Creating a benchmarking service to measure ICT uptake for the Australian construction industry

As national and international competition in the Construction Industry (CI) intensifies, construction organisations are investing large amounts of money in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage. However, the beneficial outcomes of ICT are sometimes unclear and some organisations are dissatisfied with their ICT investments. This suggests that organisations are experiencing problems in their adoption and integration of new technology into their business practices. Benchmarking ICT uptake can aid an organisation in identifying and achieving its ICT goals, highlighting areas of deficiency. The Co-operative Research Centre for Construction Innovation (CRC CI) in Australia has commissioned a scoping study into the development of a benchmarking tool to measure ICT uptake in the CI. Initial research indicates the development of a web-based survey tool that can be expanded enabling other, unrelated issues to be investigated using the same infrastructure. This paper presents the rationale behind the tool and outlines its features.