Improving communication barriers for on-site information flow: An exploratory study

On-site information management is an important issue. Since the lack of on-site information impacts project management, this study focuses on the improvement of on-site information flow. When activity workers report on-site activity information, activity managers can understand the status of on-site activities. This procedure forms the flow of on-site information from the activity workers to the activity managers. By examining a material management case study, this study found that communication barriers affected the on-site information flow, even though several types of information technology were used at the construction site. For improving the communication barriers, this study developed an exploratory system through integrating both wireless and speech technologies. The exploratory system achieved two-way speech communication between the activity workers and operation devices. Information interdependence, human–machine collaboration, and the relationship of project participants were also enhances. In summary, the findings of this study are useful for similar issues in project management.