The role of social networking in the AEC industry: opportunities and challenges

Valsson, Hilmar

4. term

Building Informatics (cand.tech.), Master

2012

2012-04-13

120

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan sociale netværk og sociale medier vinder indpas i AEC-branchen (arkitektur, ingeniør og byggeri). Formålet er at forstå samspillet mellem sociale netværk og AEC-branchen og at identificere muligheder og udfordringer for kommunikation og samarbejde. Studiet er en mixed-method-undersøgelse. Resultaterne viser, at sociale netværk primært bruges til intern kommunikation og i høj grad er begrænset til samarbejde inden for den enkelte organisation. Deltagerne ser en sammenhæng mellem bedre kommunikation, udviklingen af information- og kommunikationsteknologi (IKT) og Building Information Modeling (BIM, bygningsinformationsmodellering). De vurderer, at sociale netværk kan understøtte implementeringen af IKT-løsninger som BIM ved at gøre videndeling og koordinering nemmere. Resultaterne rejser spørgsmål til de nuværende kommunikationsmønstre i AEC-branchen og peger på både muligheder og udfordringer på menneskeligt, teknologisk og organisatorisk niveau. Undersøgelsen er tidsbegrænset og afprøver ikke brugbarheden i konkrete cases eller projekter. Afhandlingens værdi for praktikere er at introducere sociale netværk og tydeliggøre, hvordan forskellige medier kan forstås i AEC-sammenhæng, som grundlag for nye måder at tænke kommunikation og integration på.

This thesis explores how social networking and social media are taking shape in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. The aim is to understand how social networking combines with AEC practices and to identify opportunities and challenges for communication and collaboration. The study uses a mixed-method design. Findings indicate that social networking is mainly used for internal communication and remains largely limited to collaboration within single organizations. Participants see a link between improved communication, the development of information and communication technologies (ICT), and Building Information Modeling (BIM). They believe social networking could support the implementation of ICT solutions such as BIM by making information sharing and coordination easier. These results prompt questions about current communication patterns in the AEC sector and point to opportunities and challenges at human, technological, and organizational levels. The study is time-bound and does not test usability in real-life cases. For practitioners, the thesis introduces social networking and clarifies how different media can be understood in the AEC context, providing a basis for fresh thinking about communication and integration.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

The AEC-industry, social media, social networking, integration, collaboration and communication.

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