A report from The Building Centre Trust looking at construction projects says there is some way to go before recent investment in hardware and software begins to pay off in increased efficiency.

Despite considerable expenditure on IT on all sides of the typical project team, there is little evidence of real integration so far. Contractors, designers, clients all have equipment and systems in place - but, this study suggests, everyone is waiting for someone else to take the lead.

In only about half of the projects reviewed had IT infrastructure been discussed. This was more likely to happen on the biggest projects, and the client was most likely to be the initiator.

Not surprisingly, computers were extensively used by individual project participants, but nearly everything gets printed and distributed on paper. Interestingly, almost 90% of the companies studied have internet access - but fewer than 20% of those questioned had actually visited websites to look for technical or product information, and virtually no orders were placed this way.

What is needed, says the report, is more investment in training to help project participants become more comfortable with using computer-based systems, as well as more aware of the benefits. In the meantime, it is likely to be the holder of the purse strings who shapes project methodology.

Elliott Chase