Document Type

Theses, Masters

Rights

Available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International Licence

Publication Details

Successfully submitted for the award of Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) to the Dublin Institute of Technology, 2001.

Abstract

The construction industry is a major contributor to the Irish economy. The common denominator of the of the industry’s business is the “construction project”. Construction projects by their very nature are unique being influenced by many variables such as weather, location, design and personnel. This situation demands strong management to fulfil the cost control function. The primary aim of this project has been the illustration of a system design framework for project cost control in the Irish construction industry. This system design should be based upon a general principle identified for the design of an overall project management system. Whilst cost control is the primary focus, it is not the exclusive concern of the proposed system as this would be ignoring the very source of the industry’s problems namely, the complex interrelationships of its various components, aesthetics, structural, financial and environmental. Two main research techniques were adopted in this study, a comprehensive literature review examined recent developments and emerging technologies and a postal questionnaire surveyed construction industry professionals to establish the factors effecting cost control. The analysis of the result of this research concluded with the identification of the general principle for the design of an overall project management system. This principle was that such a system should be based on Information Management using an integrated Database structure. Having verified its suitability for the cost control subsystem the next step was the specification and design of the proposed framework. The system has been designed using object oriented methods, following formal procedures through the system analysis (specification) and system design stages. Further research is required to develop links and incorporate the latest advances in Information Technology.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.21427/D77626


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