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The purpose of this paper is to develop a model for the use of mobile computing in the management of on‐site construction information and communication.

The research strategy contains three steps: a pilot study for the first stage, a survey that investigated the information needs of particular users and the nature of on‐site information, and finally the development of a model and the validation and evaluation by operational scenarios.

The developed model explores how mobile computing can be used on construction sites to manage on‐site information. This model, firstly, identifies the key factors of mobile computer, wireless network, mobile application, construction personnel, construction information, and construction site; secondly it describes the relationships and interactions among these factors. Based on the model, the selection process for mobile computing strategy includes the clarification of information management process, the creations of overview for mobile computing solution, the identification of mobile computing strategy, and the selection of appropriate mobile computing technology.

The developed model explores the general concepts and the internal relationships at the two areas of mobile computing and construction site information management. The application of the model can help users to select mobile computing strategies for managing on‐site construction information based on the characteristics of their projects.

Low productivity in construction is typically blamed on the seemingly complex and chaotic nature of construction, which emerges as the stakeholders do not have an adequate picture of the evolving situation. The ever-increasing volume of situation data owing to the recent advances in IoT devices and reality capture platforms provide a unique opportunity to capture the actual situation data of construction projects accurately at a fraction of the cost compared to manual status tracking and reporting. This paper aims to investigate the concept of a situation picture, challenges in collecting situation data and its benefits.

Empirical data is collected through interviews in California and Finland, and by organizing workshops.

We contribute to literature on managing operational information by defining the concept of a situation picture in the context of construction, specifically from the blue-collar’s perspective during on-site activities. We present the key components of a conceptual information model that represents a situation picture in construction.

The applicability of conceptual information model of situation picture is not tested in practice, but the model will provide a starting point for research to comprehensively integrate social and digital information exchange for improving workflow.

The paper claims that designing and building comprehensive information management infrastructure would contribute to solving the problems of low productivity, quality and safety in construction projects.

Research on situation picture and situation awareness is scarce in the context of construction. The study links various information management technologies and practices to actual construction productivity.

A quality management system based‐ISO 9001 focuses on confirming process conformance from the initial development of a product through production, test, installation and servicing. Information management has been a key factor affecting the effective implementation of the standard. The aim of this study is to explore management of information flows in quality assurance in project management. It is hoped to that it will be helpful in pursuing continuous quality improvement in the construction industry.

Based on the characteristics of the construction industry, this study designed an organizational structure with three levels, including firm, sub‐firms and project departments. The paper examined the difficulties for the multi‐level organizational structure in information transferring and feedback.

It is found that there are information asymmetries in quality management from internal and external organizations. Internally, information asymmetry exists between contractor, subcontractors and suppliers; and externally, there is no information sharing mechanism between project departments. Information feedback is more difficult than information transferring in a construction firm.

The construction industry has always been bedeviled with great difficulties in sharing information among its participants. Although many construction firms have claimed to be ISO 9000‐certified, there is still missing an effective channel of information flow for quality management.

The paper proposes reengineering current management strategy for establishing an information network for quality management. This study could help construction firms to effectively manage information flow to achieve continuous quality improvement.

The research project called “Designing a building material relational database management system for Turkish construction sector”, aims to join “supply side” and “demand side” in the same environment that works on the subject of building material information in the Turkish construction sector. The paper aims to discuss the project findings.

Data were gathered from the information supplied and demanded from the points of sources, levels and frequency of updating by the help of the questionnaires conducted. The data gathered were integrated into the pre‐construction stage and used in the analysis of the process as to how this information was used by the “demand side” for building material information. IDEF‐0, a structured methodology for functional process analysis, is used to figure out building material evaluation and selection processes in the pre‐construction stage.

Material evaluation and selection process for the pre‐construction stage is figured out. Behaviors and requirements of demand‐side and supply‐side in building material information is studied. Difficulties in supplying and presenting building material information in Turkey are evaluated.

Although the subject of the paper is well‐known, Turkish practices and problems are evaluated, and an alternative model is suggested for the Turkish construction sector.

Building information modelling (BIM) provides a robust platform for information management in built environment facilities. However, one of the consequences of the limited application of BIM in facilities information management (FIM) is that the potential value gain through the integration of as-built information during the operations management process has had limited exploration in current practice. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential impact of BIM to enhance the value of FIM.

A detailed literature review was undertaken to identify BIM application in a construction context, and to develop a framework to investigate the value of information. An interpretative approach was adopted for data collection and analysis. A total of 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted with construction industry professionals to identify how value of FIM can be enhanced through BIM integration. The interview data were analysed using open and selective coding.

The findings confirm that information exchange between the construction and facilities management (FM) phases of a project are important in terms of efficient and effective maintenance of a facility as well as optimising the design task. With these promising benefits, BIM is an efficient mechanism to facilitate construction information exchange. However, there is an uncertainty over the optimum level of information that ought to be on a BIM model for FM purposes. The relationship between different aspects of value is a starting point to filter the required information for each individual project. In contrast, limited awareness of value of information exchange and the potential of BIM enabled FIM during construction is noted.

The information exchange considered within this investigation was limited to two key phases of the facility life cycle, namely, construction and FM (in-use).

The findings bring insight into an unseen aspect of FM information needs that should be given priority in upcoming BIM developments. Also, it draws attention to how value is concerned in a daily basis beyond monetary terms.

The investigation of value enhancement through BIM integration in particular to FIM and ongoing research with new value dimensions.

Building information modeling (BIM) is mostly limited to the design phase where two parallel processes exist, i.e. creating 2D-drawings and BIM. Towards the end of the design process, BIM becomes obsolete as focus shifts to producing static 2D-drawings, which leads to a lack of trust in BIM. In Scandinavia, a concept known as Total BIM has emerged, which is a novel “all-in” approach where BIM is the single source of information throughout the project. This paper's purpose is to investigate the overall concept and holistic approach of a Total BIM project to support implementation and strategy work connected to BIM.

Qualitative data were collected through eight semi-structured interviews with digitalization leaders from the case study project. Findings were analyzed using a holistic framework to BIM implementation.

The Total BIM concept was contingent on the strong interdependences between commonly found isolated BIM uses. Four main success factors were identified, production-oriented BIM as the main contractual and legally binding construction document, cloud-based model management, user-friendly on-site mobile BIM software and strong leadership.

A unique case is studied where BIM is used throughout all project phases as a single source of information and communication platform. No 2D paper drawings were used on-site and the Total BIM case study highlights the importance of a new digitalized construction process.

A model of the information and material activities that comprise the overall construction process is presented, using the structured analysis and design technique (SADT) activity modelling methodology. The basic model is refined into a number of generic information handling activities such as the creation of new information, information search and retrieval, information distribution and person‐to‐person communication. The viewpoint could be described as that of information logistics. The model is then combined with a more traditional building process model, consisting of key phases such as design and construction. The resulting two‐dimensional matrix can be used for positioning different types of generic IT‐tools or construction‐specific applications. The model can thus provide a starting point for a discussion of the application of information and communication technology in construction and for measuring its impact on the overall process and its related cost.

This paper investigates the causative relation between information complexity and construction quality. The objectives are to identify the challenges faced in the communication of information and data on construction projects and determine how these barriers influence quality performance of a project.

Limitations in the literature on information seeking, coupled with the utilization of Theory of Motivated Information Management as a response led to the development of research problem statement. Through comprehensive review of literature published between the years 2005–2019, the paper first identified barriers of information communication in the industry and key performance indicators of construction quality, followed by content analyses to rank and screen out the least important variables. This paved the way for quantitative and qualitative analyses through 180 structured questionnaires and 11 expert opinion sessions that respectively led to the use of systems thinking approach to establish causality.

The study finds ineffective communication, unclear details, changes in contract, information delays, unpleasant relationships between stakeholders and project complexity as the most critical factors causing information complexity in a construction project. These factors cause a reduction in quality performance of a project through increased rework and decreased implementation of total quality management.

The study will assist project managers to diagnose quality-related issues in their projects, trace them back to the challenges and barriers of information communication and then make policy/strategic interventions to reduce such issues through improved information flow.

Majority of the studies in this field of work have identified the effects of ineffective information flow on overall project performance, but very few have focused specifically on the quality of construction projects.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of construction procurement within the supply chain management framework and develop a model for information flow. This paper adheres to the supply chain perspective and integration as theoretical point of departure, typically the role that information plays in a complex network such as construction procurement. The co‐ordination within partners and the integration across partners are critical in effective project management. Sharing information is a key component for tight integration to optimize the chain‐wide performance. It helps produce highest quality, low cost and minimum time to service. The tender offer from the procurer or invitation from a supplier triggers the requirement process. In response to the requirements there has to be an opposite flow of information, termed the fulfilment flow in the model described. The requirement information from a procurer is broken down to the project requirements for various partners in the project. Once the supply chain is identified in the postcontracting phase, information regarding specific tasks, materials, and so on, are communicated to the project partners. Information must be managed to bring in value. The quality of information received, the timeliness of the manner it is received and the costeffectiveness in obtaining the information determine the efficiency of a project partner. Another classification considered is that of the changing role of the partner with regard to information handling, i.e., the project partner as a recipient, decision‐maker and communicator of information. All these factors jointly contribute to increasing efficiency in construction procurement. This framework needs to be explored in future research to define subsequent steps in construction supply chain management, as the challenge is to adapt a totally integrated supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate in-depth the current approach of managing client requirements in construction and to highlight the significant factors, which contribute to the complexity of managing the requirements in order to define a better approach.

A case study of a leading international global built asset and engineering consultancy organization was conducted over two years. The case study was conducted principally using semi-participant observations supplemented with other qualitative data collection methods (i.e. interviews, questionnaires and document analysis). Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

The results highlight major factors associated with the complexity of managing client requirements information, which include: mechanisms for documentation, storage and access, distribution of requirements information between stakeholders and across lifecycle phases of a project, traceability management and the provision of effective change management incorporating dependency checking and impact analysis.

The main limitation of the research is the use of an in-depth study of a single organization, which applied the same project management method across all the projects they managed. Further work is planned to develop the proposed framework fully, and develop a software platform to operationalize and evaluate its industrial applicability with construction projects.

The implications of this research is that a better approach to managing requirements information is needed, which will facilitate the design, construction and operations of buildings within budget and time. An integrated framework and an associated tool are suggested to implement the approach.

This study identifies major research gaps and problems in the architecture, engineering, construction and facilities management industry; proposes and presents Electronic Requirements Information Management framework to facilitate lifecycle management of the requirements.