The Research has developed protocols for effective adoption of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for Building Project Management by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Indian construction industry. Project Managers are required to facilitate the integration of work of all the agencies and project team organizations are geographically separated beyond national boundaries or in context of large countries like India, within the national boundaries. In doing so, there is a need to make better use of information and knowledge generated in all stages of development. The key to project information management is the information flow associated with inter-organizational communication and the effectiveness of the project manager to communicate with and feedback to the rest of the project team throughout the project life cycle. Better communication can be achieved by using computer tools for effective data processing and information management, through Information Communication Technologies (ICT). As the majority of the construction organizations are Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the communication management research is required to address management and communication processes adopted by SMEs. These issues can be addressed by global research, but also require clear understanding of the management and communication processes followed by SMEs of each distinct regional area or country. The research was conducted through a sequential mixed methods approach focusing on collecting and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data in the study in a sequential manner. To develop a balance check mechanism, the research was divided into four phases: Interpretive analysis of perceived benefits of use of ICT for building project management, conducted by Interpretive Structural Modeling analysis; Questionnaire survey data collection and empirical analysis of data including Structural Equation Modeling analysis (quantitative method); Semi-structured interview survey data collection and analysis including Data Envelopment Analysis (quantitative and qualitative method) and case studies analysis conducted by SAP-LAP analysis (qualitative method) leading to synthesis of the results of the four phases. The purpose of this four-phase, sequential mixed methods study was to start with the pragmatic assumptions; obtain statistical, quantitative results from a broad sample of organizations to analyze or study research variables at industry and organization levels and then follow up with a few organizations and projects to study the research variables at the level of the organization and people. Synthesis of the knowledge enhancement from the literature survey, data analysis results and their interpretation led to the proposed 'IT Enhanced Communication Protocols for Building Project Management'. The protocols are proposed as a 'Strategic Model for Enhancing ICT Diffusion in Building Projects'. The model is based on Everett Rogers's 'Diffusions of innovations theory' and is formulated at three levels of study i.e industry, organization and people. It is discussed as a generic framework of five stages of Roger's 'Diffusions of innovations theory' i.e Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation and Confirmation.

The construction industry is one of the largest industries in the world and its contribution to the Indian GDP is 7.74% and the Indian construction industry is worth $120 Billion. Though major part of the sector is governed by the small to medium enterprises. The SMEs work from small cities to larger metropolitans. With new technologies coming to front everywhere due to globalization and ease of communication through the media such as the internet, many companies have tried to adopt Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Managing the critical information has always been an issue in these sector, and any lessons learnt from the previous project or ongoing project goes in vain as they fail to use this information efficiently. Use of knowledge management systems (KMS) is uncommon but is known in the Indian industries but the construction sector is far behind in this area. Many large companies (mostly telecom, but some construction companies) are using KMS or similar systems; but there is no such evidence of use of a KMS by the SMEs in the sector. So, keeping this in mind, the purpose of this thesis is to identify the barriers in implementation of a Knowledge Management System of Small-to-Medium Scale Construction Companies in India. The work is based on a questionnaire survey from Indian cities Delhi, Pune and Ahmednagar. Using statistical analysis methods, we have investigated into the barriers that are hindering use of Knowledge Management in the SMEs in India. From the analysis and the findings, we have projected major issues in the sector such as information and communication technology, Human resources, Organization level and on Market level. A clear look at these showed that the organizations were facing issue with identifying relevant knowledge to store or they cannot figure out what they will need in the future. Other prevailing factor are lack of motivation and lack of the absorptive capacity which hinders the implementation of the Km effectively. Another concrete finding was rapid change in the IT tools which create time lag between the organization action and the response to it because of the time needed to get familiar with new technology. / Byggindustrin är en av världens största industrier, och dess bidrag till indiens BNP är 7,74% och den indiska byggbranschen är värd 120 miljarder dollar. Även om den största delen av sektorn förvaltas av små och medelstora företag. Små och medelstora företag arbetar från små städer till stora metropolitiker. Med ny teknik som uppträder överallt på grund av globalisering och enkel kommunikation via media som internet har många företag försökt att anta informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT). Hantering av den kritiska informationen har alltid varit ett problem inom den här sektorn, och alla lektioner från det föregående projektet eller pågående projekt är förgäves, eftersom de misslyckas med att använda denna information effektivt. KMS är ovanligt men är känt inom den indiska industrin, men byggsektorn ligger långt ifrån detta område. Många stora företag (främst telekom, men vissa byggföretag) använder KMS eller liknande system; men det finns inga tecken på användningen av en KMS eller små och medelstora företag i branschen. Mot bakgrund av detta är syftet med denna avhandling att identifiera hinder för genomförandet av ett kunskapssystem för små och medelstora byggföretag i Indien. Arbetet är baserat på en undersökning av indiska städer Delhi, Pune och Ahmednagar. Med hjälp av statistiska analysmetoder undersökte vi de hinder som förhindrar användningen av kunskapshantering i små och medelstora företag i Indien. Från analysen och resultaten har vi identifierat stora problem inom sektorn som informations- och kommunikationsteknik, personal, organisationsnivå och marknadsnivå. Organisationerna visade tydligen problem med att identifiera relevant kunskap för att rädda eller de kan inte räkna ut vad de behöver i framtiden. En annan avgörande faktor är brist på motivation och brist på absorptionskapacitet som effektivt hindrar Km-prestanda. Ett annat konkret konstaterande var en snabb förändring av IT-verktyg som skapar tid mellan organisatoriska åtgärder och svaret på det på grund av den tid som behövs för att bekanta sig med ny teknik.

The concept of Lean Construction has been introduced successfully into the Construction Industry to increase efficiency and profit by elimination of non-value adding activities or ‘Waste’. Lean Construction is an adaptation of Lean manufacturing principles and is the future of the Construction Industry in developing as well as developed countries. There has been much study and documentation conducted on ‘Lean Construction’ in USA. Even though people have started practicing Lean in India, there is lack of documented information available about it. Professionals within the Industry could already be minimizing ‘Waste’ and/or following Lean principles without the knowledge of the term ‘Lean Construction’. This thesis has reviewed and compared Lean Construction practices and awareness in India and USA. A questionnaire based study was used to examine practices and collect data about Construction for analysis. Descriptive statistics was primarily used to make inferences from the data. The Lean Construction characteristics of the construction professionals from both the countries were discussed and analyzed. It was inferred that the Construction Industry in both the countries could benefit further from the Lean practices and increase profitability by up to 25%. In general, personnel in the Construction Industry from both the countries need to receive regular knowledge and updates about Lean principles in order to optimize resources effectively.