An empirical study on challenges to the adoption of the Internet of Things in the Nigerian construction industry

Abstract

Internet of Things is a model in which computing and networking abilities are inserted into any sort of possible object. These abilities are utilized to inquire about the condition of the object and to change its state if feasible. This study assessed the challenges faced in the adoption of the Internet of Things in the construction industry in Nigeria, with the view of increasing the awareness and usage level for the benefits of stakeholders in the industry. The quantitative research method was adopted for this study and the adopted questionnaire was structured on a five-point Likert scale to elicit the opinion of respondents on the challenges of the application of the Internet of Things in the Nigerian construction industry. The respondents included builders, quantity surveyors, land surveyors, architects and engineers in the study area. Mean item score, pie chart, bar chart, percentiles, ANOVA and post-hoc test were used in analyzing the retrieved data. The results show that power supply, cost, limited consumer demand, and challenges in online security and data volume are the major challenges that are faced by construction stakeholders in the adoption of the Internet of Things in the industry. The study concludes that most professionals are aware of and have knowledge of the Internet of Things but the principles are not effectively utilized because of the constraints listed above; in addition, some organizations think the Internet of Things is not necessary. It is therefore recommended that the government should help in promoting and motivating the construction industry by regulating and subsidizing the cost of supply of IoT materials. This will improve the standard of living of people and thereby increase the country’s economy through enhanced productivity and performance in the construction industry.