Abstract
The construction industry accounts for 9% of global GDP. Efforts at addressing construction’s inherent inefficiencies have over the last decade increasingly involved the deployment of web-based collaborative tools. Consequently, much research has been devoted to assessing these platforms; including interoperability, workflow management and technological limits. What has not been considered to date are the views of web-based tool users themselves as to the functionality, potency and usability of the various platforms available on the market. Currently, there are 5,300,000 documented users of web-based collaborative tools. If web-based collaboration is to be further enhanced, the views of users must be known. This study explores this dimension. Financeonline’s top six tools were considered: CoCostruct, PlanGrid, Autodesk BIM 360, Procore, e-builder and Aconex. Around 200 reviews for each tool were collected from ‘Business Software Reviews from Software Advice,’ resulting in a total dataset of 1,152 complete reviews. Text-mining analysis was applied to this dataset, using RapidMiner Studio 7.5. Thirty key terms with a frequency of over 100 occurrences were retrieved; terms such as software, manage, inform, support, easy use, function, track and friendly. These constitute the subject of the reviews. These terms were then analyzed for sentiment qualifiers; either positive or negative. A total of 804 sentiments were positive, 322 negative and 26 neutral. This study thus highlights that while 70% of user reviews of web-based collaborative tools are positive, there remains much room for improvement. Areas for improvement are also indicated by this study.
Highlights
The construction industry accounts for 9% of Global GDP (McKinsey & Company, 2017), having an added value of $3.6 trillion (US dollars) and annual revenue of almost $10 trillion, which is estimated to generate revenue up to $15 trillion by 2025 (Forum, 2016; McKinsey & Company, 2017; StartupAUS, 2017)
Building Information Modeling (BIM)-enabled projects are heavily reliant upon collaboration tools, as knowledge management or digital support technologies for workflow management and data exchange
According to Wood and Gray (1991, p. 146): “Collaboration occurs when a group of autonomous stakeholders of a problem domain engage in an interactive process, using shared rules, norms and structures, to act or decide on issues related to that domain.’’ To fulfill common objectives, collaboration occurs within an atmosphere of trust, openness and honesty by several individuals who undertake a process of sharing collective knowledge, expertise and skills (Mignone et al, 2016)
Summary
The construction industry accounts for 9% of Global GDP (McKinsey & Company, 2017), having an added value of $3.6 trillion (US dollars) and annual revenue of almost $10 trillion, which is estimated to generate revenue up to $15 trillion by 2025 (Forum, 2016; McKinsey & Company, 2017; StartupAUS, 2017). The construction industry is affected by poor design information coordination and inefficient communication that give rise to project delays, change orders and conflicts (Bouchlaghem, 2012). These problems are further exacerbated by the sector’s highly fragmented nature (Boton & Forgues, 2017), uniqueness of each project and unstructured working conditions. A BIM presenting model server is likely to simplify the exchange of data in a multi-model situation This is achieved by supporting the numerous applications involved in a building project’s life-cycle plus design tools, analysis tools, facility management tools, electronic document management systems (EDMS) etc. Collaboration is quintessentially important in ensuring efficient and effective construction procedures (Costa & Tavares, 2012) and it is indispensable to the success of construction projects (East et al, 2008; Mignone et al, 2016)
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