Alignment between ICT and communication in construction projects

Abstract

Through rapid advancements in ICT, opportunities arise in enhancing communication between participants of different organisations in construction projects. The use of ICT in construction is, however, relatively limited and ineffective compared to other sectors such as the automotive or the aerospace industry. An understanding of the project context and the nature of communication between organisations is an essential prerequisite in analysing and designing ICT in an effective way. The objective of this paper is to analyse the alignment between ICT and the actual communication processes in construction projects. The major question is what types of action need to be supported by ICT, and those that can be supported by the available ICT applications in construction projects. The critical social theory of Habermas (1984, 1987) is used as a classification scheme for analysing the alignment of communication and ICT applications in construction projects.