Abstract
The paper examines how Quantity Surveying practices can improve their business performance, market share and profit levels by embracing and evolving with the latest technological developments in electronic business practices and data/information analysis and exchange in the construction industry. Firms in the new millenium will need towork smarterto gain competitive advantage and electronic commerce provides probably the greatest scope for this to be achieved. More importantly, current project procurement trends strongly indicate that firms not able to communicating electronically at all levels with project participants will find it increasingly difficult to secure work. The results of three nationwide surveys of the Australian Quantity Surveying profession spanning from 1995 to 1999 are used to identify current business practices and technology utilisation by Quantity Surveying firms and to analyse whether firms are positioning themselves to meet future industryrequirements. The paper concludes with a range of Information Technology strategies aimed at improving business opportunities and performance for Quantity Surveying firms.
Highlights
Professional expertise in project financial management is the fundamental basis for success for a Quantity Surveying firm
This following section examines in detail the general practices of Australian Quantity Surveying firms over the past 5 years with a focus on the attitudes towards and utilisation of Information Technology
It is based on nationwide surveys of the Australian QS profession carried out from 1995 to 1999 by the Construction Economics Research Unit from the University of Technology Sydney in collaboration with the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) and the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS)
Summary
Professional expertise in project financial management is the fundamental basis for success for a Quantity Surveying firm. This can only be achieved through proper education, "on-the-job" training and experience over a wide range of projects. This paper examines how the Australian Quantity Surveying profession can combine these two ingredients to gain competitive advantage and create increased business opportunities both in the short term and the long term and within and outside the construction industry. The paper commences with an analysis of the general rate of IT adoption in the industry, explores future industry directions using the NSW Department of Public Works and Services (the largest client in Australia) as a case example, presents and analyses the key findings of the research studies outlined above and concludes with a series of IT-related strategies for Quantity Surveying firms to consider adopting to improve their business performance
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