Abstract
Infrastructure development is crucial for promoting economic growth and poverty reduction. Key in this process are the contractors who construct these infrastructures. However, contractors’ progress payments are often paid late or unpaid. This impacts the development process. These late payments develop from inadequate information management, poor communication, lack of collaboration, and corruption. Therefore, a common data environment offers potential for effective and efficient information management. However, there are challenges in the implementation of common data environment platforms, especially in developing economies. The challenges develop during implementation because the approaches of managing the progress payment system with a common data environment do not include factors to drive utilisation. Thus, this study developed a model to enhance the implementation of a common data environment to improve the process of progress payments in the construction industry. The aim was to enable the common data environment to be effectively used as a payment system and therefore enhance progress payments processes.
Literature was reviewed on late payment challenges and effects in the construction industry. Further, literature was reviewed on the implementation status of the common data environment, highlighting processes, opportunities and challenges, and identifying enabling factors for a well performing system. A conceptual model was developed based on this literature review. A structured field questionnaire was adopted to collect data from professionals who use or have implemented a common data environment tool and work with progress payment information in the construction industry. The descriptive statistics were analysed using SPSS version 29 software. The structural equation modeling analysis was done using Amos 29 & 30 and Adanco 2.4 software to evaluate the hypothesised model.
The conceptual common data environment-centred model to improve progress payments was developed based on a literature review, and the questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from South Africa. The unit of analysis was construction projects which implemented a common data environment in their projects for information management. This included 58 construction projects on which the respondents were, Project manager-Client, Project Manager-Consultant, Principal Agent, Designer - Architect, Designer – Civil /Structural, Designer – MEP, Site Engineer- Civil/Structural, Site Engineer- MEP, Quantity Surveyor- Consultant, Quantity Surveyor- Contractor, Contracts Manager/director - Contractor, Construction Manager, Estimator-Contractor, Site Manager, Health & Safety Agent, Health & ...