İnşaat Firmalarında Bilgi Yönetimi

Abstract

Gittikçe karmaşıklaşan ve ölçekleri büyüyen projelerin gerçekleştirilmesi artık klasik yöntemlerle altından kalkamayacak bir hal almıştır. Sayısız parametrenin aynı anda kontrolü, birden çok projenin yürütülmesi, kaynakların bu projelere dengeli bir şekilde dağıtılması, gerçekleştirilen projelerden elde edilen verilerin gelecekteki proje programlamasında ve ortaya çıkacak problemlerin çözümünde kullanılabilmesi bu verilerin gerek toplanması ve gerek işlenmesi için ciddi enformasyon sistemleri tasarımım gündeme getirmiştir. İnşaat firmalarının yerlerşik endüstri firmalarıyla karşılaştırıldığında geri bir durumda oldukları ve işletme biliminin ortaya koyduğu normları dikkate almadan tradisyonel metodlarla iş yapma alışkanlıklarım devam ettirmekte oldukları bir gerçektir. Artan uluslararası rekabet artık ülkemizdeki firmaları da daha ciddi olarak enformasyon problemi ile ilgilenme noktasına getirmiştir. Bu çalışmada üzerinde durulan nokta, inşaat firmalarına yönelik enformasyon sistemi geliştirme yaklaşımları, inşaat firmalarının enformasyon ihtiyaçları, inşaat sektörünün yapısı ve inşaat firmalarıdır. Enformasyonun karar almadaki katkısı herkes tarafından kabul edilmektedir. Alınacak kararlar doğru enformasyonlarla desteklenmediği sürece istenilen doğrulukta olmayacaktır. Birinci bölüm konuya genel giriş niteliğindedir. Burada enformasyon teknolojisindeki baş döndürücü gelişme, enformasyonun artan önemi, şuanki durumu nasıl algılamamız gerktiği üzerinde durulmuştur. Globalizasyon ve enformasyon teknolojilerindeki gelişmelerin birbirlerini etkiledikleri belirtilmiştir. Firmaların hayatlarını devam ettirebilmeleri için artan miktarda enformasyona gerek duydukları ve bu enformasyonun farklı kaynaklardan temin edilmesi gerektiği noktasına vurgu yapılmıştır. İkinci bölüm konuya ilişkin genel kavramların açıklandığı yerdir. Burada enformasyonun tanımından başlanmış, yönetim enformasyon sistemlerinin gelişimi, bu sistemlerin bileşenlerinden, enformasyon sistemlerini oluşturan altsistemlerden ve farklı düzeylerdeki enformasyon sistemlerinden bahsedilmiştir. Üçüncü bölüm, inşaat sektörü ve inşaat firmaları konusundadır. Çalışma inşaat firmalarına yönelik enformasyon sistemleri üzerinde olduğu için inşaat sektörü ve inşaat firmalarının daha yakından incelenmesi mecburiyeti ortaya çıkmıştır. Dördüncü bölüm genel olarak sistem geliştirme ve inşaat sektörüne yönelik sistem geliştirme çalışmaları olarak iki ana alt başlıktan oluşur. İnşaat sektörüne yönelik geliştirilmiş, farklı modeller detaylı bir şekilde incelenmiştir. Son bölüm; gelecekte neler olacağı, çalışmanın sonuçlan ve enformasyon sistemleri konusundaki önerilerin ortaya konulduğu bölümdür.

This study is about information system applications in construction sector. Today information plays a key role in every area of life. Information needs of construction firms have been neglected for many years. But as the scale and the complexity of projects increase people begin to search new tools and techniques to overcome the construction problems. Information problem is not new. Information system research does not begin in 90's. But in 90's something different has happened. The improvement in networking technologies and communication technologies open the door to a new generation of information system. Software development firms have been working on different kind of programs for almost a half-century. The construction professionals face the information problem in large scale and complex projects. Construction sector itself may be seen as an obstacle on the way the information system implementations. To elaborate an information system for construction sector, this sector and construction firm should be investigated carefully. This investigation may provide useful information on, what the construction firms expect from information systems. This expectations shapes the information systems. In this study, the third chapter is focused on construction sector and construction firms. Construction firms differ each other from many ways. Most of them have different organization forms. Many researches have investigated so fare the structure of construction firms. Some conclusions are these: J In construction firms, many organization forms are detected. J In general, construction firms are family owned business enterprises. _l Construction firms mainly consist of small and mid sized firms. For a construction project management, data from past projects stored in a historical database as well as data from the project at hand must be readily available. Data are essential and valuable resource for project planning. A construction project is a unique, complex, custom-built response to a client's needs. It involves the execution of a large number of diverse activities by many participants and evolves in both space and time, normally in a hostile and changing work environment. Consequently, it is very difficult, if not impossible to 'instrument' a construction project folly 1. Record the values of various context variables that are helpful in explaining reasons behind the current status of a project 2. Assess the current status of activities, extra work orders, and back charges in terms of active stage, work scope completed, and problems encountered and their immediate consequences 3. Measure resource consumption rates and their allocation to ongoing activities vii Collection and analysis of the foregoing information is essential for the quick detection of time, cost, scope, and quality deviations from planned performance; explanation of the causes of these deviations and thus the suggestion of appropriate corrective actions. Internet is the most famous communication medium in 90 's that proliferate its borders in an enormous pace. Today the presence on the net is taken into consideration by many smalls and mid sized construction firms. The Internet revolution changed the way we used to communicate. An Istanbul based project consultancy firm (PY GROUP) is planning web based project applications. The main character of these applications is that, they don't required advanced programming skill and computer knowledge. Video-conferencing and voice messaging is the early sign of the future world. Within a single generation of managers, computers and networks have changed the way business is conducted. Probably within the next decade Intranets will once again cause fundamental changes. Information technology (IT) has been advancing at an accelerating pace and affects every element of our society. Construction industry is not an exception. Some scientist predict constant growth in dedicated engineering workstations for all design work, electronic data interchange for both conventional and graphics based data, expert system applications techniques. The present IT application in the construction industry is mainly in administration and accounting programs, project management applications, computer aided design (CAD) systems. The trends are clearly moving toward integration of design and drafting systems and integration among different departments. In the construction industry IT (Information Technology) is creating new possibilities and as a result, its advancement is placing new demands upon construction organizations. IT can no longer be viewed as an enhancement to traditional business procedures but rather as an innovative agent that enables new and different alternatives to organizing and operating business enterprises can can. As a consequence, business organizations are faced with opportunities as well as challenges. Technological advancement, market expansion, global competition and renewed demand for quality and productivity are making the issue of integration of various stages involved in the process of construction more critical than ever. Traditionally fragmented construction organizations are searching for new ways to integrate both inter and intra-organizational functions. There is a need to identify the roles IT can play in this changing industry environment. Construction organizations function in an atmosphere that is characterized by certain features. Some of these are mentioned below. 1. Dynamic process. The work atmosphere is continually changing both at the project and at the organization level. vm 2. Process is based on the complex interrelationships among the various participating entities. 3. Teamwork is required to construct a facility successfully. Organizations involved in the construction industry are project-oriented 4. Operations in the construction industry are people intensive and cannot completely automated or mechanized. 5. The solution of construction project problems is highly dependent upon the experience and judgments of professionals and also involves uncertainty. One of the main finding of this study is information system suggestion at J Country level, J Firm level, J Department level, J Site level. Country level construction information systems should include below written information types: J Legal regulations, J Bids, J Company information, J Domestic market information, J Research and development information, J Standards, J Studies, J Foreign market information, Company level information systems can be seen as a web of subsystems. These subsystems should be designed on department and site level. These departments: J Design, J Accounting, J Marketing, J Human resources, J Finance, J Strategical planning, J Procurement, J Construction sites, J Equipment, J Bid preparation, J Project programming. Department level information systems should be designed in related nature. This makes the information transfer between department possible. The information flow may so regulated that each subsystem may get the needed information from another subsystem. The sharing of information and the exchange of data on construction has long been recognized as a significant area. Prior works begun in the I960' s dealt with the development of information coordination. Contemporary advances in information technology have opened a wide range of research development developments in ix building. The exchange of information in computerized environment now covers new research areas in information modeling while a first generation of building information technology has been occupied with the problems of information and data modeling, large design and construction projects appear to demand a broadening of the functional scope of information systems. Large-scale project characteristically involves numbers of participants, each in different areas of specialization. In construction sector, the source of production data is construction sites. Gathering the production data from projects, can be realized by site level construction information system. Site level information system should be able to evaluate below written data types: J Material, J Equipment, J Manpower, J Budget, J Technical specification, J Schedules, J Subcontractor information, J Project programming data, J Project cost data. Among the applications of innovative technology for building construction information and automation are considered to have the potential for reducing the complexity and fragmentation of the design and construction process. This is believed to be particularly so in the application of innovative building systems which require a large amount of experiential data and knowledge for problem solving. Concurrent construction planning with large knowledge bases and engineering databases, for sharing among designers; engineers and project managers require development. An integrated database is the most vital component of an enterprise information system. Databases, can be seen as the warehouse for information. What kind of information should be stored and how will the data be accessed, is a vital question. In construction firm, every department has its own data type. This makes the integration impossible. On the other hand department level information systems use data's from other systems. The integration of various data types is a challenging task, which should be overcome. The realization of the building process leaves a trail of written, graphic and numeric documents, which reflect the enormous amount of information that is searched, generated and communicated during its implementation. The most explicit examples are drawings, specifications, calculations and schedules. New IT applications for networking require both human and capital investments that may put small construction and design firms at a disadvantage. Besides the increasing affordability of networking technologies, t push toward these investments will come from market opportunities. Successful communication cannot be achieved only trough IT investments. If the proper attitudes towards cooperation and shared goals are not developed at the onset of projects. The essence of management of an organization is control of the application and transformation of resources to achieve given goals. The operation of any organization could conveniently be regarded as the control of material and non- material flows. In principle management information systems are concerned with information to decision makers. To define the information needed, it is necessary to know which types of decision are taken within the organization. Management information is concerned with resources in the broadest context. At the site management system is concerned with the quality and amount of production in relation to resource consumption and time. Information used on the management and control of projects such as records of costs and outputs are obviously comprised by this definition. But information systems of a construction firm may also be connected with objectives concerned with the continued existence of the firm. This study falls into five parts. First chapter is a general introduction to the topic. The problem is defined and current approaches and trends are mentioned. The latest advances in information technologies (IT) and a historical view to MIS evolution are brought together to prescribe the future development. Today information technologies play a key role for globalization. They enable us to communicate between remote distances at a small amount of time. Contemporary approaches accept information a kind of asset and introduce techniques to manage this special kind of asset. They claim that if organizations don't care on this issue they will obsolete by competition. The second chapter is about notions. Before going forward and investigating extensively construction information systems the main concepts are explained. This chapter begins with a question about information. There are difference definitions from different disciplines, which are placed to have a general view on information. Other concepts those are dealt in the second chapter are D Information management, D Management information systems, D Evolution of management information systems, D Information systems at difference level, The characters of information systems and expectation from information systems are extensively searched. Another important point is the. historical development of information systems. Information systems were proposed by American hardware manufacturer at the beginning of 1960's to sell their products. To understand how the information systems function, technical dimension of information systems and types of such systems are included. Types of such systems are: D Data processing systems. ? Management information systems. xi D Decision support systems. 0 Expert systems. D Office automation systems. D Executive support systems. In third chapter, construction sector and construction firms are taken under the loop. A close look clarifies the main characters and problems of construction sector and construction firms. To set an information system for this sector we should know what kind of information is needed in those firms. The technological dimension of this problem is dealt in previous chapter. Here in general construction sector, construction firms, their structures and behaviors are dealt extensively. Differences between stationary industry and construction sector are highlighted. Production, supply, and cost structures of this sector are explained. The fourth chapter is concerned with theoretical information system development research for construction sector. There are many projects and approaches to system development. Information systems are generally designed for stationary industry. It is difficult to carry these researches to construction firm. But in recent there is a general tendency among academician and private firms to implement information systems in construction sector. Here some examples of system researches are placed. 1. Integrated Management Information System. (G. DRESSEL) 2. Management information system for construction firms. (B. LANGENEKE) 3. Project Level Information System, (A. KANOGLU) 4. Site Level Information System. (V. SANVTDO) 5. Hypertext Database Applications in Construction Sector. (T. P.WILLIAMS) 6. Integrated Database Systems in Construction. (G. E,GIBSON) 7. Construction Industry Information System. (W. RASDORF, O. ABUDAYYEH) In last chapter, the results of this paper are summarized. It is not aimed to propose an information system. In fact this paper is a kind of investigation of information system applications in construction sector. Many system proposals are retrieved and at the end the explanation of poor system implementation is outlined. It is true that in comparison with other industry construction sector is not an innovative industry. In a changing world every one should know that no one is secure anymore. For organizations, it is a must to innovate the way they are doing business, products they are producing and processes which are used for production. This provides the minimum basis for survival. Construction firms are not exceptions. Global competition makes it difficult to do business in traditional way. Over the past decade, the character of major construction firms has shifted from partnership to hierarchical corporate structures. At the same time the capabilities of information systems have expanded to allow broad database systems which permit extensive and coordinated use and reporting of data collected from multiple sources. xii With the advent of large, low cost storage for computers, more flexible data storage techniques developed. The changes in project size and complexity and the geographical remoteness of regional offices typically result in them functioning as almost independent business entities in recent times. To coordinate all the projects and remote offices communication technologies provide useful techniques. A Management Information System is very crucial in terms of controlling or tracking the projects. It may collect storage and retrieve huge amount of data at and make summary for decision-makers.