Impact of Digitalization on Quality Management in Construction Projects

This study analyzes the impact of digitalization on quality management aspects in construction projects, with a case study on The Green Planet construction company of Dubai. It evaluates different digital tools for quality management and identifies issues in implementing digitalization. Recommendations are provided to deal with these issues.

Strategic Quality and System Management

Abstract
Technologies are the key factor for the smooth running of the businesses because
technology reduces the time requirements and provide the adequate results. Digitalization has
entered in each sector such as infrastructure, education, retail, mining, construction etc. In this
context, modernization in construction enhances the value of the construction industry because it
improves the quality of buildings and creates the sustainability in context of economic,
environment and society. Here, use of new techniques in mining, financial and infrastructure
sector has contributed to a gross added value in the economy. However, construction industry
has a least participation around 1% in information and communication technologies as a share of
gross value added. However, construction industry is challenged by the characteristics of
digitalization process because it demands for the continuous communication, coordination and
adequate exchange of information between all connected parties. Nonetheless, digitalization is
the single significant change element for the construction sector as well as for society in general.
Additionally, use of digitalization brings the new opportunities for sustainable cities and
significant reduction in carbon emissions.
Digitalization enables continuous exchange of information in the entire construction
process. In this manner, digitalization includes the use of various techniques in the construction
like information technology, specific software to reduce the time, quality management modules
etc. which helps to improve the standard of the buildings. In this context, the current mixed
approach based- qualitative and quantitative report determines the importance of digitalization in
construction industry which has a significant impact on the quality management of the
construction. Here, for the purpose of the study, different digital tools have been analyzed to find
out the appropriateness for the construction buildings. Here, from the study, it has been found
that digitalization is important to improve the quality of the construction and further helps to
save the time, waste of material, smoothens the construction process and reduces the ratio of
hazardous chemicals in which releases from the constructions. Furthermore, it has also been
identified that use of new techniques in the construction is not an easy task because it occurs the
different issues such as resistance to change, legal requirements, demands for the highly
professional workers, huge implementation cost etc. In this manner, implementation of advanced
technologies is not affordable for the small construction firms because of the huge investments.

However, it has also been found from the study that use of digital technologies enhance the
quality of construction, increases the competitive advantages, reduces the operational issues etc.
Therefore, several recommendations such as has been provided to deal with the issues related to
digitalization recruitment of Information Technology (IT) professionals, use of digital software
with legal permission, render adequate training to existing skilled personals etc. Furthermore, it
has also been suggested that to build the positive relationships with suppliers for continuous flow
of materials, implement quality management tools to maintain the records and make available the
huge financial resources to implement digitalization in construction sector.

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my special thanks of appreciation to my teacher and tutor who
gave me a golden opportunity to do this marvelous project on the topic of Strategic Quality and
System Management, which also helped me in doing a lot of research on the study and I came to
know about new concepts and techniques. I would also like to thank my parents and friends who
supported me a lot to select the specific topic within a limited time period and to collect the data
from the relevant personnel. Hence, credit to all those who directly or indirectly helped me in
completion of the research within standard time frame.

Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1
1.1 Background............................................................................................................................1
1.2 Research aim and objectives..................................................................................................3
1.3 Rationale of the study............................................................................................................3
1.4 Structure of dissertation.........................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................6
2.1 Understanding the importance of quality management in construction projects..................6
2.2 Evaluating different digital tools for quality management in construction projects.............9
2.3 Analyzing different issues in implementing digitalization..................................................13
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................17
3.1 Type of the study.................................................................................................................17
3.2 Research philosophy............................................................................................................17
3.3 Research design...................................................................................................................18
3.4 Research approach...............................................................................................................19
3.5 Data collection.....................................................................................................................19
3.6 Sampling techniques............................................................................................................20
3.7 Data analysis........................................................................................................................20
3.8 Research limitations.............................................................................................................21
3.9 Ethical consideration...........................................................................................................21
CHAPTER 4: INVESTIIGATION AND ANALYSIS.................................................................23
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................34
5.1 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................34
5.2 Recommendations and implementation...............................................................................36
7.0 REFERENCES........................................................................................................................39

8.0 APPENDIX..............................................................................................................................48
List of figures
Figure 1: Total quality management approach in construction industry.......................................55

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Currently, digitalization is one of the important aspects for the construction projects
because it helps to bring the changes in the construction sector as well as beneficial for the
society (Andersson & Lessing, 2017; p.220; Liu & Chua, 2016). Digitalization helps to generate
new opportunities for the sustainable countries, supports to reduce the carbon discharge in the
environment and helps in management of available resources (Tulenheimo, 2015). However, to
plan for the use of technology in the construction projects leads to complexities with the
participants because it is based on the implementation of latest technologies, analysis of needed
resources, prospecting the completion time of the construction etc. (Liu & Chua, 2016). Apart
from this, digitalization is a supportive process which enables the exchange of integrated
information among the all relevant factors of the construction process. In this context, use of
digital tools in the construction industry makes an impact on the quality measurements of the
construction because technologies support for the improved information flow (Majid et al.,
2012). By considering the significance of Information Technology (IT) in each filed; hence,
construction industry also focuses on the inclusion of modern techniques in construction
buildings because the use of technologies is changing the face of competition in the globe. In this
manner, digitalization affecting the construction sectors by reducing the risks and offering the
high-quality buildings by using the efficient technical tools.
Use of digital technologies in the construction sector is changing the scenario of the
entire industry because it creates the different challenges, issues as well as opportunities for the
related construction parties. However, the digitalization in construction industry helps to
construct quality buildings and further supports to manage the data as per the requirements
(Akanmu, Anumba & Messner, 2013). Moreover, digitalization is not only offering the quality
buildings; nonetheless, modern tools has extensive effects on the monitoring of cost and time
elements in the projects which further helps to maintain progress in the construction.
Furthermore, application of new techniques in construction has a great support in maintaining the
budget and reduce the all kind of overruns in the construction so that the project can be
completed within decided time period (Raut, Pimplikar & Sawant, 2013). However, it is not
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necessary that use of digital technologies always offers the required outcomes in an effective
manner; however, it requires the professionals and skilled labors to use the latest applications.
Additionally, it enhances the overall cost for the construction projects because it demands for the
timely training for the workforce to operate the tools. On the contrary, there is a constructive and
positive relationship between use of digital tools, quality and performance of the employees
because it improves the speed of work and reduces the malfunction activities (Al-Tmeemy,
Abdul-Rahman & Harun, 2012).
Several studies notified that various digital tools such as RFID (Radio Frequency
Identification), Cyber physical systems, virtual models, Building Information Modeling (BIM),
Total Quality Management (TQM) etc. are used to improve the quality and management of the
construction procedure (Boland, Lyytinen & Yoo, 2007; Arayici, Egbu & Coates, 2012; Rossi &
Bhargav, 2015). In this context, TQM is supportive to provide the quality outcomes in the
construction because it focuses on the use of systematic approaches from inception to
finalization of the construction. Furthermore, the work is inspected on the basis of quality
standards which are associated with TQM. Nonetheless, large construction companies can easily
implement the advanced tools to derive the optimum outcomes in the industry and the losses
covers from another running projects. On the contrary, it is not affordable for the small
construction organizations to implement the digital technologies because it enhances the overall
cost of the construction (Rossi & Bhargav, 2015). Additionally, small companies already deal
with small construction projects; therefore, it is not appropriate for the small companies to
implement the digitalization. Moreover, the implementation of new technologies is get affected
by stakeholders because it requires the same confession level of all the connected people
otherwise issues might be occurred due to lack of collaboration (Travaglini, Radujković &
Mancini, 2014).
The use of additive construction has brought the revolutionary changes in the
construction industry because it depends on the whole construction industry which is ready to
tackle the challenges such as rational designs and a requirement for architectural paradigm
(Labonnote, Rønnquist, Manum & Rüther, 2016). However, the use of 3D digital reconstruction
is a challenge because of harmful effects of the outliers in the data range (Junior, Bellon, Silva &
Vrubel, 2011). Furthermore, the issues occur in the digitalization in construction because labors
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resist to implement the changes in the running environment because it may replace their job by
appointing the professional technology users. Nonetheless, the challenges can be reduced by
effective collaboration and interaction with workforce so that employees easily adapt the changes
in the construction industry. However, the application of digitalization in construction is
strengthen the scope of related industry because it supports to reduce the time factor and improve
the quality aspects of the buildings which further helps to provide extensive satisfaction to the
clients. Besides this, the implementation of digital tools is not an easy procedure because it
demands for the legal requirements otherwise government may put the charges on the company
(Tulenheimo, 2015). Hence, the construction sector needs to take the prior permission of the
legal authorities for effective implementation of modern technologies. Furthermore, it shows that
digitalization has extensive impact on the quality measurements but also deal with the respective
challenges.
1.2 Research aim and objectives
Aim
To critically analyze the impact of digitalization on quality
management aspects in construction projects- A case study on The Green
Planet construction company of Dubai.
The objectives of the study are as follows-
 To understand the importance of quality management in construction
projects
 To evaluate different digital tools for quality management in
construction projects
 To analyze different issues in implementing digitalization
 To recommend strategies to deal with the issues of digitalization in
construction projects
1.3 Rationale of the study
The quality of construction is affected by the involvement of the new technologies from
starting to the finishing line of the project. Quality aspects in construction is based on the use of
advanced tools and emphasizes on the maintenance of the quality standards (Merschbrock,
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2012). In this context, the study has been conducted to analyze the effects of digitalization on the
quality aspects in the construction industry. Here, by conducting the current study, it will be
convenient for the construction project managers to learn regarding the implementation of
digitalization and techniques in the construction. Moreover, the project manager also derives the
knowledge and experience related to use of digital tools in the construction sector. Hence, it is
important to conduct the current study because current era is based on the use of technologies in
the construction of buildings; thus, the study provides the in-depth knowledge about
digitalization. Furthermore, it is also helpful for the construction companies to evaluate the
significance of quality measurements by assimilating the advanced digital tools in construction.
Apart from this, the current study also renders the results related to application of digital tools.
Furthermore, it also develops the adaptive opportunities for the construction companies to deal
with the competitive organizations in the construction sectors.
1.4 Structure of dissertation
The structure of dissertation has been explained as follows-
 Chapter 1: Introduction- This chapter provides the overview of the digitalization in the
construction industry and impact on quality management aspects of construction
company of Dubai The Green Planet. It further highlights the issues and challenges
occurs in the implementation of digitalization in construction by including aim and
objectives because it has provided a way to the study. Furthermore, this chapter also
provides the information about the use of different digital tools in construction.
 Chapter 2: Literature review- This chapter is basically including the in-depth
investigation of the topic in the dissertation. In this context, several secondary sources
have been used to carried out the specific research.
 Chapter 3: Research methodology- Methodology chapter focuses on the application of
research methods and tools to the analysis of respective topic. Here, the study is based on
the primary data collection through questionnaire and interview. Furthermore, secondary
sources have also been used for the data collection and description of used approaches
has been provided accordingly.
 Chapter 4: Data analysis- This chapter analyses the collected data which are derived
from the primary sources with special reference to Dubai. The collected data are
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efficiently investigated with the help of the separate themes with questionnaire and
interview methods.
 Chapter 5: Conclusion- This chapter is carried out to summarize the entire dissertation
along with achievement of specific objectives. Further, on the basis of conclusion,
required recommendations for the improvement has also been provided for the
improvement in use of digitalization in construction and impact on quality measurements.
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Understanding the importance of quality management in construction projects
The use of quality management approaches is helpful to manage the quality and standards
of the projects. The lack of quality management aspects increases the risk for the projects and
reduces the satisfaction of the clients. In this context, quality management is essential for the
construction projects as follows-
2.1.1 Quality management and construction projects
According to several studies, construction industry is based on the delivery of quality
designs and infrastructure to improve the quality of the construction (Rumane, 2017; Harris &
McCaffer, 2013; Ashokkumar, 2014). In this context, Chen, Okudan & Riley (2010) asserted that
quality of the construction is depends on the completion of task in standard time, cost and the use
of relevant approaches which are determined by the construction engineers. However, Harris &
McCaffer (2013) mentioned that during the past decades the construction industry has been
criticized for the poor performance and productivity in relation to other industries like
infrastructure, retail, mining, groceries etc. On the contrary, Rumane (2017) argued that in
previous years there was lack of resources, advance technologies and caliber in labors which
reduced the quality of the construction; nonetheless, in current competitive environment,
respective industry is using the latest technologies to deliver the quality in context of cost and
time factor. Furthermore, Griffith, Stephenson & Watson (2014) pointed out that quality
management is helpful to resolve the issues related to quality as well as meet the demands of the
final consumers. Thus, it shows that quality management aspect has impressively improved the
current construction industry which has an extensive support to enhance the quality assurance of
the construction.
Different studies delineated that quality assurance is the technique which helps to reduce the
cost and time of the projects because it remains associated with skilled labor, professional
engineers, use of adequate machineries etc. (Meng, 2012; McGeorge & Zou, 2012; Rumane,
2017). In this context, Ross (2017) argued that applications of quality assurance tools are not
applicable in all construction projects because it demands for the higher cost to implement the
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innovative tools. Similarly, Larsen, Shen, Lindhard & Brunoe (2015) asserted that latest quality
management techniques are affordable merely in large constructions rather than small projects
because small enterprises do not have such kind of resources to use the techniques. However,
Meng (2012) stated that application of new quality techniques enhances the standard of the
construction which leads to higher satisfaction among clients. Apart from this, Lin & Zhang
(2015) investigated that application of green concepts in construction of buildings also improves
the quality of construction. Additionally, green construction also supports to maintain
sustainability as per the triple bottom line which includes economic, environmental and social
sustainability. Nonetheless, Yang, Zou & Keating (2013) propounded that application of green
approaches in construction initially creates cost for the projects because it demands for the
restructuring of the entire system. On the contrary, Kibert (2016) argued that initial
implementation of green aspects demand for the huge financial resources but later on cost
effective outcomes derived. Additionally, green construction has a major contribution in
reduction of CO2 emissions, waste of resources and improves the quality of entire construction.
Hence, it shows that quality in construction plays an important role because it supports to
maintain the overall efficiency of the construction. Here, the quality is considered with the
application of green initiatives in the construction because it helps to create sustainability in each
aspect.
2.1.2 Quality management and competitive advantage
According to Tan, Shen & Yao (2011), quality construction has a major role in entire
construction industry because it creates the opportunities to deal with the competition. Similarly,
Teicholz, Sacks & Liston (2011) mentioned that there is a link between quality management and
competitive advantage because quality assurance department emphasizes on the maintenance of
quality records and accordingly deal with the competitors which further helps to achieve
competitive advantages. However, Meng (2012) argued that the construction industry needs to
hire extra staff for the maintenance of quality records and daily assessment of the work which
enhances the overall cost of the construction. Apart from this, Winch (2010) asserted that quality
management is essential in the construction; however, it is determined by the policies of
government and legal bodies. Furthermore, the construction industry remains abide by the law
that do not use the hazardous equipment in the construction which reduces the sustainability of
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the environment and society. Besides this, Eastman, Teicholz, Sacks & Liston (2011) revealed
that quality management in construction industry is achieved by fulfilling the requirements of the
contractors, owners, designers, legal agencies etc. Moreover, Clough, Sears, Sears, Segner &
Rounds (2015) notified that quality concepts in construction require to includes new designs,
infrastructure, innovative ideas which demands for the recruitment of the skilled and
knowledgeable workforce in the teams. Therefore, it reflects that competitive advantages can be
achieved by the inclusion of quality management aspects because it improves the quality and life
cycle of the projects. Furthermore, inclusion of all participants of the projects is equally
supportive to improve the level of standard of the construction.
Several studies revealed that current construction industry does not always ensure the success
of the projects because it greatly depends on the management and controlling of the projects
(Rumane, 2013; Mallawaarachchi & Senaratne, 2015; Halpin, Lucko & Senior, 2017). Here,
Mofokeng (2012) asserted that mis-management of the entire project leads the cost, reduces the
quality, time overruns which further determines the failure of the construction contract;
ultimately reduces the competitive advantages. Furthermore, Rumane (2013) mentioned that
competitive advantages for the construction industry is led by the effective material handling,
time management skills, availability of the resources etc. Nonetheless, Mallawaarachchi &
Senaratne (2015) identified that quality of construction buildings is maintained by the
knowledgeable engineers and construction firms because these personnel plays a role in the
designing and construction stages of buildings. Additionally, the decisions of engineers
significantly affect the performance of buildings. Thus, it shows that inclusion of engineers and
construction firms plays a critical role in management and delivery of quality construction in the
society which leads to achievement of higher level of competitive advantage in context of cost
and time.
2.1.3 Quality management, productivity and performance management in construction
Meng (2012) stated that quality management in construction leads to improvement in
productivity as well as performance because quality is related to all aspects like efficient labors,
skilled manager, knowledgeable associated parties etc. However, Winch (2010) argued that
quality of construction reduces due to inefficiencies of the contractor’s experience and poor
coordination between parties of the construction contract. In this context, Abdullah, Alaloul,
8

Liew & Mohammed (2018) delineated that delays occur in the construction due to poor labor
productivity as well as shortage of the skilled personals which overruns the overall cost of the
buildings. By considering this, San Santoso (2015) mentioned that the complete investigation of
the construction sites is needed to improve the quality of the buildings because it remains
associated with the material handling, shuffling of labors, bringing of heavy machines etc. On
the contrary, Rumane (2013) notified that use of heavy machines demand for the optimum space
of land and easy handling of the equipment; however, it remains risky to bring heavy
machineries at shrined location which leads to reduction of quality of construction. Thus, it
indicates that quality management and performance of the construction depends on each other
because of the interlinked activities. Furthermore, the productivity and performance of the
construction is led by the adequate investigation of the construction sites.
2.2 Evaluating different digital tools for quality management in construction projects
Digitalization in construction is essential to improve the quality and standard of the
buildings. Hence, several digital tools have been analyzed in context of the construction industry
as follows-
2.2.1 Building Information Modeling (BIM)
According to Porwal & Hewage (2013), BIM is a technology which is used in the
architecture, engineering and construction projects to improve the quality of the buildings.
Additionally, BIM technology is generally used in the big construction projects such as road,
bridge, big apartments etc. In this context, Zhang, Teizer, Lee, Eastman & Venugopal (2013)
stated that cloud BIM integration is a technology which is the second generation of the buildings
information management where in it is expected to change the wave of the entire construction
industry. Further, Lee, Yu & Jeong (2013) pointed out that BIM is an advance technology which
helps to store all data of the construction and leveraged for different applications such as
building simulation, 4D scheduling, quantity takeoffs etc. However, Arayici, Egbu & Coates
(2012) argued that implementation of BIM technology or software is costly for the small size
constructions because it demands for the skilled staffs and appropriate training assessments to
operate the software. On the contrary, Kensek & Noble (2014) mentioned that BIM is based on
the computer-generated dimensions which are used for the maintenance of the quality by
applying the design and operational issues, construction sites etc. Hence, it shows that BIM is an
9

advance technology for the construction industry because it is based on the digitalization of all
construction activities by keeping the data in digital form.
Lu, Peng, Shen & Li (2012) stated that BIM is a latest technology for the construction
industry because it helps to generate new opportunities for improving scheduling processes
because BIM generate the schedule for the construction automatically. Additionally, the
contractors have to work in a standard time to enhance the quality. However, Kensek & Noble
(2014) argued that implementation of BIM needs to take the legal confirmation from the
government bodies to access and protect the data from copyright. Besides this, Hyatt (2011)
notified that BIM helps to reduce the overall cost of the construction by finding out the potential
problems. Additionally, BIM fix the identified problems before errors occur in the physical
environment. In this manner, identification of errors helps to reduce the cost of rework in the
construction sector.
2.2.2 System Application and Product (SAP)
Several studies delineated that management of material is an important procedure which
helps to manage the quality in context of handling of material, inflow and outflow of required
elements, inventory management etc. (Sugioka & Cheng, 2014; Hardin & McCool, 2015; Smith,
Merna & Jobling, 2014). However, Sugioka & Cheng (2014) asserted that ineffective material
handling causes the overall cost for the construction industry because a kiosk takes place among
different activities. On the contrary, Harris & McCaffer (2013) argued that the current
construction sector uses the modern technology for the material handling in an adequate manner
which helps to reduce the cost and improves the quality of the construction. In this context,
Patare & Minde (2016) notified that SAP is a software which supports to manage and maintain
the material inventory, reduce the operating cost, enhance the consumption of delivery storage of
material on right time etc. Moreover, Samaranayake, Wesumperuma & Ginige (2011) stated that
SAP helps to improve the communication within the company and further supports to order and
receive the products within safety period. However, Patsch & Zerfass (2013) argued that
implementation of SAP software incurs the high initial cost which not be affordable by the small
construction organizations. Nonetheless, Patare & Minde (2016) investigated that SAP is an
advance tool for the construction sector which is useful in planning and procurement of material
that further helps to reduce the wastage of material. Thus, it shows that SAP is an influencer
10

application for the construction sector because it helps to manage the material inventory by
proper planning of procurement. Furthermore, it also supports to reduce the wastage and cost of
all material and provide a systematic approach for ordering and receiving of material within
safety time.
Patare & Minde (2016) sated that the time of material management to be reduced by using
SAP application which further helps to minimize the manual errors in the procedures. However,
Irizarry, Karan & Jalaei (2013) argued that implementation of advance technology as SAP in the
construction sector demands for the hiring of skilled and professional workforce to operate the
system. In this manner, contractor has to invest on the recruitment of qualified personnel and to
offer the required training to existing workforce to run the technical systems. Besides this,
Skibniewski (2014) delineated that SAP stores the all information regarding material handling
which helps to get the stock of material any time and further supports to know about the location
of material. Additionally, accuracy of data is maintained through the SAP for the construction
sites and all relevant information received only by just one click on the system. Nonetheless,
Zhang, Luo, Tao, Ren & Guo (2010) argued that SAP requires for the strong estimation
department which helps to forecast the future requirements for construction. Therefore, it
indicates that SAP technology is appropriate for the construction companies because it reduces
the manual errors of the data and helps to maintain the adequacy of the related to transaction of
material on the site.
2.2.3 Internet of Technology (IoT)
Oesterreich & Teuteberg (2016) stated that the control and management of output at
construction sites is a challenging task in the current competitive environment and still remaining
a challenging because it is difficult to manage the large data. In this context, several ad-hoc
production control methods are used to prevents smooth production flow. Moreover, Zhong et al.
(2017) asserted that with the help of IoT, construction operations go through wireless devices
and sensors where in IoT enables the machinery, equipment, materials, structures to
communicate data by a central platform. However, Dave, Kubler, Främling & Koskela (2016)
argued that all digitalization in construction processes requires for the skilled and technical
professionals to operate the software which further leads to overall cost. On the contrary, Zhou &
Ding (2017) delineated that IoT is the computer and internet-based technology which helps to
11

manage the material handling, maintenance, stock orders and keep the track of quality assurance
in the construction. Furthermore, Ma (2011) notified that access of information is easy and a
device remains in control which is miles apart in real time by using IoT. Nonetheless, Matharu,
Upadhyay & Chaudhary (2014) found that there is a huge risk related to hacking of data at the
time of processing the information over the network. Furthermore, data transmitted over the
network in packages which helps to reduce the time and cost for the construction and improves
the quality of buildings because the saved money is used in other activities at construction site.
On the other hands, Zhou & Ding (2017) examined that IoT offers the safety and security for the
underground construction because it analyzes the internal activities and beat a warning alarm to
improve the safety performance. Hence, it reveals that application of IoT in construction sectors
is advantageous because it has an extensive support to centralized the all operations of
constructions which helps in adequate handling of material and availability of stores.
2.2.4 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Industry 4.0
According to Oesterreich & Teuteberg (2016), Industry 4.0 is related to technologies used
in the construction industry by highlighting the economic, social, political, technological,
environmental and legal implications of the adoption. In this context, Sambasivan & Soon (2007)
asserted that Industry 4.0 is related to variety of technologies to enable the development of an
automated manufacturing environment and digitalization of the value chain. However, Björnfot
& Torjussen (2012) stated that entire construction industry value chain is highly affected by the
collaboration with suppliers, customers, sub-contractors and stakeholders. Further, Li & Yang
(2017) identified that Industry 4.0 is the revolution in the technologies which helps to
restructuring of the entire construction system that supports to reduce the cost and quality of
construction. As mentioned above that Industry 4.0 consist of variety of advance technologies
which includes the AI technology in the construction sector that enables the proximity for
construction supply chain (Dallasega, Rauch & Linder, 2018). In this regard, Cheng, Tsai &
Sudjono (2010) mentioned that AI approaches in construction are also useful for the cost
estimation in the construction related to Case-Based Reasoning (CBR), Fuzzy Logic (FL),
Genetic Algorithms (GAs), Neural networks etc. By considering the significance of AI
approaches, Cheng, Tsai & Sudjono (2010) notified that CBR is the technology which is helpful
to estimate the cost and schedule at the time of the design stage. However, Arafa & Alqedra
12

(2011) argued that Neural Networks are more helpful to reduce the cost and supports to estimate
the overall cost of construction buildings. Furthermore, Wang, Yu & Chan (2012) identified that
Neural networks like linear regression are used to maintain the interdependencies between input
data which occurs unavoidable outputs by considering the significant variables on the
construction site. Additionally, it includes the number of storey’s, number of lifts, floor area etc.
which has a great contribution in escalation of overall cost of construction but those can be
managed by using the Neural networks. Thus, it shows that AI and Industry 4.0 are the latest
technologies for the construction sectors which supports to manage the cost and time of the
buildings. Further, CBR and Neural networks are the attractive digital tools of the current
construction industry because they have major contribution in cost estimation by at the time of
design.
2.3 Analyzing different issues in implementing digitalization
Different types of issues and problems occurs in the implementation of digitalization in
construction sectors including resistance to change, legacy system, low budget, lack of digital
education, lack of skilled and professional human resources
2.3.1 Issues as resistance to change
According to Tulenheimo (2015), the construction industry is generally known as to perform
poorly in context of learning and improvements because it is a huge industry and demands for
the wider changes in the entire industry to improve the quality of work. In this context, Arayici,
Egbu & Coates (2012) asserted that change is beneficial thing for the construction sector;
nonetheless, contractors, stakeholders and other participants of construction deal with the issue
of resistance to implement the changes. Further, Migilinskas, Popov, Juocevicius &
Ustinovichius (2013) stated that at initial stage employees always resist to accept the change in at
the workplace because they have a fear to lose the job. Additionally, workforce feels that new
skilled and professional labors will be hired on the place of existing workers; therefore, a risk of
job security will arise. Nonetheless, Tulenheimo (2015) argued that implementation of
digitalization helps to reduce the overall cost of construction buildings because it leads to work
in a standard time period with quality aspects. Apart from this, Alvesson & Sveningsson (2015)
mentioned that employees resist to change in the organization because all operational activities
are performed by the digital tools which reduces the job responsibilities of physical workforce in
13

constructions. However, Arayici et al. (2011) notified that the challenge of resistance to change
arises among the staff members because it is not easy for the existing workforce to accept the
changes in the construction processes. For instance, an ABC construction company is going to
implant a green activity in the construction buildings to reduce the consumption of resources,
improve sustainability in terms of cost, time, environment etc. However, workers resist to accept
the change as green construction because it demands for the least human resources which will
reduce the requirements of labors. Apart from this, Tulenheimo (2015) delineated that lack of
competencies enhances the chances of resistance to change because it necessitates to change in
skills; thus, unskilled workforce feels that they are not competitive to perform the job in
digitalization of constructions. Hence, it reflects that implementation of digital tools in
construction sector is always resisted by the workforce because it demands for the higher skilled
personals to operate to work with advance technologies. Moreover, the workers have a fear to
loss the job if digitalization occurs in constructions.
2.3.2 Legacy issues
Oesterreich & Teuteberg (2016) stated that use of modern techniques is a demanded thing in
each sector of the businesses in which constriction is one of the demanding sectors of
implementation of digital tools to improve the quality of buildings in competitive environment.
However, Tulenheimo (2015) asserted that implantation of new technologies and digitalization in
construction is required to take prior permission of the legal bodies for the successful
implementation of new software. Here, the digitalization provides the easy access of the data by
entering the passwords; however, the security keys might be hack by hackers and important data
might be stolen or changes can take place. In this case, Ghaffarianhoseini et al. (2017) mentioned
that governmental authorities provide the copyright or patent facility in which other remains
unable to copy the original data of construction companies. Furthermore, Hashizume, Rosado,
Fernández-Medina & Fernandez (2013) notified that legal norms are explicitly required which
are concern with the copyright in a digital society. However, Ruppert, Law & Savage (2013)
investigated that legal consideration regarding implementation of new tools leads the higher cost
for the entire construction sector and digitalization deal with the diversified challenges such as
security of data, IT security, IT infrastructure etc. Besides this, Hwu, Chen & Yau (2012)
implementation of modern techniques is not an easy task because creates the issues related to
14

intellectual property rights and problem with ownership of data as well as licensing issues etc.
Therefore, it indicates that legal issues are the major problems for the digitalization because it
requires to take the permission of legal bodies to operate the new technologies to improve the
quality and efficiency of buildings. Furthermore, before implementation of internet approaches it
requires to take the license from the government for data security.
2.3.3 Lack of skilled and professional human resources
Several studies revealed that successful implementation of digitalization is a key success
factor for the organizations because it improves the quality of the work as well as efficiency of
the workforce (Langford, Fellows, Hancock & Gale, 2014; Djokoto, Dadzie & Ohemeng-
Ababio, 2014; Ball, 2014). In this context, Sun, Jiang, Skibniewski, Man & Shen (2017) stated
that to operate digital tools such as digital dashboards, digital warehouses, inventory material
handling by internet etc. required for the skilled and computer professionals. However, Sarhan &
Fox (2013) stated that lack of capable employees and labors lead the digitalization into failure
because the people remain unable to work with advance technologies. On the other, digitalization
faces the issues due to lack of digital and internet education as well as incomplete knowledge in
labors. Furthermore, in construction sectors implementation of digital tools is takes more time to
make labors learn because labors have lack of education about the technologies. In this context,
Ball (2014) mentioned that construction industry is largely depends on the labor class and it
requires the huge number of workforces to complete the task in standard time otherwise the
construction may lead to delays which further enhances cost. In this case, Djokoto, Dadzie &
Ohemeng-Ababio (2014) delineated that implementation of digitalization in construction is very
difficult because it is not affordable to provide training each labor at construction sites.
Furthermore, the lack of digital education affects the quality of the work and demands for the
replacement of the employees with professional technologist to deal with the challenges of
digitalization. Hence, it reflects that lack of skilled workforce and lack of technical education
enhances the challenges for the construction sectors because it demands for the cost and experts.
Furthermore, in lack of skilled labors reduces the overall quality of the construction.
2.3.4 Low budget
15

According to Crotty (2013), digitalization is an essential factor in the current competitive
environment because it helps to reduce the cost and enhance the efficiency of the work. In this
context, Wu, Wang & Wang (2016) mentioned that new approaches demand for the higher
investments in the technologies which is not affordable for small construction companies. In this
context, Parikh, Kanabar & Sidhu (2010) stated that small companies successfully implement the
digitalization but again it requires for the additional financial resources to provide the training to
existing workers or to recruit new IT professionals. In this manner, Elmualim & Gilder (2014)
supported that the implementation goes to failure and makes the negative impact on the relevant
parties such as contractors, stakeholders, clients, general public etc. However, Hwu, Chen & Yau
(2012) low budget is not an issue for the implementation of digitalization; nonetheless, the firm
might prefer the financial institutions to borrow money for the advancement in the company.
Thus, it shows that low budgeting is a critical issue for the implementation of new technologies
which leads the financial burden on the companies.
16

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Type of the study
According to Saunders (2011), qualitative and quantitative are the two research studies
which have different aspects in context of the application of the study. Here, Neuman (2013)
asserted that major differences of both approaches are considered to be equally important and
depends on the emphasize of the research. In this context, Saunders & Lewis (2012) mentioned
that qualitative research helps the researchers to access the feelings and thoughts of the
respondents and that enables the people to dictate the knowledge and experiences towards the
study. However, quantitative study is based on the application of analytical tools to derive the
knowledge of a number of people related to the study and found that how many participants can
provide the data. In this context, t-test, ANNOVA, chi-square, regression, correlation etc. are
used in the quantitative study to get the optimum results of the study. However, Saunders (2011)
stated that mixed study is the emergent approach of the research which integrates both qualitative
and quantitative data within a single investigation to get the combined data for the study.
Furthermore, mixed methods support to collect and analyze both closed and open-ended data for
the relevancy of the research (Leary, Minichiello & Kottler, 2009). In this manner, by
considering the importance of both methods qualitative and quantitative study, a mixed approach
has been used for the current research because it uses the qualitative data to explore the
quantitative findings. Here, mixed approach helps to maintain a close connectivity between
digitalization and impact on the quality assurance which cannot be identified merely by
individual methods. Hence, the use of mixed study is justifiable.
3.2 Research philosophy
Kothari (2004) stated that research philosophies are the belief about the way in which
data of the phenomenon should be gathered, analyzed and used for the study. Two types of
philosophies are basically used in the research such as positivism and interpretivism which
encompasses the objectives of the study. Here, Novikov & Novikov (2013) mentioned that
positivism approach believes that reality is stable which is observed and described from the
objective viewpoint. However, Saunders (2011) notified that interpretivism provides the assumed
as well as interpreted information of the respondents about the research problem. Furthermore,
17

interpretivism allowed the researchers to use the own experience related to research problem for
the broad analysis. On the other hand, facts and figures founds in the positivism philosophy
because it uses the scientific approach to gather the data which demands for the analytical
researchers. Here, interpretivism philosophy has been used in the current research because the
respondents provide the interpreted data related to application of new technologies. Furthermore,
with interpretivism approach the researcher comes to capable to analyze the potential issues and
benefits by applying the modern techniques in quality management which is not applicable in
positivism philosophy. The positivism provides merely static information. Thus, the use of
interpretivism philosophy is appropriate.
3.3 Research design
Neuman (2013) identified that research design is a set of procedures which is used in data
collecting and analyzing the measures of the study by including different variables that are
mentioned in research problem. Predominantly, exploratory, experimental, explanatory and
descriptive are the several ways of research designs which are used to frame the outline of the
entire study (Kumar, 2019). In this context, Saunders & Lewis (2012) asserted that descriptive
design is used to describe the nature of the demographic segment and focus has been led on the
identification of reasons to occurrence of situation. Additionally, it demands for the detail study
of the research problem. However, experimental designs are used to experiment something new
insights by considering the dependent and independent variables. Moreover, Kothari (2004)
delineated that explanatory design establish a cause and effects relationship between two
variables which defines the effects of one variable on the dependent variables. Apart from this,
exploratory design is used to explore the hidden things which are not clearly visible in the
problem (Silverman, 2016). However, explanatory design helps to identify the reasons behind
problem occurrence and measure the effects on the phenomenon. In this context, explanatory
design has been applied in the current research to identify the relationship between application of
new technologies and effects on the quality assurance of the buildings. Here, explanatory design
is appropriate because the research is based on two different variables like advanced techniques
(independent) and implications on the productivity or quality of construction buildings
(dependent). In this context, descriptive design could not be justifiable because it provides
merely detail thematic information of the study without finding out relationships.
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3.4 Research approach
Kothari (2004) stated that inductive and deductive are the most common research
approaches for the research studies to gather the data. In this context, Neuman (2013) delineated
that deductive approach is used to analyze the general information and found the specific data for
the study. However, inductive approach is the reverse of deductive approach by which
researchers reach at broad level information. Further, Neuman & Robson (2014) analyzes that
deductive approach starts with the hypothesis whereas inductive approach is used for research
questions to narrow the scope of the study. Besides this, inductive approach is generally
associated with qualitative study which is applicable for the current study because the study is
based on the qualitative data. On the other hand, quantitative data demands for the deductive
approach which is used to avoid the risk in the study (Saunders, 2011). Apart from this, the
investigator is not remaining biased to use the statistical tools in application of inductive
approach because it is not associated with quantitative techniques. In this context, deductive
approach could not be used in current study because the research demands for the qualitative
analysis. Therefore, inductive approach has been used in the current study because it helps to
broaden the specific research knowledge related to implications of modern technologies. In
which the researcher analyzes the specific advanced tools of the construction sector that
improves the quality of buildings which cannot be done in deductive approach because
investigator remains biased to specific data. Thus, the application of inductive approach is
justifiable for the current study.
3.5 Data collection
According to Kothari (2012), data collection is a process to collect the data from the
relevant sources to find out the solutions for the research problem. Here, primary and secondary
are the two basic sources to gather the data for the study. In this regard, Chawla & Sodhi (2011)
mentioned that primary sources include the observations, interview, questionnaire etc. whereas
secondary sources include the literature review, annual reports, web sources, newspapers etc.
Furthermore, Neuman (2013) analyzed that primary data are those which collected for the first
time and the data which are already produced by other researchers comes under the category of
secondary information. Here, by considering the equal weightage of both, primary and secondary
19

both have been used for the current study to gather the fresh data as well as past information
which helps to identify the differences between past and current information. In case, primary
and secondary both provides the same information then it becomes optimum for the study. In the
current research, primary data has been collected from the questionnaire because it is appropriate
to collect the data from the remote areas construction sectors. Apart from this, literature review
has been used for the collection of secondary data to achieve the aim of the study. In this context,
use of both sources are justifiable for the current study because the research demands for the
analysis of digital tools in construction industry which supports to reduce the time and cost.
Furthermore, helps to improve the quality of the entire construction. Hence, the primary data
provides the current status of the latest techniques and secondary sources offers the critique of
the available data.
3.6 Sampling techniques
According to Saunders & Lewis (2012), sampling is the procedure to select the sample
from the population, group or objects for the measurement of the study. Probabilistic and non-
probabilistic sampling methods are used by the investigators in the research studies to select the
sample for the entire research. Here, each element has equal chances to get selected in the sample
size in case of probabilistic sampling whereas every element of the study does not get the equal
opportunity to be there in the sample size. In this context, Kothari (2004) stated that non-
probabilistic sampling is associated with purposive, quota, judgmental sampling techniques
whereas probabilistic sampling includes the stratified, systematic, cluster and simple random
sampling methods. In this context, probabilistic simple random sampling has been used to gather
the data from the civil engineers on the random basis. Here, the random sampling is used because
in this case the researchers remains unbiased towards the respondents and the investigator is able
to get the relevant data from the engineers. Furthermore, 20 civil engineers have been selected in
the random sampling for the sample size because the civil engineers have the broad knowledge
and have experience regarding the use of digital tools in the construction which supports to
escalate the overall quality of buildings. Here, the use of probabilistic sampling is justifiable for
the current study which develop the specific outcomes of the modern techniques.
20

3.7 Data analysis
Kothari (2004) notified that data analysis is the systematic approach to analyze the
collected data by using the statistical tools or logical techniques to describe and evaluate the data.
Here, several studies revealed that qualitative and quantitative are the two major techniques for
the data analysis of the concerned research (Saunders, 2011; Neuman, 2013; Kothari, 2004). In
qualitative data analysis, thematic analysis is generally applied for the in-depth analysis;
however, different statistical tools such as ANNOVA, t-test, chi-square, regression etc. are used
in the quantitative analysis which are appropriate to gather the static and optimum result of the
study (Saunders, 2011). Moreover, to analyze the qualitative data, thematic analysis takes
place on the basis of filling the questionnaire to the respondents which are related to the research.
By considering this, in the current study questionnaire method with thematic analysis has been
used to collect and analyze the data. Furthermore, specific relevant themes have also been
prepared on the basis of questions for the easiness of the respondents. Similarly, it is also useful
for the researcher to get the visible and hidden aspects of the new technologies in construction
buildings to improve the quality which cannot be identified through quantitative methods. Hence,
the use of qualitative data analysis is justifiable for the current study.
3.8 Research limitations
Research limitations concerned with the issues which occurs during the investigation of
the study. In this context, respondents remain least interested in the study to provide the adequate
answers to the researcher and creates the issues related to completion of the study. Moreover,
investigators found the problems in searching of relevant content on web sources for the
conduction of secondary research where it demands for login requirements. Additionally, the
researchers remain unable to gather the reliable and important data for the study due to login.
Apart from this, limited availability of time is one of the major issues for the investigators
because in lack of time research cannot be completed in predominant manner which affects the
quality of study. Further, cultural differences are one of the critical challenges for the
investigators to the collect the primary data because it requires the huge attention on the
respondents and demands for the excessive time to make them understand.
21

3.9 Ethical consideration
Ethics is concerned with the application of rules and regulations which are abided by law
and necessary for the smooth running of research without inclusion of invalid activities (Gajjar,
2013). In this context, in the current research study, ethical norms and policies has been followed
to gather the data for the achievement of the objectives of the study. Here, the respondents have
been freely included to provide the data from questionnaire and no participants were forcefully
invited to render the primary data which helps to maintain the ethical standards. Apart from this,
to collect the secondary data, literature review has been used by referring the authentic sources
which are related to implementation of digital tools in the construction industry. Furthermore, the
use of authentic sources indicates that the study is based on the ethical standards and no matter
has been copied from the web sources. Additionally, the data of secondary sources has been
completely rephrased in the words of investigator to reduce the plagiarism. Besides this, a
referenced list has been attached with the complete research report to maintain the reliability and
authenticity of the study. On the other hand, the private information of the participants has not
been disclosed to anyone in the primary research and it has also been assured that collected data
from respondents has been completely destroyed after the end of the research.
22

CHAPTER 4: INVESTIIGATION AND ANALYSIS
Data analysis chapter is used to analyze the collected data of the respondents to derive the
final outcome of the study. In this context, data has been collected from the civil engineers and
accordingly data investigation related to digitalization in construction industry is as follows-
Theme 1: Importance of quality management for construction sectors
On the basis of the collected data, 100% respondents said that quality management is an
essential tool for the construction industry. Quality management enhances the overall quality and
performance of the projects because quality tools supports to manage every activity on time in
minimum cost. However, no one was in the against of the quality management aspects in
construction sectors because it is the fact that quality assurance plays an important role to
improve the standard of buildings which ultimately magnify the satisfaction of the customers.
Apart from this, respondents have extensive knowledge related to quality management because
quality management is not only related to quality; however, it is also associated with inventory
management, timely material handling, transition of labors etc. Thus, it shows that majority of
the participants are in the favor of quality management implementation in construction sector.
Theme 2: Role of quality management in construction industry
23

On the basis of gathered data, it has been identified that quality management support the
construction industry in different ways like reduces the cost, time and improves the overall
efficiency of the constructions. In this context, 31.58% respondents said that quality management
in the construction supports to reduce the cost of overall buildings. Here, all the activities are
managed and regulated as per the quality management software which helps to manage the
quality. Further, 15.79% of participants uttered that quality management only supports to reduce
the overall time of the construction. Furthermore, all the construction activities like labor
handling, effective time management for the transition of supplies, timely communication with
all supportive parties etc. which helps to keep the activities on tract and wastage of time could
not take place. Moreover, remaining 52.63% of respondents said that quality management only
helps to improve the efficiency of inventory management in the construction process which is
possible by focusing on each activity by digital tools. Here, the inventory is managed by digital
software, online warehouse dashboards, digital storage of inventory and reducing the scope of
errors which are caused by the human beings. Moreover, quality of construction is strengthening
by focusing on the time and cost through quality management tools which ultimately leads the
overall efficiency of inventory and final output as buildings. Therefore, it reflects that majority of
participants 52.63% were in the support that quality management helps to improve the efficiency
of inventory management by using the digital software because the inventory can be seen any
time and limited storage automatically refilled by software system. However, on the basis of
24

other respondents, it is also identified that quality management has an inclusion in reduction of
cost and time in construction buildings.
Theme 3: Occurrence of higher cost in quality management implementation
The collected data shows that 25% participants said that application of quality
management demands for the higher cost in construction industry. Additionally, it has been
found that digitalization is costly not only in the construction sector; however, it is also
expensive for all other kind of industries such as retail, infrastructure, mining etc. Moreover, the
implementation of quality management is expensive because it demands for the establishment of
new techniques which further requires the skilled labors. Additionally, existing workforce needs
for the training to operate the quality management tools. Hence, ultimately it escalates the cost
for the construction. Furthermore, quality management establishment is not affordable for small
construction companies because small enterprises already has limited financial and human
resources; therefore, implementation of quality assurance tools incurs extra financial burden on
small construction sectors. Apart from this, remaining 75% respondents uttered that application
of quality management does not demand for the higher expenses. Additionally, initially the cost
increases to implement but gradually the cost can be covered by productive results, fulfillment of
the set targets and effective use of available resources. In this context, large construction
companies already have the professionals, skilled and knowledgeable personnel so the cost of
induction and training programs will not occur. Hence, the professionals are able to operate the
digital systems in the organization and controls the overall inventory and quality of the buildings.
25

In this context, on the basis of gathered data, it has been found that majority of the respondents
are in the benevolence of the ‘no’ argument that quality management does not requires the huge
amount of cost; however, the construction sectors is already using the quality management tools
but if it implement modern techniques then the additional cost will be required.
Theme 4: Revolutionary changes in construction industry by using the modern
technologies
According to gathered data, 55% respondents were strongly agreed that the use of
modern technologies has brought the revolutionary changes in the construction industry.
Additionally, use of new approaches in construction is supports to manage the quality which
enhances the reliability in the customers as well as all associated parties. Furthermore,
participants said that changes arise in different aspects such as time, cost, quality, management
of inventory etc. because new techniques maintain everything in digital format which can be
accessed at any time by the operator. Moreover, it helps to identify the errors on the spot and
before processing for the next step, the error will be removed from the entire processing and over
all quality will be improved. Apart from this, modern approaches in construction sectors has
extensive inclusion of effective inventory management, adequate material as well as labor
26

handling which ultimately reduces the overall cost of transition and time to manage the labors.
On the other hand, digital warehousing helps to maintain the stock in the adequate quantity so
that construction process not hamper at anytime and construction goes in a streamline way. Apart
from this, remaining 45% assenters were only agreed but do not have the strong favor that the
modern techniques had drastic impact on the construction and brought the exhaustive changes in
the overall construction industry. They were having only limited perspective regarding the
digitalization of construction sector because the older respondents were least aware about the
new techniques and the management criteria to manage the overall quality of the construction.
Besides this, no one has provided negative answer in context of the revolutionary changes in
construction by use of modern approaches because the current era is technical edge.
Additionally, current environment demands for the application of scientifically approved
techniques to manage the entire sustainability of the buildings which ultimately goes to improve
the satisfaction level of the clients. Therefore, it shows that majority of the respondents are
strongly agreed that modern technologies has developed drastic changes in the construction
sector.
Theme 5: Use of new techniques in construction sector for quality maintenance
27

On the basis of collected data, 31.58% participants told that BIM is the most usable
technique in the construction industry to improve the overall quality and efficiency of the
buildings. In this context, respondents were in the favor to apply BIM approach rather than other
tools such as SAP, IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Furthermore, the construction companies
prefer the BIM approach because the software automatically set the scheduling time of the entire
construction process and helps to develop standard buildings in the society as well as industrial
area. On the other hand, 68.42% respondents said that new techniques like BIM, AI, SAP and
IoT all are equally important for the construction sectors because each tool has its own features
and sustainability capabilities which is beneficial for the constructions. In this context,
participants have the knowledge regarding the all modern approaches and accordingly implement
for the adequate constructions. Furthermore, AI is the technique which is related to proximity of
the construction supply chain. However, in the IoT construction operations goes through wireless
devices and sensor embedded in which all the activities like material, structures, equipment etc.
are remains in a central control system which helps to save the time and cost for the construction.
Hence, it indicates that majority of the respondents 68.42% are in the favor that all techniques
BIM, SAP, AI, IoT are used in the construction as per the requirements and standards because it
is not possible to implement all the new approaches at single platform; however, it creates
complex situation for the organizations in context of cost.
Theme 6: Effectiveness of BIM to managing time factor in construction
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According to accumulated data, effectiveness of BIM approach is measured in
comparison to other techniques. In this context, data shows that 10% respondents told that BIM
is an effective new technique which is used to centralize the all data related to material handling,
inventory management, transition of labor etc. Furthermore, the centralization of data improves
the quality and reduces the cost, time as well as demands for the least human resources to
manage the decentralized data. On the other hand, 5% participants said that BIM is a better
approach for the construction sector because it helps to set the 4D scheduling for the all
processing of construction. In this manner, it has an extensive link with reduction in wastage of
time because in 4D scheduling the timing for each activity will be decided and the activity must
be completed in standard time otherwise all projects got delays. Further, 20% members said that
BIM is the modern technique which helps to identify the error through digital dashboards. Error
identification is one of the important points wherein mistake is found and removed before final
shape of the construction which helps to improve the overall quality of the buildings. Apart from
this, remaining 65% participants uttered that BIM approach has all positive features and supports
to manage the quality standards; hence, the construction uses the BIM approach. Here, members
said that BIM is a more effective technique in context of the time factor because it supports to
centralized the data, setting the 4D scheduling and errors identification in the entire construction
29

processing. Thus, it shows that majority of the respondents are in the favor that BIM approach is
more effective than other tools because it helps to set the time automatically, saves cost and
reduces waste of time.
Theme 7: Appropriateness of SAP to manage overall quality and cost in constructions
As per the assembled data, it has been identified that 25% of the respondents said that
SAP is appropriate to manage the overall quality and cost in the construction sector because it
effectively manages the material handling. Here, material handling always increases the cost for
the construction because transition takes repetition of the material handling from one place to
another or one site to another site. On the other hand, 20% of the participants told that SAP is an
effective approach to manage the overall quality of the buildings because it focuses on the
adequate inflow and outflow of the inventory. Additionally, inventory management is a difficult
task but SAP is supportive approach to manage the inventory through digital dashboards, digital
warehousing, online tracking etc. Apart from this, 5% of the respondents uttered that SAP
technology is helpful in reduction of operating cost of the construction because at initial stage
every activity is decided to complete in a required cost. In this manner, it ultimately improves the
30

overall quality of the construction buildings. On the other hand, remaining 50% of the
participants vocalized that SAP has an extensive contribution in the quality management by
focusing on the cost and time factors in the construction. Furthermore, these respondents uttered
that SAP has all qualities such as effective material handling, proper inflow and outflow of the
inventory and reduction in operating cost to maintain the standard of buildings. Therefore, it
indicates that majority of the participants agreed that SAP in construction is most appropriate
tool which manages the all above requirements related to material handling, inventory and cost.
Theme 8: Advance technologies incur potential risks in construction
The collected data displays that 60% of the respondents said yes that implementation of
advanced technologies is associated with the potential risk in construction. In this context, risk is
related to legalities, resistance to change, higher cost etc. Furthermore, it has also been identified
that lack of education, professionals, skilled workforce etc. are the major issues in the
implementation of the digital tools in the construction. Moreover, the implementation of advance
techniques in each construction projects is not affordable because it depends on the size of the
company. In this context, small construction companies would not be able to use the new and
modern technologies because it incurs huge amount of cost for the organization. On the other
hand, remaining 40% of the participants denied that application of digitalization in construction
industry is not associated with potential risks and issues because in the current era, the
construction industry already hires the IT professionals to operate the system; therefore, in the
implementation of new tools the company would not have to deal with the operating issues.
31

Hence, it shows that majority of the respondents in the favor that implementation of advanced
technologies is associated with the wide range of risks which reduces the overall quality of the
output.
Theme 9: Identification of risks in application of new technologies
On the basis of accumulated data, 47.37% of the participants said that resistance to
change is one of the crucial risks in the application of new technologies because workforce not
always remains ready to accept the changes in the organization. Here, the labors have a fear to
lose the job because new personnel will replace them who are capable to operate the systems. On
the other hand, 15.79% of the respondents uttered that lack of IT professionals is the major issue
in the digitalization because in construction it is not necessary that all the related people would
be experts and be able to use the digital tools. Apart from this, 36.84% of the participants told
that implementation of new techniques is associated with all problems such as legal issues, data
security, resistance to change, high cost and lack of IT professionals. Thus, on the basis of the
32

majority factors, it has been assessed that resistance to change is the most critical issue which
arise in the application of new technologies.
Theme 10: More relevancy of the issues in context of lack of skilled professionals and
resistance to change
A per the gathered data, 15.79% of the respondents were strongly agree that lack of
skilled professionals is the more relevant issues rather than resistance to change because
capabilities are most required factor to operate the systems. Further, 36.84% of the respondents
were merely agree in context of lack of professionals is the major problem in digitalization than
resistance to change because resistance might be changed into acceptance. Moreover, 26.32% of
the participants were neutral about the risk factors. Now, remaining 21.05% of the respondents
were disagree about the risk factor and said that lack of IT professionals is not a critical problem
than the resistance to change. Thus, on the basis of the majority, it has been found that people are
in the favor that lack of skilled employees is a major risk for the construction sectors during the
application of digital tools.
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Conclusion
On the basis of the report, it has been concluded that the first objective ‘The importance
of quality management in construction projects’ has been successfully achieved in the form of
quality infrastructure and designs in construction. Furthermore, it has been found that quality of
construction is depends on the timely delivery of projects, reduction in cost and wastage.
However, it has also been identified that quality management has an important role in the
management of quality assurance of the buildings which further helps to resolve the issues
related to demands of the final consumers. Apart from this, quality management in construction
has a wider concept because it improves the skills of personals and tends to work according to
set of standards. Nonetheless, it has been summarized that quality management demands for the
professionals, skilled and qualified labors to perform the activities within time line which
encourages the satisfaction among different parties. Besides this, lack of quality management
reduces the effectiveness of the buildings and also affects the reputation of the construction firm
in the eyes of customers. Further, it has been witnessed that quality of the construction can be
maintained by application of green aspects because it helps to reduce the use of natural
resources, reduction in wastage, CO2 emissions which further supports to enhance the
sustainability of the environment. However, the implementation of quality management demands
for the higher cost and IT professionals to operate the digital software regarding warehouse
inventory, material supplies, transportation etc. In this context, majority of respondent said that
quality management is really essential for the construction sectors. Moreover, all these things
show that quality management is highly applicable in the large construction companies so that
the firms can bear the huge investments along with higher profitability by digital tools.
Therefore, in current era without quality management, the construction sector cannot run
smoothly because it creates the hazards activities which are risky for the live of the labors.
On the basis of the analysis, it has been concluded that the second objective ‘Evaluation
of different digital tools for quality management in construction projects’ has been successfully
attained because digital tools helps to improve the quality of the buildings. In this context, use of
technology in construction is support to enhance the life of the buildings because through digital
34

software everything remains in the supervision of the management department. Here, it has been
found from the analysis that quality management tools have extensive support to reduce the cost,
time and improves the effectiveness of the inventory. Moreover, it has also been summarized that
BIM technology is generally used in the large construction projects like road, bridge, big
apartments etc. because it requires the higher experienced and professionals. Additionally,
implementation of BIM demands for the higher cost but as per the majority, it has been
perceived that BIM is the effective technology in the construction to manage time factor.
However, it has also been summarized that BIM technology helps to create the new opportunities
for improving scheduling processes by generating the complete schedule for the construction
automatically. Similarly, it has been revealed from the analysis that majority of participants were
strongly agreed that digital tools had brought revolutionary changes in the construction industry.
Apart from this, it has been analyzed and concluded that SAP is the effective technology which
is basically supports to manage the overall quality and cost in construction industry.
Furthermore, SAP helps to maintain the material inventory and reduces the operating cost of
handling. Similarly, it has also been discovered from the majority of the participants that SAP is
appropriate for the management of adequate inflow and outflow of inventory. Besides this, it has
also been recognized that IoT in construction operations creates the streamline management
because everything goes from wireless devices and create a central platform of management.
Therefore, it shows that use of all kind of digital tools in construction is helpful in every context
like material handling, inventory, transportation, cost, time, quality etc.
At the end, it has been summarized that the final objective of the report ‘To analyze the
different issues in implementation of digitalization’ has been effectively attained because the
application of modern techniques in construction sectors is not quite ease. Here, on the basis of
the data analysis lack of skilled personnel is the major issue rather than resistance to change in
the implementation of new techniques in construction. Additionally, in lack of IT professionals
the construction sector not be able to use the modern technologies; however, it would be ease to
prepare the workforce to accept the changes. Apart from this, low budget is one of the identified
problems because digitalization requires the extra financial resources in the implementation.
However, as per the accumulated primary data, it has been assessed that digitalization does not
demand for the huge cost. On the contrary, it has been concluded that establishment of modern
digital tools in the small construction companies is not acceptable due to occurrence of higher
35

expenses and over all cost. Besides this, legal issues also arise in the digital implementation
because legal permission is mandatory to implement the digital tools otherwise security issues
will be highlighted. Here, it has been found that in case of lack of legal allowance, data security
issues take place and the firm not get the copyright on the data which might be copied by others.
Furthermore, low budget is the reason behind the unsuccessful implementation of the
digitalization because new techniques demands for the inclusion of adequate training to the
workers and positioned them to operate the software otherwise, the implementation goes to
failures. Hence, it creates the negative impact on the several parties such as suppliers,
competitors, customers and other clients. Therefore, it concludes that implementation of modern
technologies in construction is always remains associated with risk and challenges.
5.2 Recommendations and implementation
Implementation of digitalization deals with several issues; therefore, to mitigate the risks
and challenges appropriate recommendations has been provides as follows-
5.2.1 Use new digital technologies to manage quality assurance
On the basis of the report, it has been found that the quality management is one of the
important aspects for the construction industry because quality matters a lot for customers in
context of the buildings. In this case, lower quality construction reduces the satisfaction level of
the consumers because it affects the life of the human beings. By considering the significance of
quality management, it has been suggested that the construction companies deliberately use the
modern and digital tools in the construction to manage the overall quality. Here, it has been
pointed out to use the new techniques like BIM, SAP, advance inventory management tools etc.
Moreover, the advance techniques support to manage the time, cost, resources, inventory,
transition of human resources etc. which further helps to improve the standard of the
constructions. For example, if the construction sector implements the SAP then the all relevant
activities such as scheduling of time, effective material handling and online tracking of the
inventory by digital dashboards or digital warehousing etc. will be managed in as per the
standard time and cost. Hence, the saved time will be used in other required activities and
ultimately overall quality of construction will be improved.
5.2.2 Recruit skilled and IT professionals
36

On the basis of the analysis, it has been identified that construction sector requires to
maintain overall quality of the buildings and for this purpose, the companies are supposed to
implement advanced technologies to improve the efficiency of the constructions. In this context,
it has been recommended that the construction organizations should appoint the IT professionals
and skilled workforce to operate the software and online systems. Here, the existing employees
might not be able to effectively operate the systems; hence, the firms need to recruit the
professionals so that the cost of training can be reduced. Furthermore, least errors would occur in
case of the positioning of the trained personnel and overall training requirements would be
reduces. In this manner, least errors always improve the quality of the output which furthermore
enhances the overall efficiency of the buildings. On the other hand, if errors occur in the software
by which the quality is going to be reduce then IT professionals directly identify the reasons of
the errors and rapidly removes the system errors so that standard of output like buildings do not
get affected. For example, if unprofessional persons are operating the digital tools then chances
of errors will be enhancing, quality goes down and cost-time will be maximized.
5.2.3 Use green operations
The overall analysis shows that construction is the fields where environment always get
affected in a negative means because it releases huge waste of materials and slurries. In this
context, it has been recommended that construction industry should use the green operations in
the overall processing which helps to improve the sustainability of the environment and quality
of the buildings. Here, green operations help to reduce the wastage of materials, efficient
inventory management and reduction in carbon emissions etc. On the other hand, green
initiatives in supply chain of construction sectors reduces the ratio of transportation of material
and focuses on the reuse of the waste in other activities to maintain the cost. Apart from this,
emphasize on the green operations always helps to maintains the sustainability in terms of
economic and social also because construction sector is directly associated with life of the social
beings.
5.2.4 Make employees ready to accept changes
On the basis of the dissertation, it has been recognized that employees always resist to
change in the organization because they have fear to lose the job or might be replaced by other
37

competitive workers. In this case, it has been suggested that the management should make the
employees ready to accept the change and remains committed with changed environment. Here,
it has also been proposed that the higher authorities must describe all the beneficial aspects to the
employees before implementation. Furthermore, make workforce understand that the particular
change will bring revolutionary changes in the life of the workers as well as the success of the
company. Therefore, it would be easy for the organization to bring the change in the company
and employees would also accept the radical change for the own growth.
5.2.5 Take copyright and license from the government
In the digitalization, governmental issues always occur like licensing, copyright, patents
in case of the software implementation otherwise government will interfere in every activity
which delays the completion of task. In the case, it has been recommended that large or small
construction companies should take license to operate the big machines and digital software to
deal with any incident which is related to legalities. Furthermore, copyright is must for data
security on the software and online tracking of the inventory otherwise mis-conduct can take
place in the sue of systems as well as software. Hence, digitalization is the new concept in the
construction industry so it is required to take the legal permission which helps to mitigate the
legal issues; thus, governmental formalities should be fulfilled before implementation of modern
technologies.
38

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47

8.0 APPENDIX
(A) List of questions- Questionnaire
Q.1 Do you think that the quality management is essential for the construction sectors?
(A) Yes
(B) No
Q.2 In your opinion, how the quality management supports the construction industry?
(A) Reduces cost
(B) Reduces time
(C) Effective inventory management
Q.3 Do you think that application of quality management demands for the higher cost?
(A) Yes
(B) No
Q.4 Do you agree that the use of modern technologies has bought the revolutionary changes in
the construction industry?
(A) Strongly agree
(B) Agree
(C) Neutral
(D) Disagree
(E) Strongly disagree
Q.5 In your opinion, what kind of new technologies are used by construction industry to
maintain quality?
48

(A) Building Information Modelling (BIM)
(B) System Application and Product (SAP)
(b) Internet of Technology (IoT)
(C) Artificial Intelligence (AI)
(D) All above
Q. 6 In your opinion, how the BIM is more effective to manage the time factor in construction
sector?
(A) Centralized the data
(B) 4D scheduling
(C) Error identification
(D) All above
Q.7 To what extend do you think that the SAP is appropriate to manage overall quality and cost
of the constructions?
(A) Effective material handling
(B) Adequate inflow and outflow of inventory
(C) Reduction in operating cost
(D) All above
Q.8 Do you think that implementation of advanced technologies is associated with the potential
risks in construction?
(A) Yes
(B) No
Q.9 In your opinion, what kind of risk arises in the application of new technologies?
49

(A) Legal issues
(B) Data security issues
(C) Resistance to change
(D) Higher cost
(E) Lack of IT professionals
(F) All above
Q.10 Do you agree that lack of skilled professionals is the more relevant challenge than
resistance to change?
(A) Strongly agree
(B) Agree
(C) Neutral
(D) Disagree
(E) Strongly disagree
(B)Tables of questionnaire
Theme 1
ANSWER
CHOICES
RESPONSES NO. OF
REPONDENTS
(A) Yes 100.00% 20
(B) No 0.00% 0
TOTAL 20 20
Theme 2
50

ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
REPONDENTS
(A) Reduces cost 31.58% 6
(B) Reduces time 15.79% 3
(C) Effective
inventory
management
52.63% 10
TOTAL 19 19
Theme 3
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
REPONDENTS
(A) Yes 25.00% 5
(B) No 75.00% 15
TOTAL 20 20
Theme 4
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
REPONDENTS
(A) Strongly agree 55.00% 11
(B) Agree 45.00% 9
(C) Neutral 0.00% 0
(D) Disagree 0.00% 0
(E) Strongly
disagree
0.00% 0
TOTAL 20 20
Theme 5
51

ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
REPONDENTS
(A) Building
Information
Modelling (BIM)
31.58% 6
(B) System
Application and
Product (SAP)
0.00% 0
(b) Internet of
Technology (IoT)
0.00% 0
(C) Artificial
Intelligence (AI)
0.00% 0
(D) All above 68.42% 13
TOTAL 19 19
Theme 6
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
REPONDENTS
(A) Centralized the
data
10.00% 2
(B) 4D scheduling 5.00% 1
(C) Error
identification
20.00% 4
(D) All above 65.00% 13
TOTAL 20 20
Theme 7
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
RESPONDENTS
(A) Effective
material handling
25.00% 5
(B) Adequate inflow 20.00% 4
52

ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
RESPONDENTS
and outflow of
inventory
(C) Reduction in
operating cost
5.00% 1
(D) All above 50.00% 10
TOTAL 20 20
Theme 8
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
RESPONDENTS
(A) Yes 60.00% 12
(B) No 40.00% 8
TOTAL 20 20
Theme 9
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
RESPONDENTS
(A) Legal issues 0.00% 0
(B) Data security
issues
0.00% 0
(C) Resistance to
change
47.37% 9
(D) Higher cost 0.00% 0
(E) Lack of IT
professionals
15.79% 3
(F) All above 36.84% 7
TOTAL 19 19
53

Theme 10
ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES NO. OF
RESPONDENNTS
(A) Strongly agree 15.79% 3
(B) Agree 36.84% 7
(C) Neutral 26.32% 5
(D) Disagree 21.05% 4
(E) Strongly disagree 0.00% 0
TOTAL 19 19
(C) Advantages and dis-advantages of mixed approach- Qualitative and quantitative
S.N. Advantages Disadvantages
1 Mixed approach is helpful in
understanding the differences
between qualitative and
quantitative findings
Mixed approach enhances the more
complexity of the evaluations
because it demands for the careful
planning to describe all points of the
research
2 Mixed methods show that study
has been conducted by considering
the experience of respondents
Mixed methods demand for the
multidisciplinary team for the
research
3 The study enhances the scholar’s
interaction by encouraging the
overall interaction of qualitative,
quantitative and mixed methods
scholars
The mixed approach requires
extensive time and resources to
conduct the research which is higher
than the single method of the study
54

4 Mixed study supports to collect
the wide range of data by inclusion
of both qualitative and quantitative
data
Discrepancies arises in resolving the
interpretation of the results
5 Mixed methods provide the greater
flexibility as well as adaptability
to many research designs to derive
the optimum outcomes
Mixed method of research is very
expensive because here the
researchers needs to apply both as
quantitative tools and qualitative
analysis which enhances the overall
cost
(D) Total Quality Management in construction
Figure 1: Total quality management approach in construction industry
(Source: Sadikoglu & Zehir, 2010)
55

Total quality management is associated with different aspects which are essential to
manage the overall quality in the respective actions. Here, total quality management in
construction sector is related to collaboration of all factors such as teamwork, supplier
involvement, customer service, cost of quality etc. Additionally, it also includes the management
of commitment and leadership of the personnel, training, appropriate statistical approaches.
Apart from this, overall quality of the construction industry is depending on the quality of codes
and standards, complete analysis of the activities on time and standard cost to improve the entire
quality. Quality construction improves the overall efficiency of the buildings and enhances the
satisfaction level among the associated parties such as suppliers, builders, customers,
competitors, general public etc.
(E) Features and risk of the BIM approach
Features Risks
Building information modeling is the faster
and more effective process
BIM face the issues in the communication to
all related parties of the construction during the
complex construction stages
BIM is the latest IT technology which supports
to render the effective structure of the
buildings
Installation of BIM demands for the
permission of governmental bodies otherwise
legal interference will be maximum during the
entire construction process
BIM provides the better designs to the
contractors which helps to produce innovative
buildings in the industrial area or social areas.
Legal issues arise in the construction at the
time of faulty designs of the construction;
hence, the firm has to pay additional legal fees
to resolve the issues
Everything is automatically settled in the
projects by applying the BIM because BIM
automatically schedule the timing of each
activity
The updating of BIM data and ensuring the
accuracy is the great risk for the contractors
because updating might affect the real data.
BIM is useful for the representation of all
segments related to design and construction
industry
BIM blurs the level of responsibility which
enhances the risk and creates the issues of
design error
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BIM has a capability to reduce the waste in
context of the material by using the BIM
drawing tools
Implementation of BIM higher the overall cost
of the organization which increase the cost of
labors, materials, warehousing etc.
Cloud BIM supports to improve the
collaboration between input of the design and
moves forward in the construction
BIM demand for the IT professionals to
operate the systems and existing employees
demands for the adequate training to run the
BIM software
(F) Calculation of greenhouse gas emissions for highway construction projects
Hight construction majorly discharges the carbon emissions and rapidly affects the
overall sustainability of the environment which further has adverse impact on the satisfaction of
the clients and society. Hybrid models used by the construction sectors to measure the overall
carbon emissions. For example, from the model it has been found that around 94% of the total
CO2 emissions throughout the construction industry. Furthermore, the green house gases emitted
in acquiring the materials for the construction and maintenance of the highway infrastructure. In
this context, current environmental sustainability is hampering due to CO2 discharges because a
lot of slurries defecting the natural resources like water, air and fertility of the land etc.
Furthermore, in a study of China, it has been identified that building and infrastructure business
will grow by 2030 which would be greatly responsible for the enhancement in environmental
degradation. However, it affects the all elements of triple-bottom line like economic,
environment and society.
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