Bench Marking the Use of Information Technology by the Quantity Surveying Profession

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Benchmarking the use of information technology by the quantity surveying profession
Qiping Shen, Heng Li, Liyin Shen, Derek Drew and Jacky Chung
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
Keywords Benchmarking, Quantity surveying, Computer applications, Hong Kong Abstract This paper introduces the findings of a recent benchmarking study on the use of information technology (IT) among quantity surveying (QS) companies in Hong Kong. The study was conducted through a questionnaire survey among 15 QS companies registered in Hong Kong, representing around 50 per cent of the total number of companies in the profession. The study focused on how QS companies use IT in their daily operations, including information flows among business partners, the use of computer hardware and software, IT expenditure and training, management support, the perceived benefits of IT applications, perceived obstacles in IT implementation, and major criteria used in software selection. The content validity and measurement reliability of the questionnaire survey have been evaluated, and both of them have shown satisfactory results. This study provides an up-to-date and holistic view of the current state of IT applications among QS companies in Hong Kong, in terms of how well they have equipped with IT and their attitude towards adopting this technology. These findings provide a strong foundation for subsequent benchmarking studies to identify best practices among the quantity surveying profession in the construction industry. Based on the findings, this paper suggests major areas for improving IT usage in this sector of the construction industry.

Benchmarking the use of IT

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