Table 1 The management problems of remote construction projects and potential ACMS solutions
Management problems | Potential ACMS solutions |
|---|---|
The extensive physical distance between project participants, sometimes extending over national boundaries, is the primary cause of delays in decision making (Deng et al., 2001) | ACMS can improve team members’ ability to communicate and manage time and costs (Charoenngam et al., 2004) |
Lack of project pre-planning, certainty, and/or clarity concerning project process integration (Kestle, 2009) | ACMS use would reduce cost and save time, enhance communications and collaboration, improve productivity and partnership, and support the e-commerce and the customer (Nitithamyong and Skibniewski, 2004, 2006) |
These sites are often far from logistic support and suffer a continuous shortage of materials and specialized labor (Kestle and London, 2002, 2003). Contractors experience difficulty attracting and retaining skilled workers; and it is difficult to procure and access materials and equipment and site’s conditions has a negative impact on productivity (McAnulty and Baroudi, 2010) | Construction costs can be reduced by 25% through efficient transfer of information by ACMS between the construction teams (Davidson and Moshini, 1990, Bowden, 2005) |
Misinterpretations and miscommunications of project results and needs issues; and a centralized decision-making process and lack of delegated authority to field personnel often hindered progress and communications (Kestle, 2009) | ACMS use enables productivity enhancement of communication between project participants, reduction in project delays, alleviation of awareness of project issues among all parties, and easy access to and retrieval of project information (Alshawi and Ingirige 2003, and Stewart and Mohamed, 2004) |
There is frequent shortage of materials, higher risk margins, serious delay in sorting out a number of project queries and Delays in decision-making and decisions are made autocratically, excessive costs, unfocused scope, and poor construction quality, unskilled workers, a lack of or no infrastructure (Justanyah and Sidawi, 2011, 2010a, b, 2012a, b) | ACMS use minimizes delays due to the arrival of updated drawings and documents, reduces visits to sites and traveling time to meetings, reduces time and money spent on disputes, automates repetitive routine processes, and eliminates paper reports (Alshawi and Ingirige 2003, and Stewart and Mohamed, 2004) |
ASMC have the ability to minimize the travel times of supervisors and may increase the frequency of progress, quality and safety inspections by providing project supervisors with systems that are easily applicable (Golparvar-Fard et al., 2011, Jaselskis et al. 2011). | |
ACMS would help SEC’s supervisors to monitor the Procurement, supply and consumption of construction materials. It would would help SEC eliminating some causes of potential delays. It helps in monitoring closely and frequently the contractors/ sub-contractors and site personnel activities and construction process, performance and outcomes (Justanyah and Sidawi 2011 and Sidawi 2010a, b, 2012a, b) |