Factors Affecting the Utilization of Big Data in Construction Projects

Abstract

With the rapid development of information and communication technologies, big data is expected to enable the creation of new paradigms for construction project management and improve the efficiency of design and construction activities. In practice, a few factors with complex impacts on each other can significantly affect the utilization of big data in construction projects. Practitioners should comprehensively examine these factors when shaping strategies for promoting the use of big data in their projects. This study aimed to identify factors that significantly impact the utilization of big data and investigate how these factors influence each other. First, a factor list was compiled based on a literature analysis and semistructured interviews with experts. Then, the nominal group technique was used to map interactions among the identified factors in an adjacency matrix, and interpretive structure modeling was used for further analysis. Finally, these factors were grouped into four categories with respect to their driving and dependence powers. Suggestions were made for promoting the utilization of big data in construction projects. The results indicate that incentive policies and the ethics and legal mechanisms of copyright, privacy, and data security are the most important factors that must be carefully considered by project managers and engineers when formulating strategies for utilizing big data in their projects.