Overcoming ICT Barriers in IBS Management Process in Malaysia Construction Industry

¹ Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Johor, Malaysia
² Department of Construction Management, Faculty of Technology Management and Business, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400 Parit Raja, Johor, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: peniel@uthm.edu.my

Abstract

As the result of government’s initiative and future outlook in uprising the awareness towards the implementation of sustainable elements in construction industries, the Industrialized Building System (IBS) is one of the approaches that had been introduced as an alternative to conventional building method and produce the new strategy of reducing the waste of materials in construction. The IBS approach is actively promoted through several strategies and incentives as an alternative to conventional building methods. Extensive uptakes of modern Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications are able to support the different IBS processes for effective production. However, it is argued that ICT uptake at the organizational level needs to be regularly improved. Thus, this paper fulfills the need to identify the critical barriers to ICT employment and highlighting the ICT drivers in enhancing the IBS management process. Critical barriers and drivers to ICT uptake were identified through questionnaire survey with industry stakeholders and were analyzed using mean index and critical t-value with the use of SPSS software. The critical drivers are top management support and commitment and improving the availability of the technologies. The critical drivers which were identified are significant in ensuring the enhancement of ICT implementation. Hence, any system in place should avoid the highest ranked barriers or seek to alleviate their impact by focusing on the identified drivers in order to enhance implementation of ICT in IBS process management.