Utility assessment of electronic networking technologies in construction

Despite an explosive growth in virtually all areas of industry and commerce, Electronic Networking Technology (ENT) has only begun to make inroads into the construction industry practice. Although information exchange protocols in construction firms and on construction project sites make it difficult to take advantage of most ready-made solutions applicable in other industries, there is a significant potential of large benefits from the correctly developed and applied ENT solutions for construction firms and construction project site offices. This paper describes the ongoing research effort to determine variables related to the application of ENT protocols for the main types of construction project delivery systems and to measure the utility of ENT configurations in facilitating communication between parties involved in a construction project with respect to specific project delivery systems.