Information and communications technology

According to a study based on surveys/case studies conducted in United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden, published in 1993, consulting engineering and design firms were investing heavily in new information technology, which was rapidly becoming an indispensable component of international competitiveness in the industry (UNCTAD, 1993b). For the companies interviewed in the United States, for instance, investments in information technology were primarily motivated by the desire to maintain market shares. In other words, the rapid diffusion of information technology in United States engineering consultancy firms in the late 1980s, which accelerated in the 1990s, became one of the key elements in their strategy to remain competitive. The surveys identified various benefits which the firms had derived from their investments in information technology, but, overall, the results of the application of information technology were observed in qualitative changes rather than cost savings, although there is no doubt that information technology had reduced the costs of producing technical drawings. Investment in information technology among the firms interviewed had increased substantially during the late 1980s. For example, the United States firms studied spent an increasing proportion of their sales revenue on investments in information technology, which doubled in current value between 1985 and 1990 for a group of surveyed firms (UNCTAD, 1993b, p. 89). During the same period, the rate of application of CAD systems had grown from 6 per cent of company operations to 60 per

cent. In the United Kingdom, firms reported a similar rate of diffusion for CAD systems, with the implication that CAD is now firmly established in essential engineering design processes (ibid., pp. 107-108).4

The effects of these investments during the 1980s were most visible in relation to the employment of draftsmen. While employment for other groups such as engineers and architects in United States engineering consulting firms increased by 20 per cent and 40 per cent respectively during 1985-1990, employment of draftsmen actually declined by 8 per cent (ibid., p. 90). In other words, the introduction of new information technologies coincided with higher levels of employment for the advanced skill categories - engineers and architects who were associated with conceptual design work - and a reduced reliance on more routine work in the technical departments. But it is also clear that the new technologies have altered the work content and skill requirements of core groups such as engineers, who are increasingly required to operate CAD systems.

The strategies that engineering consultancy firms pursue in relation to information technology investments have also changed over time. According to survey results for United Kingdom firms, while information technology investments in the 1980s were aimed at cost reductions (e.g. reducing the number of draftsmen), investments in the 1990s sought to introduce technical systems for coping with complexity and winning business through novel applications (ibid., p. 115). This change is indicative of the growing perception among managers that information technology is becoming a vital competitive asset in delivery of services abroad.

Some of the most widespread forms of information technology, such as copiers and fax machines, have become an integral element of the operations of engineering consultancy firms at home and abroad. The application of these technologies has served to enhance the speed of delivery and quality of services provided, primarily by making the existing work processes more efficient. A study of six large architecture and engineering design firms in the United States carried out in 1994 revealed that work processes had been transformed from mostly manual activities using traditional engineering tools to those of an electronic office environment using software applications and other advanced information technologies (Davis, 1994). Prior to the widespread use of CAD workstations, personal computers and other computer-based information devices, the work processes for designers, architects and engineers in design firms revolved around the drafting table. Informal group discussions were conducted daily as an ongoing process in order to carry out engineering designs. With the advent of advanced information technology, the work process is different in that architects, designers and engineers communicate through networks by transferring files or sharing common design files with overlay capabilities. The traditional communication forums created through team reviews and spontaneous meetings have diminished in importance (Davis, 1994, p. 92).

According to the previously mentioned study of firms in the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden, firms had not yet made any major quantitative changes in their operations, and their overseas market shares did not appreciably improve as a result of the adoption of information technologies (UNCTAD, 1993b). In fact, the firms did not report any changes in the globalization of their activities, nor did they feel that the demand for local presence had been reduced, partly because many clients demanded that the engineering consultancy firms maintain manpower at the site of a project. But these findings reflected the situation that existed around 1990, when the earlier investments in information technology applications in engineering consultancy firms were gradually being assimilated and the learning process related to making

firms expected that the seeds of these investments and their current efforts to upgrade the technological level of many operations would bear fruit in the 1990s - bringing about a palpably different construction and engineering design industry in the future (ibid., p. 96).

Indeed, the main bottlenecks for a comprehensive strategy to use information technology in engineering consultancy firms were seen to relate to the cost of these new investments, the relative lack of skills in the operation of them, and the lack of appropriate software and standards for data interchange. The study of six United States firms mentioned above showed that the information component of organizations had become largely computer-based (Davis, 1994). Information had b ecome more voluminous and available in more types of media and information formats, and this has produced mixed blessings for the engineering design firms. Design information can be created, transmitted and stored at electronic speeds, but the lack of adherence to proper information archive and retrieval procedures often results in sub-optimal reuse of design information, largely because of the difficulty of relocating, retrieving and restoring this information from project archives. Therefore, the firms that had a proactive programme of information technology appeared to have a better strategic advantage than those firms that acquired and utilized advanced information technologies on an ad hoc project basis. It was concluded that a re-engineering of the firm in terms of delivering the best value to the firm's client was warranted. Too many legacy systems, a general lack of information standards and protocols for dissemination of information, and a lack of concern for long-term technology programmes were all contributing to the sub-optimal use of advanced information technologies (Davis, 1994, p. 152).

By 1995, the diffusion of information technology in the industry had nevertheless reached levels where stand-alone applications were increasingly being integrated. The role of communications is now such that the possibilities for exchanging data between offices, or between designers and contractors, provide a basis for interoperability.5 With these abilities, a future competitive advantage may be to offer delivery of data that are fully compatible with the needs and software of the client and/or the contractor. At the same time, the capabilities of CAD systems have changed in significant ways,6 enabling the handling of data from maps, surveys and other sources in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional perspectives. The systems have also become more user-friendly and may be utilized in totally new ways for checking designs. Together, these new technologies promise to enhance and alter the work processes, and o ften the qualities of service products, for the engineering consulting firms. By implication, such changes may have a strong impact on the internal organization and division of labour in the firms, as well as their external relations with clients, partners in joint ventures, etc.

The fact that much of the graphic, numeric and text-based information related to engineering design and construction management is currently stored in electronic form has meant that electronic delivery of these data to the client has become feasible. It is possible, for instance, for an engineering consultant to set up an agreement with a contractor for a project whereby the results of design are transferred from the computers of the consultant directly to the computer system of the contractor, thus eliminating the re-entry of data such as specifications of components and materials. Delivery of the product would usually, in such cases, comprise a copy of the project database (including many layers of data in different forms: graphic, numeric and text) with paper-based documentation of drawings, specifications related to the structure and contents of the database. The client, whether the contractor or the owner of the project, may already be using a specific system for management and implementation of projects, and would then require that the database delivered conforms to the format and specifications of this system, occasionally implying a translation of the data to the format required by the client.

Electronic delivery is often considered more resource-demanding for the engineering consultant because the modifications required to integrate the project database into the client's system involve additional time and, occasionally, procurement of new hardware or software. In addition, this form of delivery raises special issues related to control of the extent to which the product fulfils the requirements specified in the contract, responsibilities for errors in the material (or errors that occur when the project database is integrated into the client's system), and the time in which the product is delivered in a formal sense.

Videoconferencing is another trend in the use of advanced information technology that is rapidly becoming essential in the interaction with clients overseas.7 The videoconferencing systems that have been used experimentally in recent years allow designers located in different offices to meet and discuss design simultaneously, using video cameras to capture images of the people participating in the meeting and integrating these with interactive work on a design from workstations in each location. The ability to interact directly on the design from several locations has made videoconferences an important complement to project meetings, whereby the staff of the consultant or the client undertakes expensive international travel in order to meet in one physical location.

Currently, there are still technical and economic limitations on the widespread use of videoconferencing systems, since these require very advanced and expensive hardware, software and access to high-speed communication systems. There seems to be little doubt, however, that various forms of videoconferencing systems will be gradually integrated into the work of engineering consultants in the foreseeable future.