A critical look at integrating people, process and information systems within the construction sector

The problems that the construction industry faces are widely discussed over the years.
The pressure is increasing on the industry to deliver projects with minimal buffers of
time, space and resources; and with minimal negative impact on the surrounding
environment. The industry has been slow to respond to these challenges and continues
to be criticised for that reason. There have been a number of attempts to address these
challenges within the research community with varying degrees of success. However
majority of these projects tend to address specific areas within the construction
process rather than looking at the process as a whole. Lean principles help address the
inherent wastes lying within the construction process, however there is no evidence of
widespread implementation of such principles. People, process and Technology are
three important aspects from Lean perspective. However in construction, technology
is mostly being applied to peripheral processes resulting in less than satisfactory
outcomes. There is a need address the construction process as a whole with a view to
integrate various areas and aspects involved. The goal of this paper is to provide a
new conceptualization for doing this with a specific focus on application of ICT
within construction.
Based on a literature review, prior arguments and propositions for a holistic view
are reviewed. Based on them, outline of a tentative new framework for integrating
processes, people and information systems is presented.