The IT-barometer a decade's development of IT use in the Swedish construction sector

SUMMARY: The IT-Barometer 2007 survey was carried out in the spring of 2007 in Sweden and Finland, as a follow-up to the IT-Barometer 1998 and 2000 surveys. This paper presents the most significant results from the Swedish survey with comparisons with the earlier ones. The survey was sent out to a statistically chosen selection from the whole country, divided into architects, technical consultants, contractors, property owners and the materials industry. The survey provided knowledge of access to computers and communication tools, use of IT in some work operations and in the three focus areas: CAD, project webs and electronic trade, and finally plans and strategies for the use of IT in future. 100 % of all employees work at workplaces with computers. Over 70 % of them, including site workers, have their own computer, their own e-mail address and access to the Internet at their workplace. The use of CAD in general has increased but was almost fully integrated already in 2000. The use of model-based CAD software has increased among architects as well as technical consultants, and CAD is now also being used for other purposes than geometrical data. The use of project webs and electronic trade in the construction industry, which had started already at the time of the survey in 2000, is now widespread, even if the use is still not at a high level. The plans for IT investments are concentrated on well-tried techniques in the companies’ support business, and at the top of the list at the moment are mobile solutions.