Electronic building control : an IT-enabled re-engineering process

Information technologies have been widely adopted to streamline the document management processes in the construction industry such as drawing production, contract management and material control. In this study, building plan preparation, submission and approval processes are examined in an operational approach and critically reviewed to explore how the process of re-engineering under the electronic environment is conducted. References are drawn from the latest development of various IT application packages in the construction industry to investigate their capacities for re-engineering the involved processes. Through a real case study of the Buildings Department (BD) of the Hong Kong SAR Government, the technologies and methods involved in the re-engineering process of building control are described. Recommendations and conditions for a successful implementation of IT enabled building control process are also summarized and concluded.