The results of the survey will be published in May, and construction managers will be able to check their progress against a number of key benchmarks.
The two-page questionnaire was sent to members at the end of March. It asks about their experiences with e-procurement, accounting software and construction portals, and about their own level of expertise in e-business.
The move follows complaints from construction managers about computing and internet services. Contractors have complained about the back-up service they receive from software suppliers and reported that web-based systems and portals are failing to satisfy expectations.
The survey starts with basics like email and internet use and extends to construction portals and data management systems.
Roger McDermott, e-business advisor with the Construction Confederation, said the survey would serve two purposes. "It will be useful for us to know how far down the e-business path our members are, but it will also give them a chance to take stock of how far they have progressed themselves and see what the rest of the industry is doing." Results of the survey will be available on the Construction Confederation's website, www.thecc.org.uk, by the end of May. The trade body has also launched a new e-business section this month.
The Construction Industry Computing Association is awaiting the results of its own second annual survey on e-commerce, in a joint initiative with the Construction Products Association. The survey was sent out in March to 1000 contractors, manufacturers, suppliers and designers.
Questions cover the importance of e-commerce, constraints to its development and the extent to which e-commerce is used in individual companies. Results will be available from the CICA at the end of this month.
Source
Construction Manager
