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Five Major Development Trends in the Informatization of the Construction Industry
2019-12-18
Construction industry informatization refers to the process of fully utilizing modern information technology and information resources throughout the entire process of construction enterprise planning, design, construction, and completion acceptance, gradually improving the intensive management level of the construction industry, and enabling information to make a high-level contribution to the construction industry.
Five Major Development Trends in Construction Industry Informatization
Construction industry informatization refers to the process of fully utilizing modern information technology and information resources throughout the entire process of construction enterprise planning, design, construction, and completion acceptance, gradually improving the intensive management level of the construction industry, and making information contribute significantly to the construction industry. Chinese construction enterprises began informatization efforts in the early 1980s. After nearly 30 years of development, there are successful experiences, lessons from failures, and huge potential for further development. So, what development trends will construction industry informatization have in the future?
Trend One:
Development towards an integrated enterprise information integration platform
Large construction enterprises in China vary in speed and degree of informatization, but building an "vertically connected and horizontally integrated" enterprise-level information integration platform to achieve smooth information flow and data sharing throughout the enterprise is a common development trend.
With the widespread use of the Internet, the depth and breadth of construction industry information management are continuously expanding. For example, in terms of breadth, it extends to modern enterprise resource management, including not only the management of the enterprise's own financial, equipment, and human resources but also customers, suppliers, subcontractors, partners, etc., forming the enterprise's supply chain or value chain system. This management concept is the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) management philosophy widely promoted and implemented by large enterprises domestically and internationally. Its information system is an integrated management system that fully shares internal and external enterprise information.
The integrated enterprise-level information integration platform in the construction industry essentially organically integrates information, business, personnel, and other global resources. Through integration, processes are streamlined, efficiency is improved, and internal management control procedures are truly implemented. The technical focus of management software systems is integration. Simple, single systems are easy to implement, while complex systems need to solve integration between internal systems and between internal and external systems. Depending on the application environment, integration between heterogeneous systems, distributed computing environments, and business logic integration at the business level need to be addressed.
Trend Two:
Comprehensive promotion and implementation of e-commerce
There are financial settlements and information exchanges, even material exchanges, between different enterprises in the construction industry. There is extensive information flow and capital flow between the headquarters and branches/subsidiaries within enterprises; similarly, frequent information and capital flows exist between construction enterprises and owners, design firms, suppliers, subcontractors, supervisors, and other units. Therefore, one development direction of construction enterprise informatization is to widely promote and implement e-commerce, achieving centralized use of internal funds, remote bookkeeping, remote account checking, and remote auditing. Between internal and external enterprises, online bidding, online evaluation, online payment, and online settlement will be realized. Enterprises will thoroughly reform traditional business activity models, replaced by new, networked e-commerce working models.
Trend Three:
Wide application of the latest information technologies
Construction industry information systems will widely apply the latest information technologies. First is the broad application of intelligent retrieval technology. Users can input any keyword to retrieve the corresponding subject terms or classification numbers without needing to know the exact subject term or classification number. For example, in the enterprise information system's comprehensive query system, if a user inputs the keyword "contract," all information related to contracts can be retrieved.
Secondly, intelligent agent technology will be widely applied. Intelligent agents are a new achievement in artificial intelligence research. They perform various complex tasks on behalf of users without explicit specific requirements, such as information querying, filtering, and management, and can infer user intentions, autonomously formulate, adjust, and execute work plans. Intelligent agents are intelligent software capable of advanced, complex automated processing. They have become a research hotspot in artificial intelligence and an important technology for developing intelligent, personalized information retrieval after being applied in information retrieval fields.
Thirdly, automatic reminder functions will be widely applied. One development trend of information systems is that their software interfaces are aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly, evolving towards multimedia user interfaces. At the same time, a large number of automatic reminder functions are provided so that operators do not worry about forgetting tasks. Through automatic reminders via mobile SMS, computer screens, etc., operators are assisted in knowing what to do next and how to do it. Automatic reminders can accurately and timely display preset reminder events, such as online document receipt reminders, online approval reminders, contract effectiveness reminders, contract expiration reminders, vehicle annual inspection reminders, insurance expiration reminders, and so on.
Trend Four:
Gradual realization of informatization and networking management
Construction enterprise management is gradually achieving informatization and networking management, mainly reflected in: First, gradually realizing paperless office. Data storage is entirely computer-based, data transmission uses computer networks, office management uses collaborative office platforms, and computers become indispensable basic tools in management. Second, leadership approval for financial payments, contract reviews, and other tasks evolves from traditional paper-based office approval to online approval. Using 3G network mobile phones or laptops, leaders can work online almost anywhere, such as during business trips or in hotels, greatly improving work efficiency. Third, organizational structures will gradually shift from "pyramid" to "flat," reducing management levels. Whether senior leaders or ordinary employees, all work based on Internet/Intranet. Gradually realizing networked management between different enterprises and departments, breaking information barriers, and establishing full information sharing mechanisms. Fourth, one characteristic of the information age is "speed." Enterprise management reflects "speed" mainly by changing from functional management to process or real-time management to accelerate market response and improve competitiveness. Fifth, enterprise informatization essentially becomes a "five modernization" development process: modernization of management concepts, automation of system applications, networking of development platforms, standardization of business processes, and integration of application systems.
Trend Five:
Gradual development from information management to knowledge management
Understanding the development process of enterprise informatization—from data management to information management, and then from information management to knowledge management—is a process lasting more than half a century and still ongoing. Enterprise informatization has both continuity and stages; it evolves step by step from low to high stages. Regarding the relationship among data management, information management, and knowledge management, it is not a simple process where later stages replace earlier ones sequentially but a gradual cumulative development. That is, the later stage develops based on the previous stage; the later stage includes all or part of the previous stage's content; various stages can coexist simultaneously, but their relative importance is gradually transferred to the later stage.
-- Excerpted from "Construction Times" (April 18, 2011, Page 7)
