E-readiness in construction (ERiC): self-assessment framework for UK small and medium enterprise building services providers

Abstract

The construction industry’s ability to innovate in order to improve its practices has been widely debated. As organisations in other sectors globally are addressing technology challenges, is the UK construction industry e-ready? Of particular concern is the plethora of small and medium enterprises (SME) that constitute over 80% of the UK construction industry. There are noticeable SME laggards in the uptake of new processes and technologies. This paper aims to assess the e-readiness levels of UK SME building services provider in order to leverage the advantages of technology opportunities in the future. The resultant self-assessment ERiC framework enables SMEs to quantify and measure e-readiness from an organisation, technical and process perspective.