Abstract
Materials tracking for materials management play a vital role and contributed a major portion of the total cost in a construction project. In addition, the improper handling and storage of materials at the construction site has made it difficult to track and locate at the time are needed to carry out construction works. These problems subsequently contribute to the project delays and increase in the total project costs. Thus, this paper seeks to identify problems regarding current material tracking practices in materials management processes. In this paper, ICT and potential implementation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for automatic materials tracking is also scrutinised. Data for this paper was obtained from the literature review and the case studies conducted in several construction projects. Semi-structured interviews with construction practitioners were carried out in order to gain insights into current problems, information and communication technologies (ICT) implementation, and RFID capability in assisting materials tracking practices. This paper reveals that construction projects in Malaysia are still using manual materials tracking practices, basic ICT implementation, and totally none RFID existence. Thus, there is a need for the application of RFID in order to facilitate materials tracking automatically for enhancing construction industry processes through IR 4.0.
Highlights
In construction projects, the cost of materials is a major contribution to the overall cost of the project
It is almost impossible to get the latest information regarding the status of materials as materials tracking was done manually and this is contributed by the fact that there are absentees of technology to assist in materials tracking
This paper provides a review of information and communication technologies (ICT) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) implementation in material tracking practices in construction projects
Summary
The cost of materials is a major contribution to the overall cost of the project. According to [1, 2], the overall cost of materials is 50-60% of the total cost of the construction project. This indicates that construction materials are required further intention due to the huge amount needed for construction projects. Materials management requires vigilant planning and control so that the building materials can be used effectively. Effective material tracking is essential in the management of materials. Material tracking activities are important especially when delivering materials to the construction site and storage areas
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