Challenges of integration and ICT´s potentials in the globalized construction industry

It is widely accepted that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) promotes efficiency in communication and as a result, brings increased effectiveness in the process of construction. It is inconceivable that today´s large construction projects with the vast volume of information processed can be run at the necessary speed without using ICT. This is especially true in today´s global context. However, we argue that in construction ICT is used mainly as mere enhancement tools, and not as means that can transform and thus revolutionize the process of construction. In this paper, we address this critical question: How is ICT impacting the process of construction and what are its potentials? We contend that the answer to this question lies in the integration potential of ICT. We conceptualize three aspects of integration - informational, organizational and contractual - as the basis to examine ICT´s potential and illustrate this conceptualization by analysing two widely used technologies in construction, namely Building Information Modelling and datawarehousing. Our analysis, reveals that these technologies have features that can foster all three levels of integration. However, looking at the construction industry as a whole, we conclude that while informational integration has been achieved, the industry is far from achieving organizational and conctractual integration.