Data Warehousing in Construction Organizations

Construction organizations typically deal with large volumes of project data containing valuable information. It is found that most of these organizations do not use these data effectively for planning and decision-making due to two reasons. First, the information systems in construction organizations are designed to support day-to-day construction operations. The data stored in these systems are often non-validated, non-integrated and are available in user-unfriendly forms and formats. Second, the organizational structure and the IT infrastructure are often not compatible with the information systems thereby resulting in higher operational costs and lower productivity. These two issues have been investigated in this book with the objective of developing information systems that are structured for effective decision-making. The book examines data warehousing, a fairly recent database management technique for its applicability and benefits that can be realized in the construction industry. Unlike manufacturing, service and healthcare industries, the use of data warehousing in the construction industry is still in the infancy stage due to several technical, organizational, and financial challenges. This book addresses these challenges and presents a simple framework to plan, design and implement data warehousing systems.