Digital transformation in large-scale construction: a real-world implementation

Abstract

Large-scale construction projects in developing economies are constrained by traditional manual site management practices and fragmented technological deployments that are structurally inadequate for the governance and productivity demands of high-density, multi-floor construction environments. While individual technologies demonstrated domain-specific benefits, their isolated deployment leaves the systemic interdependencies between workforce management, cost control and resource utilisation unresolved. This study addresses that gap through an evaluative single case study of a large-scale construction project in Sri Lanka exceeding 83,500m² with a workforce exceeding 1,000 personnel, in which a fully integrated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based digital site management ecosystem was designed and implemented over a ten-month period. The observations were made based on direct observation, system-generated reports and analytics obtained from project management dashboard. The findings demonstrate that the integrated ecosystem comprehensively reduced proxy attendance, payroll manipulation and resource misallocation while strengthening financial transparency, workforce accountability and operational governance. The direct linkage of labour deployment to cost codes, material withdrawals to specific work zones and machinery utilisation to verified task completion created end-to-end operational visibility. Workforce resistance was successfully resolved through phased implementation and structured change management, while the system's uninterrupted performance during the COVID-19 pandemic validated its value as a continuity infrastructure. The study provides practitioners with a replicable operational blueprint for construction digitalisation, and the implemented system validates and advances the theoretical foundation for integrated digital ecosystem research. Further research should identify multi-site cross-country replication as a critical direction for future research across developing economies.