Study of factors affecting ICT adoption in Singapore contractor firms

• Main Author: Loo, Kah Jun
• Other Authors: Tiong Lee Kong, Robert
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering::Construction technology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149755
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The construction industry contributes a significant portion to Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross Capital Formation (GFCF). However, it is also known that the construction industry tends to underperform in terms of productivity, due to various reasons. A survey done by the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (SCAL) in December 2016 understand the factors causing low productivity found one of the factors was delays in information given to contractors. One of the current solutions is Information Communication Technology (ICT), where it provides a platform for information to be shared and received by different stakeholders in a clear and updated manner to improve communication and information flow. In recent years, more intuitive and upgraded ICT software had been developed for the construction industry. However, according to the same survey done by the SCAL, many firms have not adopted ICT in their projects. However, it is unclear as to the reasons for the hesitation and lack of adoption of ICT, even as it has shown clear benefits of improving productivity for the construction industry. Past research on the adoption of ICT had been done in India and Australia. However, little research had been done in Singapore, where it presents a unique challenge due to its dependence on foreign labour that creates a language issue between people of different nationalities. Thus, this research aims to find out the factors influencing ICT adoption by Singapore Contractors, and then recommended best practices for adoption. The results of the study showed that although there is an understanding among all the interviewees regarding the benefits that ICT can bring to their projects, especially in improving information flow and productivity, only 1 in 4 projects adopted them. Those who did not use ICT relied on email, paper-based documents, calls, WhatsApp and a common cloud to communicate and transfer information and plans. These are influenced by the heavy reliance on traditional paper documents, reluctance of stakeholders to adopt ICT, budget issues, being unaware of the cost-benefits of ICT, and little to no opportunity to learn and be trained in the ICT software. The survey showed that they were receptive to ICT aiding their projects in terms of improving communication and information flow between members of the project, setting up a new and dependable information system within the company, and improving records and information storage of project. Recommendations were given to push for adoption of ICT software in small-scale projects of bigger main contractors who have the budget to test this software, through holding education and sharing sessions with the IT management and the Project Directors of the main contractors, and the clients too, while also focusing on the cost-benefit analysis of the software to the projects. ICT is also recommended to be adopted by all stakeholders of the project, other than the workers, and limited editing permission to the stakeholders.