There are many inefficiencies in the construction process leading to significant failure costs and low-profit margins. The bundling of resources and capacities has been found essential, especially in inner cities where space is limited and the livability of the city needs to be taken into account. There is a need to manage the logistics of multiple construction projects to make the construction process more efficient.
Cross-chain control centers (4C)
A study by Robin Staring (University of Twente) goes in-depth into the topic of cross-chain control centers (4C) and the impact of using 4C for the construction industry to support inter-project collaborations. An abstract design of a 4C is made using a business model framework to describe the business logic.
Assuming the parties are willing or are required to share their data with others, control tower solutions are needed to monitor and process the information that is shared. These control tower solutions could be targeted to contractors and suppliers, for the monitoring of the logistics process and the planning of consolidation, and to the local governments, to monitor the transports of construction projects in a particular area.
Results
This design was validated with industry experts to understand what value, information and processes the control tower could be supported and to assess its applicability. There are many obstacles and uncertainties with regards to the development and use of the 4C control tower in the construction industry, including a lack of a clear governance model, a lack of a clear business case for the involved parties, improper chain-wide use of ICT, several (perceived) risks of data sharing, and a lack of data standardization. Instead of a central actor orchestrating the supply chains, this study finds that first an industry-wide protocol is needed that dictates the information exchange among the parties.