Project of the Month August 2003

The Knowledge Sharing in Enterprises and Networks Project:  Improved Communication in the Building Industry with ICT

Both in large building and construction sites and in every builder's enterprise a vast saving potential in terms of money and resources is waiting to be cashed by introducing IT technology, – however, this should happen on the terms of the users. To this end a DDN-project titled ”Knowledge Sharing in Enterprises and Networks” has developed several solutions, and user tests carried out so far look promising.

By Naia Bang / Texthuset Aalborg
No secret has been made of the building industry being more than reluctant in introducing ICT in their day-to-day work procedures, - and this goes in particular for the traditional builder's enterprises. So when the DDN-project named ”Knowledge Sharing in Enterprises and Networks” was kicked off in December 2001, the players were well aware that they were facing a serious challenge.
- Already before the ”Knowledge Sharing in Enterprises and Networks” was launched, we had an innovation task force working to map the issues and needs of the building industry. We focused on the visualisation of costs in construction projects within the fields of consumption of materials, time management, and material management because we detected that numerous projects and minor odd jobs never had all related expenditures updated and incurred when settling a specific job. So there is a vast amount of money to save for the builder and the contractor, emphasizes Anders Thomsen project manager of the Danish Technological Institute.

Henrik Kronborg, Conductor of Anton Lassens Eftf., keeps track of ladders using his mobile phone and EasyTime. For this system he contributed to the development in the Knowledge Sharing in Enterprises and Networks.
Photo: Ajs Nielsen

Information on Building Sites has its Price
- If we consider larger projects involving several players, Denmark sees an annual approximated number of 15.000 building projects, equivalent to a total budget of 125 billion DKK. An average building or construction project is covering a four storey 2.000 square meters – and involving around 150 enterprises in the process. According to Knud Bindslev of KB Informatik, an annual expenditure of around eight billion DKK is placed in Danish construction sites – for the sole purpose of generating information, explains Anders Thomsen.
The greatest challenge is that of making sure that all players can access the same identical information – and concurrently at that. For example, if the architect or the engineer decides to modify an essential detail in their plan or blueprints – will the electrician or the masons be provided with updated prints?
- Today the phone and the good old yellow stickers are the management tools for such tasks. But there is no guarantee that information will reach everybody with the need. This is why Backbone A/S, our project partner, has introduced a project web solution named Byggeweb (Building Web). This is a location on the Internet where the construction project can upload all blueprints and data to make them available to all players via a special password, explains Anders Thomsen.

Buying or Leasing a Web Location
On the Byggeweb site the client can buy or lease a so-called project-site, with all the tools available as paid for.
Precisely owing to its flexibility the Byggeweb solution can be tailored to each project – or each enterprise.
- One of our project partners is also using the Byggeweb site in their work on a day-to-day basis. Previously all the journeymen and chargehands would have to start their day by meeting in at the office to know what work they were listed for on that particular day. Then they drove off to get the job started – possibly to find a shortage of material. So they would have to call their boss – or go the nearest timber trade themselves. Using the ProjektWeb site the journeyman builder can now access the ProjektWeb on his laptop computer to view a list of today's jobs – and get an overview of the expected consumption of materials, points out Anders Thomsen.
Adding to the Byggeweb site the ”Knowledge Sharing in Enterprises and Networks” project is working on another solution – which may well prove a good supplement to the Byggeweb site. It is an electronic ballpen developed by the MillCom company. Using the electronic ballpen you write as you would do with a normal ballpen. For example you could fill out your time sheets or make corrections to a blueprint. They will then be submitted via Bluetooth technology for a central recording.

Different Requirements to Solutions
However, while architects and engineers are using IT in their everyday work, the picture is radically different for the conventional building enterprises. And Anders Thomsen is stressing the fact that presenting them with a ”smart” IT solution is not enough. Attitudes need to be changed and reframed. And to change attitudes two requirements must be met: The tool must be user-friendly. And it would require the view to substantial savings as an incentive for the building contractor to introduce it.
- Adding to the hesitation of the building enterprises involved in the project – ”What's the use this at all, now” – it quickly turned out that needs varied with the different types of building enterprise. So we established a number of workshops to come up with solutions specifically targeting each their industry, explains Anders Thomsen.

In particular the carpenter's shops involved in the project are happy to record the expenditures of hours and materials using a barcode reader on the mobile phone.
The photo is a loan from The Danish Technological Institute.

With or Without Barcodes
- The carpenters were keenly interested in the solution developed by NetMill within the DDN-project titled ”The Mobile Employee”. Here the consumption of materials as well as hours can be managed using a barcode system and barcode reader on the mobile phone. However, for painters the predominant need was to keep track of the equipment, and barcodes were not the ideal solution in their world, explains Anders Thomsen.
So the painters were introduced to EasyTime, a system in which all their tools and equipment are initially recorded in a special software solution – ladders, spray tools, work lights, lifts etc. Then track can always be kept of the location of the equipment, and it can be booked – either via a laptop computer or a mobile telephone with GPRS technology. The system is developed in a collaboration between the companies of EasyTime, Siemens and Sonofon.

Keep it Simple
With Anton Lassens eftf. A/S of Aalborg Henrik Kronborg, conductor, has been joining the project workshop to find a solution for the painters.
- Our task was in particular to keep the IT-people ”down to earth”. Making a system capable of managing this, that and the other fancy feature is all fine – but by the end of the day it's all about serving our actual needs. And it must be really simple to use, emphasises Henrik Kronborg.
The Anton Lassens Eftf. company has used EasyTime since November 2002, and results have been remarkable. - Partly we are loosing less equipment – Previously, for example, we kept losing an incredible number of five-step ladders. And partly the chargehands will give it a second thought and a second look before calling to report that they are missing a ladder. For the system will tell us that they have already got a ladder with them – so maybe they should just look for it, explains Henrik Kronborg.
Lost material is a known problem in every builder's enterprise. For example Henrik Kronborg has experienced a really expensive lift that had gone missing – and nobody could recall where it had been placed. But now such problems are history.

All Equipment Recorded
When implementing EasyTime at Anton Lassens Eftf., all equipment was initially recorded. This took five people one day's work. Information on the equipment has now been put on a database, and the company has five employees to serve the system. These five key persons can enter the system – either via a computer or the mobile phone. These are the persons the journeymen and chargehands will contact when they need any kind of equipment, and these are also the five persons responsible of having the equipment allocated to ”the case” to keep track of things.
- It's saving us loads of time and trouble not having to run around in search of lost equipment, states Henrik Kronborg.

Experience to be be Shared
- The project has been used to provide an overview of the current situation and to develop solutions that are functional in real life. So now we have created the digital foundation – the next step is the long haul to share it with the users. So we made a builders' network consisting of 30 companies to carry on disseminating IT knowledge – and prepare a digital strategy for the implementation of IT within the building industry, explains Anders Thomsen.
The ”Knowledge Sharing in Enterprises and Networks” project is to be concluded on September 30, 2003.
Read more about the project on the DDN home page www.thedigitalnorthdenmark.dk

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