Informatics approach to innovative site management practices for improving construction works

Worldwide, the construction industry is currently experiencing dynamics in innovations, particularly in managing construction sites. The dynamic nature of operations and procedure has necessitated a change in traditional practices’ paradigm to conventional techniques. To this end, this study aims to introduce new strategies that could improve management practices on projects in order to enhance project productivity and performance. A literature review has been conducted in order to establish the gaps in research already carried out, while the emerging gaps have formed the core of the research questions used for the study. A survey design has been used while the population frame of 150 construction firms has been adopted. In addition, 80 respondents that constitute professionals that work in the firms have been picked randomly for the study. Some tests like Chi-square test, Student-T test, Man-Whitney U test, simple percentage, and agreement index have been used to process the data. The following variables have been censored, analyzed, and discussed: the prevailing construction practice, the management practices of construction firms, success factors that influence efficient adoption of site management practices, problem or hindrance associated with some selected site management practices, merit in engaging management tools in construction operation management, construction professional’s perspective on strategies to improve construction management practices for effective deployment, new innovations that could enhance and complement existing management practice, the barriers to effective deployment of the innovative methods. In conclusion, this study has developed new innovative strategies that could be used on-site and framework of application in the form of a site logic regression model. Most of the parameters of the model are client-project-stakeholders oriented, for instance. Some of them include resources synergy oriented procurement route, adopting a user performance expectation oriented procurement system at all the phases of the project, consultative decision approach by management, collaborative decision process, and adopting key performance indicator based procurement system. The consultative decision-taking approach entails the consultative decision taking on consulting with relevant stakeholders before taking a position on an issue. It allows the management to have workers’ welfare and interest at heart while taking the decision. This is pointing to the fact that an inclusive system would be an ideal system when output is the design and model based on users’ requirements. This would enable the user of a system to model a product based on their performance expectation. This study recommends the application of the new ideas suggested as a panacea to enhanced site productivity.