The strategic role of digital tools in renewing work practices in the construction industry

Project title The strategic role of digital tools in renewing work practices in the construction industry In the last two decades the productivity growth rate in the construction industry has been lower than that of other industries. Several initiatives have therefore appeared to call for higher efficiency and productivity. Most of these initiatives invite to experiment with new contractual, design and building practices. Common to these proposals is the urge to renew and change the practices in the construction industry through adoption of novel technologies. Universities as well as corporations are pushing for development of novel work practices in the construction sector, with a strong belief in the transformational potential of digital tools. The move towards new practices appears to be somehow tied up to the adoption rate of new digital tools. The adoption rate varies among different actors. The risk sharing among actors is regulated by contractual agreements and may not take into full account the new collaboration practices that are enabled by new digital tools. New work practices develop slowly and non-uniformly across the value chain. The research questions of this study are therefore related to the role of tools in developing and sustaining new practices. Of particular interest is the strategic role that adoption of digital tools has on development of competitive advantage for those companies who manage to evolve into new digital work practices. This study aims to answer research questions at the core of the digital evolution of construction industry. Sociomaterial practice in inter-organizational projects ? How do utilization of technology influence work practice? ? How can socio-material practice help us understand why satisfactory productivity and efficiency are challenging to achieve? Concurrent engineering and design ? How do work practice influence utilization of technology in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry? ? What are the advantages and disadvantages of concurrent design and construction - for all parties? ? What are the triggering factors for optimal implementation of concurrent design and construction? The projects as a learning arena ? How is the learning process in large complex projects in the construction industry? ? What enablers and barriers to learning can be identified in large complex projects in the AEC industry? Flow of competence and work practice ? How do competence travel between projects and between companies in the AEC industry? ? How do 'change of work practice' travel between projects and between companies in the AEC industry?

In the last two decades the productivity growth rate in the construction industry has been lower than that of other industries. Several initiatives have therefore appeared to call for higher efficiency and productivity. Most of these initiatives invite to experiment with new contractual, design and building practices. Common to all these proposals is the urge to renew and change the practices in the construction industry through the adoption of novel technologies. Universities as well as corporations are pushing for a development of novel work practices in the construction sector, with a strong belief in the transformational potential of digital tools. The move towards new practices in the construction industry appears to be somehow tied up to the adoption rate of these new digital tools. The adoption rate varies among different actors. The risk sharing among actors is regulated by contractual agreements and may not take into full account the new collaboration practices that are enabled by new digital tools. New work practices develop slowly and non-uniformly across the value chain. The research questions of this study are therefore related to the role of the tools in developing and sustaining new practices. Of particular interest is the strategic role that the adoption of digital tools has on the development of competitive advantage for those companies who manage to evolve into new digital work practices. This study aims therefore to answer research questions that are at the core of the digital evolution of construction industry: How does the adoption of digital tools influence the emergence of: 1. New professional practices that single actors/roles (architect, engineer, contractors, subcontractors) enact in the construction industry? 2. New collective practices that group of actors enact as they collaborate across disciplines and cross the value chain? 3. New forms of competitive advantage for firms in the construction sector?