Informatization Index for the Construction Industry

It is normally recognized that information systems (IS) in the construction industry have not been sufficiently used in the era of information. However, so far no serious comprehensive effort has been made to measure the degree of informatization at the industry level. In order to address this problem, in this paper we propose an informatization assessment methodology for the construction industry. An informatization index for the construction industry (IICI) is developed based on specifics of the construction industry. A survey using IICI was conducted among general contractors in Korea, and the results are analyzed in terms of the measure of assessment, IS phases, construction business functions, and size of the firm. It is found that the proposed methodology can provide meaningful indicators that can be used in quantitative comparative assessment from many different perspectives. Details and implications of the case study are briefly presented.