Telecommuting in the construction industry : an investigation into the want of utilising available telecommunication technologies

Abstract

Research by traffic engineers has shown that most of the vehicular traffic in South Africa is carried on major roads in Gauteng (Van der Merwe, 2005:slide 11). Traditionally professionals in the built environment travel to and from work sites to carry out compliancy inspections and attend meetings at which their expertise is required. The increasingly congested roads increases travelling time to work sites with the result that highly qualified professionals in the built environment sector effectively become less productive. A quantitative research project, effected through the distribution of a questionnaire to contactable, registered professionals in the built environment sector, was carried out in order to establish details of their travelling habits, of their knowledge of telecommunication technologies, usage of specialist software and of their work preferences. Literature on telecommuting suggests that telecommunication technologies are available that can be utilised by built environment professionals in Gauteng to reduce their travelling time and thereby improve available productive time. The preferences expressed in the questionnaire by the respondents indicate that a change in the way that built environment professionals work and a migration towards telecommuting, is necessary. The study concludes with recommendations on possible solutions to the problems identified and on how to address the respondents' preferences