A literature review on information coordination in construction

Currently in Portugal, procedures for gathering construction project information as well as coordinating and communicating the information amongst all the stakeholders in the process are extremely bureaucratic, confusing and awfully time-consuming. The problem has been exacerbated by the increasingly complex and large nature of construction projects with a large number of participants. There is currently a lack of a systematic approach and system that can effectively manage all information concerning construction projects to ensure a faster and more efficient and transparent process. This ultimately results in problems regarding project performance e.g. extreme delays in construction, loss of information and increasing costs. The aim of this research is to explore the viability of developing a systematic approach to the coordination of information amongst the multiple project stakeholders in the Portuguese Construction Industry. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive literature review of existing methods of classification of information and protocols for communicating information. Work being undertaken to develop a framework for structuring and representing information for proper coordination and management in the Portuguese construction industry will also be presented