Exploitation of cloud computing in management of construction projects in Slovakia

The exploitation of information and communications technology (ICT) is a highly topical issue in every field (Kršák et al. 2011). The same is true in the field of construction. ICT is a broad term (Čarnický and Mesároš 2009) that involves several kinds of technologies. Cloud computing is one of the forms of ICT in every field. The issue of cloud computing in construction project management is discussed in this article. Cloud computing has been the subject of several studies and a number of surveys. Potential risk factors have been investigated by Xie and Zhao (2013). Furht and Escalante (Furth et al. 2010), in their publication entitled “Handbook of Cloud Computing”, discuss the basics of cloud computing for every industry. Cloud computing represents a new model for providing information technology (IT) services. It uses the Internet (cloud) as a means of providing infrastructure, application platforms and software as a service (Furht et al. 2010).

The construction sector is one of the areas which provides space for innovation and use of new, advanced or progressive technologies (Kozlovská et al. 2015; Mačková and Bašková 2014), e.g. technologies such as cloud computing. Implementation and exploitation of cloud computing has been the subject of research in the construction field or civil engineering industry. The issue of data management in building information modelling (BIM) based on cloud computing in architecture, engineering, construction and facilities management has been discussed by Jiao et al (2013). The use of BIM based on cloud computing has also been addressed by Chuang et al. (2012). Cloud computing has been the subject of investigations by other authors in construction project management; the review is contained in Table 1.

The issue of cloud computing exploitation in the construction field in Slovakia has already been discussed (Table 1). Some authors have dealt with the schedules of construction output in the cloud environment (Červeňák et al. 2013). However, from the available information, it can be said that Slovakia has not yet conducted any research to quantify the use of cloud computing for the purposes of construction project management. Quantification of the exploitation rate is important for assessing the current situation in the field. Similarly, Kovacic et al. (2015) conducted research on the principles of technology acceptance model (TAM) for the use of BIM in construction. Based on this cited information, this article intends to quantify the exploitation level of cloud computing in construction project management in Slovakia. The state of the exploitation of cloud computing will be appraised on the basis of parameters such as construction enterprise size, majority owner of the construction enterprise and participant of construction project.

Cloud computing represents a new model for IT services based on the exploitation of Web (it represents a cloud) and other application platforms, as well as software as a service. The main requirements for exploitation of cloud computing are availability of Internet or intranet (Čarnický and Mesároš 2009). Users can access the programmes, applications and data with a computer, laptop, smartphone or personal digital assistant (PDA) through the Internet and intranet. The requirements for each kind of network vary depending on the model of cloud computing. The Internet (Web platform) represents a means of providing infrastructure (Furht et al. 2010). The content of the Internet is available for a wide group of users (Bargas-Avila et al. 2009). An intranet represents a network of linked devices (computers and so on) to which only a restricted group of organization members have access (Hoffmann 2001). Cloud computing also provides new opportunities for data management in the construction field (Jiao 2013).

Cloud computing is a technology used to access the services offered in the Internet cloud (Chuang et al. 2012). Cloud computing can be divided into three basic services that are useful for various purposes in the construction industry (Mell and Grance 2011):

Software as a service (SaaS)

The term SaaS (software as a service) refers to services provided mainly to corporate customers through applications running on the shared infrastructure of the provider (Calero et al. 2012). PaaS (platform as a service) is a service where virtual development environments such as Java, .NET and so on are made available to end users. This allows customers to develop their own applications. IaaS (infrastructure as a service) is a service to rent virtual computing, network and storage resources, using which the end user can implement and run any operating system and applications.

Cloud computing used in the construction industry has several models: private cloud, public cloud and hybrid cloud (Čarnický and Mesároš 2009).

Private cloud (Furht et al. 2010) is used in construction enterprises with their own network or data centres. This cloud model is operated exclusively for the enterprise or organization, or for the management of a particular construction project. This model mostly favours organizations that want to have more control over data, e.g. specific economic data on construction projects and so on.

Public cloud is the most widely used cloud computing model. Services are available to the general public. Individual users or construction enterprises access the services of another provider via the Internet.

Hybrid cloud model of the cloud is a combination of the private and public models. This role of cloud computing in the construction field has been specified by Kumar and Cheng (2012) and is shown in Fig. 1, which describes the relationships and information flows in a hybrid cloud model. Document management can include more kinds or fields of management, e.g. management of contracts, building permits, regulations and other documents. A large variety of relationships and flows are formed between participants and BIM technology. Points from one to five present the kind of relationship or information flow. For example, the number 1 describes the relationship between the participants of the construction project (between project manager and new project participants). Information flow 2 presents the inputs from the participant to the computer-aided design (CAD) system. The next information flows are within the CAD system (information needed for modeling, internal data change). Subsequently, this information flows to the BIM module (point 4). The final step is the production of the document and its usage (e.g. usage-based bills). This is point 5.

Fig. 1

Červeňák et al. (2013) have outlined the problems associated with exploitation of cloud computing in construction project management, mainly in terms of generating timetables based on hybrid cloud. Hybrid cloud systems are among the most common cloud implementation models. These systems represent a transitional model between clean, pure cloud-based and on-premise solutions. It is a combination of elements both of the previous approach. The most widespread exploitation of cloud computing is in Slovakia (InfoWare 2014). It must be said that in recent years, any survey that would assess the current state of the exploitation of cloud computing in construction project management in Slovakia has been not conducted. Considering this issue, it is important to answer the following questions: What is the average level of utilization of cloud computing in construction project management? What is the impact of individual factors such as the size of construction enterprises, their owners and participants of the building project on the exploitation of cloud computing? Is exploitation rate or level depending on these factors?

Generally, exploitation of ICT is important in construction project management. This statement includes most of the construction enterprises in Slovakia, regardless of their size. The research results also show tangible benefits of ICT exploitation. The main advantages of using ICT include improving the quality of documents, eliminating errors in documentation, reducing the cost of the process for construction projects (communication, exchange of information and documents, as well as coordination activities) and saving in terms of the time consumed in document processing. Cloud computing unquestionably also has several advantages. These benefits result from the implementation and use of cloud computing. Important thing is to assess the current state of the exploitation of cloud computing in the management of construction projects in Slovakia. The average exploitation level of cloud computing is 2.38 in construction project management in Slovakia. This overall indicator is a very low value. Sufficient value is more than 3.5 (Chii and Liu-Yang 2011). In this case, 2.38 is less than 3.5. Based on this fact, the overall use of cloud computing in Slovak construction enterprises is weak. Table 2 and Fig. 3 describe the exploitation level of cloud computing, depending on the size of the construction enterprise. Large construction enterprises use ICT to a greater extent, as seen in previous research. It was therefore very necessary to monitor whether this is true in the case of the use of cloud computing.

Fig. 3

Large enterprises have achieved exploitation rate at the level of 3.37. In general, it is a relatively poor level of use. Breakpoint is a value of 3.5. Other enterprises are even worse in the use of cloud computing. Medium-sized enterprises have reached the exploitation rate 2.43 and small enterprises have reached exploitation rate at the level of 2.01. Based on this, it can be concluded that large enterprises use cloud computing to a greater extent. This claim was confirmed by the Kruskal–Wallis test. The Kruskal–Wallis test confirmed the statistical significance of the results of responses (Table 2). Large enterprises in many cases have more available funds. Investments in these enterprises represent higher volumes. Large enterprises are looking for space in automation processes. Several large enterprises reported efforts to innovate in ICT, generally.

Another point of view is to monitor the results depending on the enterprise structure by the majority shareholder. Research has shown that enterprises with Slovak private equity invest less in innovation in the form of various ICT tools (Mačková and Bašková 2014). The result therefore indicates that the use of cloud computing is to a lesser extent. Table 3 and Fig. 4 present the exploitation rate of cloud computing according to the majority owner.

Fig. 4

Construction enterprises with foreign private equity more frequently use cloud-based tools for sharing and storing documents. Conversely, companies with Slovak private equity are more conservative and often expressed concern about the security of data and documents, in particular the use of cloud services. Exploitation rate of construction enterprises with Slovak private equity is only 1.83. This value is very low. Exploitation rate achieved by construction enterprises with foreign private equity was 3.46. Although this value is not more than 3.5, construction enterprises with foreign private equity definitely used cloud computing to a larger extent and more significantly than construction enterprises with Slovak equity. This may be a result of pressure from abroad. Construction enterprises exploiting foreign private equity have more money, face more pressure to innovate and possess know-how in various fields, e.g. ICT. Statistical significance of differences in the use of cloud computing was confirmed by the Kruskal–Wallis test (p = 0.0231).

Another important point of view is a participant in the construction project. The construction project is characterized by a large number of participants who have different interests. These participants may also have many interests that may be the same or identical. For example, efforts to automate processes to reduce costs, ensure better quality of documents and so on. The research results can be seen in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5

Investors and developers have achieved exploitation rate at the level of 3.11. The most exploitation rate was achieved by designers and architects. They achieved 3.48 exploitation rate. It is a relatively good level of cloud computing exploitation, in spite of the fact that it did not reach the value 3.5 and more. Other participants (contractors and subcontractors) are worse in the use of cloud computing. It includes the value 2.03 for contractors and only 1.54 for subcontractors. Statistical significance was confirmed by the Kruskal–Wallis test (Table 4). Only selected construction enterprises reached value of 3.5. The connection with value 3.5 and more has been linked in the preceding sentences. Only factors such as construction enterprise size and owner of a construction enterprise have impact on exploitation of cloud computing in construction project management. The breakdown of the project participants is not based on enterprise size; however, there was a situation where these groups amounted to exploitation level lower than the value of 3.5. For example, a group of investors consists of some large enterprises as well as small enterprises. Although the exploitation level was associated with the enterprise size and the representation of large and small enterprises was relatively similar in all groups, any group did not have more than a given limit.

The issue of cloud computing is a very hot topic in every field. Several studies have been carried out on this subject, but the quantification of the use of this tool in the Slovak construction industry has not yet been mapped. This article provides insight into the current situation of the exploitation of cloud computing in terms of Slovak construction project management. In general, it can be said that use of this instrument has not extended to such an extent as other ICT tools. Research showed that exploitation of cloud computing is affected by size of construction enterprise and owner of a construction enterprise, which was confirmed by Kruskal–Wallis tests. Different results were also recorded in the exploitation of different groups of construction projects. Exploitation of cloud computing in large enterprises is greater than in small enterprises. Large enterprises achieved exploitation level of 3.37 in cloud computing. Small enterprises achieved exploitation level of 2.01. Kruskal–Wallis test confirmed the differences between results of enterprise size. The same is true in terms of the results of exploitation level of cloud computing based on breakdown of construction enterprises by owner. Exploitation level of cloud computing in construction enterprises with Slovak private equity was only 1.83. Exploitation level of cloud computing in construction enterprises with foreign private equity was 3.46. The research mapped the current situation in the exploitation of cloud computing in construction project management in Slovakia. The research results may represent a starting point for more detailed research in this area.