Construction management information control systems (CMICS)

Developers of construction management information systems have experienced as many failures and disappointments as they have successes. These failures and disappointments can be traced to several sources: the technological problems involved in the implementation, maintenance and updating the systems; excessive dependence on specialists; mismanagement; incompetence; and the failure to consider the functions, responsibilities, and information needs of the users. This dissertation (1) identifies and describes an organizational structure that is representative of a wide range of construction firms, (2) isolates the responsibilities of the important organizational elements, and (3) presents a conceptual design of an information system designated Construction Management Information Control System (CMICS), that will provide the management of medium-to-large construction firms the financial and operational data they require. The research concludes that: 1. The organizational structure, information needs, information systems, functions and responsibilities are inextricably linked. 2. Many construction firms are using departmental organization with a matrix organization superimposed. 3. Management level can be defined as a position in management that is stratifiably (layer/level) differentiable (degree) in terms of power, authority, responsibility, and accountability over resources required to achieve defined objective(s). 4. The five management levels identified in the typical organizational structure that the dissertation produced (see Figure 2, page 15) are: (a) the board of director's level, (b) the president's level, (c) the construction management level, (a) the project management level, and (e) the functional management level. 5. For each management level a set of primary functions, a set of primary information needs, and a set of management reports that are common throughout the construction industry were identified. 6. The information required by the managers and supervisors at the five levels falls into five basic groups, namely: summary and narrative, schedule, cost, finance, and trend and forecast information. 7. It is essential for information to flow freely in all directions (i.e., upward, downward, and lateral) within the organization for it to achieve the optimum results. 8. A construction management information system could be designed that would be useful to a large number of firms in the construction industry. This system, called CMICS, was conceptually designed and contains five modules: (1) planning and scheduling, (2) cost control and accounting, (3) the project financial, (4) the trend and forecast, and (5) the historical and documentation modules.