An Empirical Investigation on the Benefits and Leakages in the Use of Web-Based Technologies in the Construction Industry

The internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) has the capacity to link the construction industry and its stakeholders to the desired smart and seamless future, although there are several leakages that have engendered the slow and low adoption in the construction process. Therefore, the study examined the benefits and leakages in the use of web-based technologies in the construction industry. The research selected registered construction professionals through a simple random sampling method from Lagos and Abuja (FCT). A total of 1,160 construction professionals participated in the study. A structured questionnaire was used as the principal instrument for obtaining primary data in form of responses from the construction professionals. Using a system block diagram, the study designed a web-based system using MySQL connected to the HTML web-interface through a PHP script processing the data back and forth. The study revealed that the use of web-based technologies in the construction industry can be engender efficient recording benefits, optimized production benefits and effective information processing. However, there are leakages such as usage risk leakages, culture leakages and tools leakages that may hinder the integration of web-based technologies in the construction processes. The study developed a framework for a web-based material planning and control system that can be used in the building materials’ planning and control processes that ensures that building materials information are archived, stock levels are identified and material delay is minimized. The study recommended the use of web-based technologies in several of the construction processes by harnessing its benefits. Efforts should be made to increase ICT training and education amongst construction professionals to intensify the proficiency of stakeholders in the use of web-based technologies in the construction industr