B5- Databases in Construction

     In today’s world, everything is data. From the products we buy to the shoes we wear, everything we do is stored somewhere as data values. It’s no wonder that big companies turn to data to target products to consumers. But with all the potential behind data management and processing, can data be used for other industries besides the commercial realm?

     As it turns out, data and databases have hugepotential for the construction industry and firms that deal with construction processes. Quite obviously, there is a lot of data to handle in a construction firm. As a few people from the Department of Civil Engineering at a university in Istanbul put it, “knowledge management is considered to be one of the key sources of success for construction projects” (1). An effective way to ensure organization and management of data is to make use of databases. Databases “aid construction companies in capturing, storing, sharing, and using project and corporate information.” It seems almost like common sense, but it is true that implementing a database system to manage data for projects is a great way to improve work efficiency. In addition to just storing information, databases can be used for analysis to address discrepancies or follow trends. 

     So why are databases so important, especially with respect to the construction industry? As we know, the construction industry and its firms have projects that are often “held in dispersed locations, by different parties involved, [and] with variable objectives” (2). The process of capturing, organizing, and maintaining all the data is quite daunting, so there needs to be a system in place for this task. Construction firms may utilize databases to properly keep track of projects, even if projects differ in type, location, cost, etc. 

     It is often that firms tend to “do it how they’ve always done it” to minimize employee discomfort and stress. I believe that now is the time to drop that archaic frame-of-mind for the improvement of workflow and data management. Databases are powerful tools for ensuring a company’s success, and I have no doubt that the big firms in the construction industry will shift towards a database implementation if they have not already done so. 

Works Cited

(1) Eken, Gorkem, Bilgin, Gozde, Dikmen, Irem, M. Talat, Birgonul, A Lessons Learned Database Structure for Construction Companies. Procedia Engineering, Volume 123, 2015. Pages 135-144, ISSN 1877-7058

(2) Ozorhon, Beliz. Cenap G. Karatas, Sevilay Demirkesen, A Web-based Database System for Managing Construction Project Knowledge.Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, Volume 119, 2014, Pages 377-386, ISSN 1877-0428

Comments on others’ posts

Albert, your background on this topic was appreciated, at least by me, as it gave me a good basis of knowledge about this topic. Having not worked with databases at length before, I definitely needed that introduction. It’s interesting that the idea and origin of databases date back to the 20^thcentury even though high-level data management and technology has come about only relatively recently. Your example of modern use was also really good, thanks for that great information!

Nick, similar to Albert’s post that I read earlier, I liked your good introduction to relational databases. As we have yet to cover them in class and I have little exposure to them, it’s nice to get a good understanding from peers. You did a great job describing SQL and furthered my knowledge more than I could have expected. You put its importance into perspective and provided good context.

Maalik, I really like how concise and well-explained your post is. You include key information like the role of databases in popular programs and the possible interfaces users may experience. I really liked that you hone in one specific software tool that is popular in this industry and put things into perspective for readers like myself. Great work!