materials procurement. The Customer Relationship Management is not supported to any considerable extent by ICT systems. Online sales and marketing activities are not widespread and surprisingly few construction companies have a website. Because of the characteristics of construction services, ecommerce might be of limited relevance to many construction enterprises.

 

The described scenario is inherent in the Malaysian construction industry at the present time, to a lesser extent. Earlier this year, Economic Planning Unit published a two-year research effort on "IT Strategy Plan for the Construction Sector". The study led by SIRIM, formulated a strategic plan for the holistic adoption of ICT to enhance productivity and competitiveness of the sector. The study encompasses the sector's supply chain partners and current IT usage in the sector, the landscape of which is similar to the state of affairs described earlier.

 

The Construction Industry Master Plan, which is heavily promoting the standardisation and integration of administrative practices and procedures in the local authorities had relied almost entirely on intelligent application of ICT to achieve its objectives. The digitalisation of planning submission and building plan approval process, the online submission by consultants and provision of common digital links between the local authorities and the respective technical agencies all require substantial investment and careful planning on usage of ICT. The National E-tendering Initiatives (NeTI) which allow all works tenders to be advertised, submitted, evaluated and subsequently awarded through online processes will require minimal human intervention in the major parts of government project procurement procedure. The construction industry portal, the specification of which is being drafted by CIDB will provide one-stop centre for intelligent information gathering and dissemination. Construction players along the supply chain will benefit from its endless repository of information, including best practices in construction from all over the world. The portal, which also serves as an online education tool is primarily aimed at educating the end users and consumers and empowering them to benefit from their construction investment. The Construction Industry portal is expected to be operational from this year.

 

So what else ICT can do to enhance productivity and efficiency of the construction industry players? Use of 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) during design and the use of the Internet to improve team productivity is a clear area for improvement. It is now possible to link everyone involved in a project, the owner, contractor, consultant and even material supplier to all of the information required for a project. The architects, for instance, can start by creating an intelligent 3D CAD models that can be viewed and shared with the rest of the design team members. Working from the same base model, the engineers can rapidly develop their respective engineering and detail designs allowing the quantity surveyors to quickly quantify preliminary cost estimates of the project. When these CAD capabilities are well exploited, owners will find that very significant savings in costs and time can be achieved. And best of all, whatever designs, drawings and other documents created during project design stage will more accurately reflect "as-built" conditions so that they can be used for facility management functions after the project is completed. This year's winner of the Award for the Most Effective Use of IT in UK Construction was for construction company Edmond Nuttall. Nuttall's E-Pen and Paper project won the award for its use of technology in transforming the administration of their Cheshire Highways term maintenance contract.

 

As part of its contribution to the industry, CIDB is assessing the feasibility of developing a generic contract management system which would allow seamless management of contracts based on the JKR 203 Standard Condition of Contracts, CIDB 2000 Standard Form of Building Contract or other prevailing contract conditions by the contractors. When fully implemented, the system would also allow exchange of best practices in contract management. So, if ICT is proven to be effective why then there is still limited adoption. Could it be that the unique structural nature of the industry , majority being SMEs and the multi-layered contracting and its and limited resources pose barriers to pursuing innovation adoption. The delay in uptake can only limit advances in construction.

By: Amirulhusni bin Sahar

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