Mobile phone technology applications in the construction project management sector in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Managing resources effectively in all fields including Construction and Project management industry is essential for the development of the country. Many countries have tended to adopt modern technologies such as mobile phone technology to succeed in their projects. Various mobile phone apps designed for the Construction and Project management sectors are freely available. It was observed that many foreign researchers have broadened their study area into applications of mobile phone technology in the construction and project management sector while local researchers are lagging. Therefore, this study attempted to review the awareness and usage of mobile phone applications designed for the construction and project management sector and to identify the pros and cons of using mobile phone apps. Both primary and secondary data were collected. A comprehensive literature review was carried out to identify the research gap as well as to select an appropriate methodology. The primary survey consisted of a questionnaire survey and structured interviews. The targeted group for the study was professionals involved in the Construction and Project management sector. Out of the responses received 100 fully answered survey data was converted into a coded format for analysis. The data analysis was performed using data analysis tools available in excel. According to the data analysis, it was found that respondents are not much aware of apps related to Construction Project Management but they use those apps unknowingly. Also, it was observed that respondents are not aware of the usefulness of those apps for their profession. Documenting apps were observed as the most popular app category among respondents. The second and third popular types of apps were drawing apps and Estimation apps. Usage of other types of apps was very low. However, it was found that few respondents are using different types of apps at the same time. It was justified that, mobile phone apps help to make work more effective, time-saving, user- friendly. Also, the mobile phone is convenient to use from any location, convenient to connect to the internet, and memory capacity is satisfactory. This study attempted to expand the study on beneficial ways of using mobile phones in the Construction Project Management sector. The findings of this study can be used as a baseline study for further studies relevant to this research area.