Challenges and a vision for computer-integrated management systems for medium-sized contractors

This article examines integrated computer systems for the construction industryoin particular for imedium-sizedi contractors who are responsible for the bulk of construction activity. The main focus of the article is to evaluate the practical barriers, challenges, and opportunities facing the design and development of these computer-integrated construction systems. The article introduces a framework for thinking about computer-integrated construction in terms of distinct project views adopted by project participants as well as the computer applications used to support them. The article then addresses the practical organizational and computing context in which such systems must be used, describes the major areas of potential benefit offered by and barriers to integrated systems, and outlines three major design and development areas that should be addressed for future systems. In this last section, the article briefly introduces a number of projects carried out by the authors that address some of these design challenges and presents a road map for an ongoing research program for computer-integrated management tools for the construction industry.