Using location awareness technologies for innovative construction management in urban centres: Study of the CBD, Cape Town

Abstract

The continued growth of inner city construction coupled with the mounting costs of land in the urban centres puts pressure on inner city construction management. The complex nature of construction in urban centres requires innovative methods for site management. Confined space, congested access and the proximity of an over crowed public place pose challenges when it comes to inner city construction. Many construction firms in South Africa tend not to be innovative or dynamic when it comes to improving building production processes. This is problematic as the success of building construction in urban centres hinges upon the ability of the construction firm to be strategic, which is to know better than others, what direction to go in, what risks to take, the available resources, and what capabilities need to be developed in order to fulfil a planned goal. Using the latest remote sensing technologies to provide real-time access to the location of materials, equipment and workers on a congested construction site could significantly improve the construction process. The confined characteristic of construction sites in urban centres makes location awareness critical. Location awareness technologies (LAT) can improve manual processes and support important decision-making tasks in the field. This paper investigates the competitiveness and innovation of construction firms operating in an urban centre within the Cape Town Metropolis, South Africa and whether construction companies find LAT and geospatial data useful for construction management on confined sites. A sample will be gathered from project managers, registered building contractors as well as building consultants and private owners in the CBD of Cape Town using structured interviews and questionnaire. Empirical evidence shows that the use of automation and integration technologies improves construction productivity and exhibits tight integration of data.