Synopses & Reviews
"This book is essential reading for all those who want to remain competitive . those who read [it] will find it not only a mine of useful information, but also a stimulus to change." From the Foreword, by Professor Peter Brandon, University of Salford.
After years of being slow to change, the construction industry has finally started to appreciate the importance of information technology as a tool in construction process re-engineering.
This book brings together leading academics, construction management practitioners and experts from ITcompanies to show why the new IT technologies and communications are of such importance to the modern construction business. It introduces the concept of strategic management and the importance of IT as an enabler of new developments. It describes current practices for using IT for construction, with major case studies of IT management from the UK and elsewhere worldwide, and additionally considers best-practice benchmarks. Finally, it shows how these concepts, techniques and practical ideas can be applied to move current practice forward.
The book is required reading for all construction businesses as they seek to deal with the more competitive environment in which they work.
Review
‘The book is essential reading for all those who want to remain competitive… those who read [it] will find it not only a mine of useful information, but also a stimulus to change.’
Professor Peter Brandon
Synopsis
After years of being slow to change, the construction industry has finally started to appreciate the importance of information technology as a tool in construction process re-engineering.
This book brings together leading academics, construction management practitioners and experts from IT companies to show why the new technologies of IT and communications are of such importance to the modern construction business.
It introduces the concept of strategies management and the importance of IT as an enabler for new developments. It describes current practice in using IT for construction, with major case studies of IT management from the UK and elsewhere in the world, and it considers best practice benchmarks. Finally, it shows how these concepts, techniques and practical ideas can be applied to move current practice forward.
The book is required reading for all construction businesses as they seek to deal with the more competitive environment in which they work.
About the Author
Martin Betts is Professor of Construction IT and Head of the five-star rated School of Construction and Property Management at the University of Salford. He was, until recently, Director of the Construct IT Centre of Excellence. Profesoor Betts has extensive international experience and has worked for five years in South East Asia. He is co-ordinator of CIB's Working Commission 78 concerned with IT and construction.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Professor Peter Brandon.
Preface.
Acknowledgements.
Contributors.
Part A Strategic Management and Business Process Analysis. .
1. The importance of new approaches to management; 2 Strategic management - definitions and techniques; 3 Strategic management in construction; 4 The significance of IT; 5 The scope for IT in construction; 6 Strategic information systems planning techniques; 7 Implementing an IT strategy in practice; 8 The way forward.
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Part B Current It Practice in Construction Businesses. .
9 Current strategic practice; 10 Benchmarking as a methodology; 11 Benchmarking IT use in construction; 12 Benchmarking project information integration.
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Part C Improving the Strategic Use of IT in Construction. .
13 A strategic health check; 14 Measuring the benefits of IT innovation; 15 Priorities for IT innovation; 16 Long-term IT research priorities; 17 an IT-supported new process; 18 Capability and maturity in process management; References and Bibliography; Index.