134_Barriers That Influence the Implementation of UK Constru

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Barriers That Influence the Implementation of UK

Construction Project Extranets

Adam Mitchell 1 and Peter Demian 2

1Assistant Project Surveyor. HBG Construction UK Limited, Centrium, Griffiths Way,St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 2RD, UK,

2Lecturer in Construction Management, Department of Civil and Building Engineering,Loughborough University, Leicestershire LE11 3TU, UK,

Abstract : Reports published by Sir John Egan and Sir Michael Latham indicate that the construction industry

must adopt new technologies to improve areas of construction management. The use of construction project

extranets is one of these new technologies. This paper sets to identify the barriers that influence the imple-

mentation of construction project extranets in the UK construction industry. A critical review of current litera-

ture was conducted, and an in-depth questionnaire and supportive interview were then used to explore the

implementation of extranets, identifying their main benefits and barriers. The main benefits identified are im-

proved communication, document storage, and drawing management process. The main barriers identified

are; Technical; insufficient technology infrastructure and low levels of usability. People; resistance to change,

insufficient training, low utilisation of functions and a lack of understanding of the benefits. Managerial; low

levels of management commitment, lack of client support, lack of a sufficient protocol document, lack of inte-

gration meetings, and low usage levels. This paper highlights that there are still many barriers to CPE imple-

mentation, however, following the proposed recommendations coupled with improved management of the

implementation process, and a high commitment from the entire project team these barriers, that influence

the successful implementation of CPEs, can be overcome.

Key words : Construction Project Extranets, Extranet Implementation, Extranet Barriers, Knowledge Man-

agement, Information Management Systems, Extranet Protocols, Adoption

1 Introduction

The construction industry is unique; it has frag-mented organisations, varied and short projects, with

different teams of people for each and every project. Inan industry like this, effective communication and col-laboration between team members is essential to itssuccess. Lamont (2001) identified how the construc-tion industry clearly lags behind other industries withthe use of technology and innovation. The use of web-based technologies such as extranets are widelyadopted in other industries including automotive andmanufacturing. They attempt to address the constraintsof fragmented teams, and facilitate contributions from

all project team members without the need to meet inone location. In essence, they attempt to provide ef-

fective communication, collaboration and knowledgemanagement. These systems offer the construction in-

dustry many advantages as project parties are oftenglobally fragmented and the requirement for effectivecommunication, collaboration and knowledge man-agement is paramount. Reports by Egan (1998) andLatham (1994) further identify the need for the con-struction industry to improve communication and col-laboration though the use of Information Technology.Managing information is a key factor in construction.It could be said that the modern day contractor is pro-viding the service of managing people and more im-

portantly, managing information, it is therefore impor-tant that information is managed successfully. Anumba


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et al (2005) identified how easy-to-use information and communication technology systems that work acrossorganisations are mandatory for not only ensuringdata and information integrity, but smooth passageand flow of knowledge. O ver recent years there hasbeen an increased use of Construction Project Extra-nets (CPEs) within the UK construction industry tocontrol and improve knowledge flow, knowledge man-agement, communication and collaboration. A 2004survey conducted in the UK by The IT ConstructionForum affirms that the use of extranets is growing rap-idly, with nearly half of all respondents indicating theyhad used a project extranet to collaborate online. How-ever, there are many barriers restricting their successfulimplementation; these barriers are not fully understoodby the industry. Many construction companies arenow using extranets but their effectiveness is not beingoptimised because there is a lack of understanding of the influencing barriers. This paper reports on researchthat set out to identify the barriers that influence CPEimplementation.

2 Method

Data for this study was collected via an extensivereview of literature researching the best practice andproblems involved with implementing extranets, com-bined with primary research conducted in the form of aweb-based questionnaire. The questionnaire findingswere supported by a semi-structured interview.

The research provided in-depth investigativeanalysis into how projects currently approach the im-plementation of CPEs. To further aid the acquisition

of subject knowledge, a case study was conducted of the implementation of a CPE.

To ensure a representative sample was obtained,the questionnaire was distributed via a constructioncompanys e-mail system to about one hundred sitebased contacts, which included a variety of projectmanagers, design managers, site managers and projectsurveyors of all ages and working on various projectswith various extranets across the UK.

The electronic questionnaire returned forty re-

sponses, with twelve of the respondents having notused a CPE and therefore did not complete the entire

questionnaire. This represents a 70% usage rate;which is reasonably high and highlights the uptake of the technology and its increased use in the industry.

A supportive interview was conducted with anexperienced IT consultant with six years experience inimplementing IT systems for a leading top ten majorUK contractor. The interview was audio recorded usinga Dictaphone and transcribed for further analysis. Thisexperienced persons responses complemented thequestionnaire results, highlighted unresolved barriersand proposed possible solutions.

3 Extranet Benefits

The results showed that extranets are used mainlyfor the issuing and review of drawings, the RFI process,document management and for file storage. This ispositive, but is only a small percentage of extranetsfunctions, and demonstrates the lack of full utilisation.

The research showed that the use of CPEs madecommunication, RFI process, drawing review and issu-ing, document management and file storage more effi-cient and effective, meeting the requirements of end

users and highlighting the benefits of their use. Thissupports the main benefits also identified by the Net-work for Construction Collaboration Technology Pro-viders in 2006: Documents can be accessed 24/7. Less money spent on couriers/post. Less chance of losing important documents. Better audit trail. Lower document distribution/production costs. Finding archived information faster and easier.

Better version control. Better geographically dispersed collaboration. Easier to find and retrieve the right document.

Respondents comments supported the benefits of extranet use, one respondent claiming; extranets areextremely useful in terms of providing informationbanks, both pre-construction and during the process it-self, they are the future of project management.

Two of the most critical benefits that the construc-

tion industry must ensure are captured with the use of CPEs are improved communication (Griffith et al


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2000) and improved collaboration (Saxon 2003, Egan998). These provide the fundamental foundations forthe successful completion of construction projects.

The research investigated users opinions of ex-tranets. One aspect was their t perceived effect on theproject. If the positive effects of extranets are not feltby their end users then they will struggle to be success-fully implemented, as users will be unwilling to adoptthem. It was found that 42% of participants believedthe implementation of the CPE had a positive effect,11% found the effects to be very positive and 36% feltthe effect was neutral . The standard deviation of theseresults was low at about 0.92. Therefore end users dobelieve CPEs have a positive effect on the project.Supporting findings were also reported by Becerik (2004).

The barriers that hinder the successful implemen-tation of CPEs can be divided into three interlinkingareas: technical, people and managerial barriers.

4 Technical Barriers

The construction industry is fast paced; most par-

ties are constrained by time and find it difficult tocommit a lot to the use of extranets, therefore, extra-nets need to be fast to operate. The results have high-lighted that extranets are not delivering the speed of service required, 32% found extranets to be very slow,with 36% finding them slow and only 32% findingthem fast, with not one respondent finding them veryfast. This is a barrier that is restricting the successfuluse of extranets.

There were over ten (10) comments by respon-

dents supporting the slow speed of extranets as a bar-rier and comments linked this issue to peoples resis-tance to the use of extranets. Sauer (1993) argued thattechnology is no longer a limiting factor; the results of the research however highlight how technology infra-structure still is. This issue was also supported by theinterview; The interviewee was asked to comment onthe issue of extranet speed; he explained how; extra-nets are seriously affected by the speed of the system .He expanded on this issue by explaining how site con-

ditions do not help; sitting onsite, not in a posh officewith fast internet connection means that uploading and

downloading large file sizes is slow, It doesnt matter how great the solution you have is, because you are at the beacon call of the technology infrastructure.

Research by Sauer (1993) and Becerik (2004)showed that an extranets ease of use is a factor that af-fects its success. The research asked participants to ratethe user friendless of the extranet they were using on ascale of 1-6, with 6 being extremely user-friendly. Theresults of the research returned a mean rating of 2.96,with a mode of 3 being towards the lower end of thescale. The variance and standard deviation were bothlow at 1, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1:- Rating of User FriendlinessThe results show that extranets are not user

friendly enough. Software designers need to work toimprove the design of extranets taking first hand feed-back from the end-users to ensure the software is de-veloped in line with their requirements. Complemen-tary results were reported by Becerik (2004) and Sauer(1993).

5 People Barriers

Wilkinson (2005) suggested that as an industryrule of thumb the successful implementation of CPEsdepends 80% on tackling the people issues and 20%on resolving the technology aspects. This places themain barriers of implementation on the users of extra-nets.

Griffith et al (2000) supports this theory and high-lights that an important part of the implementation of

CPEs is the consideration of human-computer issues;Griffith et al (2000) also noted that the education and

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N u m b e r o f R e s p o n d e n t s

Rating (6 being extremely)


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training of staff who operate and use information sys-tems in the workplace is particularly important in try-ing to reduce the people barriers.

There is a wide variety of people working withinthe UK construction industry who have been usingtheir own methods successfully for many years; it istherefore understandable that any new process will en-counter resistance to change , especially if people donot understand how to use the new tools, the benefitsof using the tools or believe that the tools create morework. This resistance to change was identified byOBrien (2000) who commented that users had a Re-sistance to change where people generally are resis-tant to new tools or processes involving change. Wil-kinson (2005) also observed this Resistance to theadoption of the technology.

Griffith et al (2000) identified that adequate train-ing is essential to the success of extranets. The researchresults show that 71% of users only received two hoursor less of training, and 66% of respondents identifiedthat the training received was insufficient to enablesuccessful operation of the extranet. The age group of respondents was compared with whether they citedtraining received as sufficient. The results showed thatthe higher the age group the less sufficient they felt thetraining to be, which highlights the additional trainingrequired by the older age groups, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2:- Age Group Vs Sufficient Training

This issue was further supported by a lack of training materials. Only eight participants were pre-sented with user guides, and only three were providedwith tutorial guides. Further, two were provided withreference guides and worked examples to follow. Thisamount of resources is inadequate and makes it diffi-

cult for users to understand and operate extranets suc-cessfully. The current training and training materialsprovided is inadequate and is a barrier that influencesthe successful implementation of construction projectextranets.

Yeomans et al (2005) argue that extranets shouldstrive towards a collaborative working environment.46% of users considered extranets to be a comprehen-sive electronic data management tool, but only 25%considered them to be a means to achieve project col-laboration . This paper previously noted that one of the key benefits of CPEs is it that of improving col-laboration; however, the benefit of collaboration seemsafar.

It is recognised that it is highly important to un-derstand the issues involved with human-computer in-teraction. The requirements of the users are often over-looked (Sauer 1993) and this can be a catalyst for fail-ure.

6 Managerial Barriers

The role of management is critical to the success

of any project, and extranets are no different. Becerik (2004) and Ruikar et al (2005) highlight the necessityof management support for successful implementationof CPEs. Asked to rate the commitment of the projectmanager to the CPE, the average rating was low at 3out of 6 (standard deviation 1.78). . It is importantthat any new system is led from the top. If the projectmanager is not committed to extranet use then neitherwill the subordinates. Therefore, the project managerneeds to be committed to the use of the extranet and

encourage its use amongst the project team.Client support for CPEs use is low, The inter-

viewee observed that You have to be able to explainto clients, that spending 30k or 40k on an extranet will benefit the project. This is difficult because a lot of the benefits are intangible, for example the speed of in-

formation flow and secure audit trail, gaining client support is critical to the extranets success.

The role and support of the client is critical toCPE success. In the majority of cases they are fund-

ing the CPE and are the client of the contractor. If they are not committed and supportive to the use of ex-

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tranets then neither will the contractor.It eas found that eetings were not held and a pro-

tocol document was not correctly established,. Yeo-mans et al (2000) identified the protocol document as akey element that helps ensure the successful imple-mentation of CPEs. This protocol document should becomplied, discussed, and adhered to by the whole pro-

ject team.The research questioned whether managers held

internal meetings to discuss the use of the extranetaand discuss issues or concerns. It was found that36% of respondents did not hold meetings, which is acause for concern. Meetings to discuss the imple-mentation of extranets should be a prerequisite of theimplementation process to eliminate issues before theyarise. A team meeting is not only required for inter-nal subgroups, but also for external parties. 43% of respondents did not hold meetings with external parties.

All parties involved in the construction processmust use the CPE as this ultimately affects its success.

The results of the questionnaire show that of thetwenty eight responses, less than half, (13) reportedthat head office staff used the extranet, and even less ateleven identified that the project client used them.Many participants stated that only some of the sitebased team and some sub-contractors utilised the ex-tranet. A respondent noted that its difficult to get sub-contractors to use the facility. The results highlighteda low usage rate across the entire project team both ex-ternally and internally, including the client. Extranetsare struggling to achieve collaboration and completeuse.7 Recommendations

The following recommendations for removal of the barriers identified are put forward to attempt to im-prove the implementation process of CPEs.

Figure 3:- Factors That Would Encourage Use

Respondents were asked to identify factors thatwould encourage the use of extranets. The results areshown in Figure 3.

Ease of use was the top factor for respondents,followed by more training; these barriers were previ-ously identified and it is recommended they are re-moved by increasing the usability of extranets and byproviding sufficient training. Better understanding(19%) and more support (19%) were factors respon-dents identified which would also increase use.

Technical The technology infrastructure provides a major

barrier, however with the growing capabilities of theinternet and larger bandwidth sizes becoming available,this barrier should lift within the close future. Therecommendation can only be made that the largestbandwidth line possible is purchased.

Usability of extranets needs to improve by makingthem simpler to use, reacting to feedback from the endusers. In addition, CPEs need to be integrated withe-mail systems.

A simplified project filing system with a flat hier-archy needs to be developed to allow easy navigation,filing and recall of documents making extranets fasterand easier to use. This could be in the form of a simplefiling structure for all projects, which would standard-ise document filing saving time and resources.

PeopleTraining is critical to the success of the people

element; sufficient and continuous training is requiredthat will allow parties to operate extranets quickly andefficiently and help to eradicate any negativity andovercome the resistance to change . Particularlyamongst the older age groups.

People need to be encouraged and trained to utiliseall the functions offered by extranets to ensure allbenefits are being fulfilled.

Managerial A project specific protocol document must be es-

tablished with consultation of the project team, ensur-

19%

26%36%

19% 0%

Better UnderstandingMore TrainingEase of useMore SupportOther


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ing parties understand the processes and their respon-sibilities.

Integration meetings need to be held by manage-ment with internal and external parties; the protocoldocument should be discussed and issues or concernsraised and resolved.

The CPE must be Implemented as early as possible,preferably at the design stage,

All levels of management (including the client)must be committed and must support CPE use.

The use of extranets should be a contractual re-quirement for the project and this should be adhered toby all parties. The whole supply chain including theclient and all team members need to be encouraged touse extranets through clear identification of the bene-fits and a focus on collaboration.

8 Conclusions

This paper has identified the barriers that influ-ence the implementation of construction project extra-nets and proposed recommendations to overcome them.The benefits of improved communication, drawing and

document management and file storage are a clear in-dication that CPEs have their place within the UKconstruction industry.

For their adoption to be improved efforts need tobe made to remove the barriers of speed, usability, in-sufficient training, deficient protocols, lack of clientand management support, resistance to change and lowlevel of project usage that currently influence theirsuccessful implementation.

These barriers can be removed by following the

recommendations put forward including; improvedtraining, ensuring sufficient bandwidth size, creatingproject specific protocol, gaining client support, con-tractually obliging all parties to their use, holding inte-gration meetings and by good management of the im-plementation process.

In order to move the construction industry for-ward and build on Sir John Egan and Sir MichaelLathams reports, the industry needs to consider thereal benefits extranets bring and become more commit-

ted to new technologies like CPEs and to more col-laborative approaches to projects.

References

[1] Anumba, C. J; Egbu, C; Carrillo, P, KnowledgeManagement in Construction, U.K, BLACKWELLPUBLISHING LTD, 2005.

[2] Becerik, B, Suggestions for Improving Adoptionof Online Collaboration and Project ManagementTechnology, 20 th Annual Conference of Associa-tion of Researchers in Construction ManagementProceedings, 1-3 September, 2004.

[3] Egan, J, Rethinking Construction, The Construc-tion Task Force. London: Department of Environ-

ment , Transport and the Regions, 1998.[4] Griffith, A: Stephenson, P: Watson, P, Management

Systems for Construction, 2000.[5] Lamont, Z, Why Construction Must Learn From

Other Industries, Construction Monitor: Input, May,2001.

[6] Latham, M, Constructing The Team, London: De-partment of Environment , Transport and the Re-gions, 1994.

[7] O'Brien, W. J, Implementation Issues in Project

Web-Sites: A Practitioner's Viewpoint. Journal of Management in Engineering, May, Volume 16, Is-sue 3, Pages 34-39, 2000.

[8] Ruikar, K; Anumba, C. J; Carrillo, P, End-UserPerspectives on Use of Project Extranets in Con-struction Organisations. U.K, Engineering, Con-struction and Architectural Management, Volume12, Issue 3, 2005.

[9] Sauer, C, Why Information Systems Fail: A CaseStudy Approach, 1 st Edition. Oxford: ALFRED

WALLER LTD, 1993.[10] Saxon, R, Forward, Teamwork 2002: Solutions for

Collaborative Working in Construction and FM, Aseries from Virtual First Ltd. Surrey, UK, 2003.

[11] Wilkinson, P, Construction Collaboration Tech-nologies The Extranet Evolution, 1 st Edition. Oxon:TAYLOR & FRANCIS, 2005.

[12] Yeomans, S,G; Bouchlaghem, N, M; EI-Hamalai,A, Provisions for Proficient Construction ProjectExtranet Protocols to Facilitate Collaborative Ex-

tranet Working. U.K. CICE, 2004.

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