Construction in year 2030 : developing an information technology vision

Erdogan, B; Abbott, C; Aouad, GF

Abstract

Emerging technologies offer new solutions to the construction industry, improving
processes, enabling automation and effective decision-making mechanisms and changing
current ways of work. Previous research has tended to consider a direct causal relationship
between the emerging and prospective technologies and the future of construction.
However, the future of construction will be influenced not only by the developments in the
information technology (IT) industry, but also by other technological changes. Societal,
economic, environmental and political factors will shape the future, together with
emerging technologies. This paper presents a scenario-planning exercise that aimed to
identify possible futures that the construction industry might face. In order to achieve the
aims of the research, a literature review was carried out on scenario planning and future
studies related to construction and construction IT, which was followed by a mini survey
and two prospective workshops as part of the La Prospective scenario-planning approach.
In a future study, it is important to understand the forces, issues and trends in order
to inform and enable further thinking and action towards achieving a preferred future
state whilst being prepared for what might be round the corner. Therefore, the paper first
investigates the driving forces of change, main trends, issues and factors that might shape
the future, focusing on factors related to society, technology, environment, economy and
politics. Secondly, four future scenarios that were developed keeping these factors in mind
are presented. The scenarios start from a global view and present the images of the future
world in year 2030. They later focus on the construction industry, imagining how it will be
shaped by the future world and trying to visualize the information and communication
technology implications for construction. Finally, a preferred future scenario for 2030
is introduced based on the principle that the future can be influenced if we know
what we want it to be. Focusing mainly on the IT vision, the paper concludes with recommendations in the areas related to innovation, communication and collaboration,
education and training, process improvement, interoperability, user-centred IT and
sustainability, in order to reach the desired state determined by the vision.

Citation

Erdogan, B., Abbott, C., & Aouad, G. (2010). Construction in year 2030 : developing an information technology vision. Philosophical Transactions A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 368, 3551-3565. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0076

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jul 5, 2010
• Deposit Date: Oct 14, 2011
• Journal: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Scoiety A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
• Print ISSN: 1364-503X
• Publisher: The Royal Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 368
• Pages: 3551-3565
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0076
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2010.0076
• Related Public URLs: http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/