Construction planning and information technology in the UK and US construction industries: a comparative study

Abstract

The current applications of planning techniques and information technology are compared within top UK and US contractors and the viability of developing integrated systems within the framework of construction planning is assessed. The results are based on a questionnaire survey conducted amongst both the top 100 contractors in the UK and the top 400 contractors in the US. This survey reveals that there is a great similarity between the different planning techniques employed by both UK and US contractors and that information technology is applied more vigorously in the US. However, it appears that many aspects of information technology are well within the reach of most of the companies surveyed and that many recent developments could be used to develop integrated systems as an aid to the planning of construction projects.

Keywords: Integrated systems, Planning ,IT ,questionnaire survey , UK contractors