Posted on Tuesday, June 03, 2008 11:48 AM
A survey commissioned by Autodesk UK claims that 71% of UK homebuilders believe IT is key to both their business management success and their success in delivery to customers.
The “Hard Hats and Laptops” survey sought to discover the key business pressures experienced by technical, commercial and construction teams and how technology can help address these issues.
It found that while the housebuilding industry is typically cautious of new technologies due to the sheer number of skills, professionals and trades involved, 71% stated that IT was key to both their business and delivery to customers.
The survey also uncovered levels of inefficiency, with one third of senior and middle management stating that they did not know how much their company was spending on tendering. A further quarter of senior management said that printing and postage costs amounted to £30,000 ($59,046) annually, while 31% did not know how much it was costing their company.
Other major concerns for the industry included poor collaboration between suppliers and contractors which 33% of middle management noted as a serious concern. Lengthy planning processes were also a major concern for 48% of senior management. Of those who had knowledge of collaborative product management software only 33% of the total sample had ever used CPM solutions and 41% of those said that they had experienced issues managing the control of information both internally and externally.
Other Key Findings:
• 99% of survey respondents use email to manage the flow of information
• 47% said they struggled with the limitations of email
• 88% said it was important for their firm to have access to up to date information
• 46% of tendering activity costs over £5,000 ($9,841) per project
• 41% have issues managing the control of information, internally and externally
--RSN