It is the collection, storage, distribution, archiving, and destruction of

information
Information management is crucial in facilitating the smooth running of
construction projects. Efficient information management ensures that the
right people have the right information at the right time enabling them to
make the right decisions
It is generally centrally managed and allows the parties to project and
manage their time and resources in the most effective way to achieve the
desired results
During the project life cycle, a lot of information is generated and exchanged
even for a small-size construction project. Thus, information management
plays a significant role on the success and profitability of the project
regardless of its size
Even with the advent of information and communications technology (ICT),
improper usage of this tool will hinder the flow of information between
different professional groups
Information technology, if used correctly, can help designers, managers,
engineers, and other related professionals in meeting the client’s objectives
of time, cost, and quality
Why is it necessary to manage information?
Traditional methods have not always worked
Common occurrence during construction operations is the late supply of
information between contractors and the client
For example, contractor will claim for an extension of the contract period, to
be paid by the client
Why is it necessary to manage information?
The scale of construction work has changed
It is easy to manage information when projects are few and small
However, this also results into pressure from clients to complete quickly and
edge-over the competition within the industry
The numbers of people and organizations that any individual has to
communicate with also increased
Construction projects involve large numbers of people in different disciplines
working on instructions passed on by others
It is important that instructions are received when they are needed, where it
is needed, can be easily understood, and will leave a clear record to show
who has authorized what
As such, if information is correctly managed, it will provide the framework for
the project activities and everybody will know what are their roles and
responsibilities and most importantly, when to do it
What is information management?
Information management is a communication system within a project
It covers the acquisition and dissemination of information which includes
analysis, design, implementation, evaluation, and management of
information
Information management ensures that information is communicated to
whoever needs it, wherever they need it, and in whatever form they need it,
so that they can meet their objectives for the project
Information being referred to in construction includes drawings,
specifications, bills of quantities, schedules, and financial statements
Project coordination
It is the day-to-day management of tasks within or among the departments
involved. The primary purpose of coordinating projects is to streamline the
workflow of tasks
Project coordination
It is the proper planning of a project before the start of pre-contract work
and the control of the project through all its stages
It is essential in order to provide a smooth flow of information among the
project’s life cycle stages
Traditional method for project coordination involves many parties
collaborating directly in many activities
For example, during the pre-tender stage, the architect, engineers, client,
and cost advisor share and exchange information that evolves as the design
progresses
Key benefits of project coordination
• Communicating areas of importance and priority
• Streamlining communication
• Increasing the productivity and quality of the project
• Staying on schedule and within the budget
• Minimizing risk
• Enhancing client feedback
Key benefits of project coordination
Communicating areas of importance and priority
Communicating areas of importance and priority helps you complete your
tasks successfully. A project manager can underline the company's strategy
and discuss how the project ties in with the company's goals, step by step.
Team members can, in turn, speak with one another to answer any questions
they may have about the project and gain clarity for the project scope and
details.
Key benefits of project coordination
Streamlining communication
A project coordinator can establish methods for communicating information
to teams in an efficient way. Your ability to communicate information
efficiently can help set priorities for a project. You may choose team
members who have good communication skills, so you can create fully
functioning teams.
Key benefits of project coordination
Increasing the productivity and quality of the project
A properly coordinated project strategy promotes a better quality output
and a more productive workflow. By organizing and assigning specific tasks
to team members, the project manager can ensure that each task is being
done critically at a micro-level. Each team member has their own
responsibility which, in turn, steadies their focus and performance and
contributes to an overall better quality project completion.
Key benefits of project coordination
Staying on schedule and within the budget
Proper project coordination can also help the leader and team members stay
on schedule and within their budget. The timeline can display the workflow
for the entire project and its objectives. Project coordination will also make
you aware of any issues that might cause delays and tracks project progress
to meet any deadlines.
Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant and Time-based)
goals to monitor your progress and track milestones regardless of the
number of resources given to you at the beginning of the project.
Key benefits of project coordination
Minimizing risk
Coordinating projects with your coworkers will also help you identify risks
regarding your workload. Identify the risks that can lead to project failure
and how they can affect the productivity of your coworkers. Employ the
strategies of risk avoidance, risk, risk reduction and risk retention to prepare
the response you might need to take in case a crisis occurs.
Key benefits of project coordination
Enhancing client feedback
Coordinating projects can improve a customer's satisfaction with your
company if they get high-quality deliverables completed on time. You can
request any necessary clarification from the client so you can meet their
specifications before submitting finalized versions of the deliverables to
them for review. Speak with your manager or your coworkers on further
changes to a project to give you more clarity about how to proceed with its
completion.
 Project Conceptual Detailed Construction
Feasibility Program Construction Operations
Phase Design Design Planning

Data Input Sketches & Estimate As-built

Report Drawings Drawings
& Output Specs Schedule Drawings
Stages of project coordination
1. Definition
2. Initiation
3. Planning
4. Execution
5. Monitoring and control
6. Closure
Stages of project coordination
1. Definition
The first step details what the project is and the steps to take to reach its
conclusion. You, your project manager and the rest of the team need to
understand the project's goals, objectives, scope, risks, timeline, budget and
approach. The client approves the project before you start to work on it.
Complex projects may require continual communication to give you insight
into the project's direction.
Stages of project coordination
2. Initiation
The initiation stage makes any expectations clear for your company and the
client. You should know how much time you need to spend on planning the
execution of the project, the reasoning for beginning the project, the
benefits and the likelihood of its success. Allocate time to highlight problems
that may arise and may delay progress in the project's later stages.
Stages of project coordination
3. Planning
During the planning stage, you'll align tasks with strategic goals. You'll help
set priorities and agree to the desired result with the rest of your team.
Perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
analysis to brainstorm solutions to problems you might face and plan how
you can perform better than your competition. If you're working on a
marketing strategy, you may plan on completing projects that leverage social
media to gain a competitive advantage to bolster engagement from your
target audience.
Stages of project coordination
4. Execution
During the execution stage, individual contributors complete their parts of
the project. You'll make sure each task owner understands their role and any
expectations you have for them, including deadlines, the budget or any other
allocation of resources.
Stages of project coordination
5. Monitoring and control
Project coordination helps you better monitor and control each stage of the
project to ensure it's progressing according to your prescribed timeline.
Collaborate with your team on the issues you encounter, to manage risks and
the validity of tasks to the project's current scope. Communicate with the
project manager on any updates that you may expect to face in the
upcoming days or weeks before the project's completion.
Stages of project coordination
6. Closure
Closure is a customer's final approval of the project after delivery. The
client's approval should state that the project is final, and they can use it for
their business. A project manager decides whether you and the contributors
met or exceeded the project's goals in any feedback on areas of
improvement for future projects to generate better results.
Project information
It is defined a s the information that describes the physical facility and is
required for managing its process
It includes site survey, cost analysis, design, drawings, specifications, bill of
quantities, project planning, estimates, material, and facility management
It is usually handled by different departments within one organization
resulting in long loops
These loops can cause lengthy delays and inconsistencies of data used by
different departments
Project information
Large amount of project information are generated and used during the
various stages of a project life cycle
Sharing and maintaining this info in multiple disciplines and throughout a
project’s life cycle is a complex and difficult task
Information technology becomes a vital tool for managing the information
as it is being stored and/or retrieved from the computers
In the construction industry, it has been proven that the use of IT could
reduce the fragmentation problem
Project information
Despite the potential use of IT as a tool for managing the information flow,
the supply of information to the industry is still in poor condition
• The source of information to the construction industry is fragmented
• Not all information is easily searchable
• There are different access methods and user interfaces
Project information
Other construction organizations also revealed that the causes of the
problems in the adoption of integrated IT systems are:
• Poor management and communication
• Fragmented nature of the industry
• Lack of standardization and uniformity procedures
• High number of participants involved in construction projects

The process of managing information flow in construction needs to be

improved in order to increase the productivity, time, and savings
Managing the flow of information
In order to properly manage the information, the participants/departments
involved in a construction project needs to work and share the information
all together
Automating the flow and management of information will significantly
progress and advance the construction industry. It will also increase its rate
of learning and profit level. It will then create a more efficient market that
will improve the industry performance and the quality of the project
Managing the flow of information
One of the primary solutions for sharing the information is having a project
central database
The principle of a database is that it is a single centralized source of
information
Such central databases are usually developed as information networks and
can be used either at the project, enterprise, or industry level
Many different users of information can share access to the same
information from the database
Managing the flow of information
The communication between the various parties involved in a construction
project will gain the benefits from having such databases since data can now
be stored and shared to anyone
Integrated database environment ensures each party is working on the right
piece of information, thus changes can be recorded, traced, and updated
 Owner/
Project Specialist Building
Project
implementation Contractor Management
Manager

Database

Computer-
Project Main
Designers aided design &
implementation Contractor
drafting
Information modeling is a process of representing a perceived reality in a
simplified way
Modeling the information is a task that represents the complexity of the
information and processes involved in the construction industry
The complexity refers to the complex nature of construction wherein a great
amount of information is given to or shared within many participants
involved
The aim is to model the complex information, improve the representation of
the information, and enhance the communication process
Information modeling consists of collecting objects, their properties, their
relationships with other objects, memberships in classes, and relationship
constraints
There are three major approaches in information modeling in the
construction industry
• Activity Model
• Data Model
• Product Model
Activity model
It is used for analyzing the information flow between different information
processing activities in the construction (i.e. design, estimating, planning,
etc.)
This approach identifies the various processes involved and the data they
require, represented in an interaction model which shows what data is
required for a certain process
The data flow diagram is a technique for activity modeling since it shows the
input and output of the process
The advantage of an activity model is that it simplifies the understanding of
the involved processes and the development of their subsequent
applications
Data model
Data model is a set of concepts that can be used to describe the structure
and operations of a database using graphical diagrams
The idea of a data model is to define the behavior to be included in a
database
A data model also provides the basic structuring mechanisms for describing
the data, relationships, and constraints of the information stored in any
information system
 Customer Concrete Specification

Customer ID Specification ID
Customer Name Aggregate ratio
Customer Phone No. Sand ratio
Customer Address Cement ratio
Person In-charge Water ratio

Order

Order number
Customer ID
Specification ID
Quality
Strength
Delivery Date
 Order

Aggregate Sand Cement Water

Order number Order number Order number Order number

Aggregate Quality Sand Quality Cement Quality Water Quality
Aggregate Weight Sand Weight Cement Weight Volume of water

Construction Concrete Mixer

Project ID number Order number
Location Project ID number
Project In-charge Date of mixing
No. of trucks
Product model
It focuses on modeling the structure of the information describing the
products, processes, resources, and other elements of the construction
process
It describes the general functional capabilities of the proposed system. It also
reviews the system requirement and considers the major components of the
system