Construction Collaboration Technologies: An

The construction industry is not as sleepy as it is sometimes thought to be. Project collaboration systems (sometimes also called 'project portals' or 'project extranets') are becoming recognised at the start of the twenty-first century as a powerful tool for the development and management of complex projects. They centre on the effective and efficient use of web-based software and are designed to suit a wide range of users. Book jacket.

List of figures

ix

List of tables

xi

Foreword

xiii

Preface

xv

Acknowledgements

xix

Defining collaboration

1

(11)

What is collaboration?

2

(2)

Defining collaboration technology

4

(1)

Defining construction collaboration technologies

5

(4)

Using the technology non-collaboratively

9

(1)

Chapter summary and plan of Chapters 2--10

10

(2)

The convergence of culture and technology

12

(20)

From partnering to collaborative working

12

(7)

The growing use of IT

19

(10)

The convergence of culture and technology

29

(1)

Chapter summary

30

(2)

The construction collaboration providers

32

(17)

Understanding the providers' roots

33

(5)

History, management and financial status of technology providers

38

(4)

Charging structure

42

(3)

The UK construction collaboration technology market

45

(3)

Chapter summary

48

(1)

Hosting construction collaboration technologies

49

(16)

Traditional software delivery

49

(2)

Traditional IT support

51

(1)

Hosting construction collaboration: the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach

51

(1)

The emergence of `software as a service'

52

(2)

Benefits of using `wave two' ASPs

54

(3)

Traditional software or ASP: other considerations

57

(1)

Minimum quality of service (QoS) considerations

58

(1)

The external hosting options

59

(2)

A hosting data centre

61

(1)

Investing in security

62

(1)

Financial security of hosting providers

63

(1)

Chapter summary

64

(1)

Features and functionality of construction collaboration technology

65

(30)

Organisation features

68

(4)

Communication features

72

(5)

Management features

77

(3)

Sharing, viewing and working with CAD-based drawings

80

(8)

Construction collaboration technology options

88

(4)

Ease of use

92

(1)

Support services

93

(1)

Chapter summary

94

(1)

Connecting to a construction collaboration service

95

(12)

The growth of broadband

96

(1)

Low bandwidth or not?

97

(2)

Internet connection via a company or site network

99

(4)

Internet connection for remote users

103

(1)

Operating systems

104

(1)

Browser support

105

(1)

Chapter summary

106

(1)

Legal issues relating to construction collaboration technology

107

(16)

Legal status of electronic communications

108

(2)

Legal relationships with the software vendor

110

(5)

Service interruption or unforeseen termination

115

(4)

Discovery and the document audit trail

119

(1)

Freedom of information

119

(1)

Ownership of data and copyright

120

(1)

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Construction Collaboration Technologies: An Extranet Evolution

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials