Assessment of electronic document and communication management systems in construction projects

Abstract

Effective communication plays a major role in a project towards its success. Today, most of the construction projects deal with stakeholders around the world. Therefore, it is essential to have a proper communication channel for the smooth flow of the project execution. Traditional paper-based communication seems to be not practical in this context and the requirement of an alternative method is essential. In this regard web-based electronic document and communication management system can be proposed as a solution. In the construction industry, documents and drawings related to various disciplines such as engineering, architectural, planning, financial etc. are widely used. Electronic document and communication management systems can handle both incoming and outgoing correspondence related to a project in one place with a defined access. Nowadays, internet and other communication means are booming up and construction industry too has a tendency of moving to the electronic documentation and communication management systems. Since, it is a new transformation in the construction industry, most of the stakeholders are still in a dilemma on upgrading their existing systems. This research assesses the potential reasons, whether to adopt or avoid the electronic document and communication management systems for construction projects and further the benefits and challenges of implementation of such systems in a project by conducting the industry survey and the case study.