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Pervasive Production Space: An Innovative Information Technology Framework for Homebuilding

Many entities with interest in the homebuilding industry, including government, industry, and academia, have advanced the hypothesis that information technology is an important means of improving the performance in the industry. The homebuilding sector of the construction industry provides $250 billion in economic value annually to the US economy. The homebuilding industry is consolidating rapidly as large homebuilders are purchasing small homebuilding companies, and the business of building homes is rapidly moving from a craft-based business to a sophisticated, Wall Street-based business. As this consolidation occurs, many of the roadblocks to providing housing for Americans are being overcome as rapid advances in technology in the areas of financing, management, design, materials and supply chain management are employed. However, the craft-based construction portion of the homebuilding business has not been privy to this wave of new technology. Littered along the road to information technology implementation in the construction process for homes are the carcasses of many IT implementation efforts from the past decade. The cost and lack of success associated with these efforts has soured many industry professionals on the potential for IT implementation in residential construction.

Nonetheless, the vision of improved performance through real-time information sharing in residential construction is compelling. Many studies, including those conducted by the authors, have suggested that poor information availability in current paper- and voice-driven systems is a primary cause of much of the inefficiency in the industry. Ergo, information technology seems to be a sure thing. Paradoxically, the right solution has yet to be identified. Herein is a proposal to consider this apparent paradox. The proposed research will consist of introducing cutting-edge computing technology to the construction portion of the homebuilding business, measuring the performance changes and costs, and thereby developing realistic measurements of the impact of technology on the construction phase in homebuilding. The proposed research will broadly focus upon the development and identification of pervasive computing paradigms, methodologies, design tools, and technologies for delivery of critical information to the various stakeholders that participate in the homebuilding process and the measurement of changes in key performance metrics that occur in response. The research is designed to objectively confirm the hypothesis that information technology can dramatically increase performance in the industry. The actual field test, data collection, and validation of the hypothesis will be performed on the building code compliance inspection process.

While pervasive computing is being generally adapted to structured home and office environments, this research will expand fundamental underpinnings of such computing theory through its application in an “unstructured” production environment. The intellectual merit of the proposed research also relates to its confirmation of widely held, but insufficiently documented, hypotheses about the value of IT implementation in the residential construction industry. Intuition and modeling against other industries have largely been used to identify the potential improvements possible in residential construction. While the proposers admit to agreeing with and even advancing such hypotheses themselves, it is clear that there is little objective confirmation of this intuition.

The broader impacts of the proposed research are dramatic. Housing is a basic human need. Current management methods have led to an increase in the cycle time for the construction of new housing units and a concomitant increase in the cost. The proposers estimate that some $90B in excess capital is tied up in the industry due to communications-induced cycle time waste. This capital could be put to other uses in the economy, and the impact on housing prices would increase affordability nationwide. The proposed data collection strategies will provide significant material for classroom instruction in residential construction, improving education methods via conduct of the research. The proposers will make every effort to disseminate the results broadly; positive data vetted by industry partners could be a compelling tool to drive other builders to seek similar partnerships, which could in turn lead to wider partnerships.

Revolving around the core research activity will be other important activities that will ensure integration of research and education, involvement of persons with diverse backgrounds and career aspirations, creation of an enabling infrastructure that will foster and sustain innovation in the long-term, and transformation of demand generated by diffusions of innovation into new businesses.