A survey of digital technologies used in the procurement of building projects: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

Abstract

Background and Objective: In spite of the important roles digital technologies play in the procurement of construction projects, there is a limited understanding of the extent of their adoption in Nigeria. The aim of this study was to investigate the different categories of digital technologies used by stakeholders in the design, tendering and construction stages of building projects and factors that influenced the decision to adopt them in the Nigerian building industry. Materials and Methods: The data were sourced via a questionnaire survey of 213 professional consultants, client organisations and contractors in the Nigerian building industry. Descriptive statistics and relative importance index (RII) were used to analyse the data. Results: The findings show that 61.5% of the participants were architects and quantity surveyors and most of them used software packages at project design stage and communication technologies at the tendering and construction stages. However, besides email, only very few used web/cloud-based systems, applications and services at the tendering and construction stages of building projects delivery. The top four most influential factors in the decision to adopt digital technologies in the procurement of building projects were the benefits of these technologies in eliminating geographic barriers (RII = 0.861), enhancing efficiency (RII = 0.855), promoting good inventory management and record keeping (RII = 0.813) and effective communication amongst project team members (RII = 0.812). Conclusion: Stakeholders in the Nigerian building industry use more of project data creation and communication technologies than intelligent systems; and thus, significant barriers exist in the adoption of intelligent systems in the procurement of building projects in the study area.