Person-oriented Mobile Information System Enhancing Engineering Communication in Construction Processes - Mobile and Pervasive Computing in Construction - page 141

Table 7.1 Example of the communication matrix of Case Study 1

1111
1234567890123
ASSSSOPAEMSED

1 Assistant site manager 0 322211131113

2 Site manager 3 022212122222

3 Superviser 1 Civ. Eng. 2 203323212222

4 Superviser 2 Elec. Eng. 2 230313121122

5 Superviser 3 Mech. Eng. 2 233013122112

6 Owner representative 1 121103200002

7 Project manager 1 233330211112

8 Architect 1 121122012221

9 Elec. & Mech. Subcontrator 3 212201101112

10 Mech Eng. 1 221201210111

11 Struc Eng. 1 221101211011

12 Elec Eng. 1 222101211101

13 DyCE 3 222222121110

0 - no communication
1 - once per week
2 -weekly (several times per week)
3 - daily

between project participants as well as the DyCE system were numerically
described. The higher the participant's centrality degree (numerical analysis result)
the stronger is the (direct) relationship with other actors in the network. This actor
should be recognized by others as a major channel of relational information
(Wasserman and Faust, 1994).
More powerful (useful) is a visual representation of network centrality providing
snapshots of organizational interaction structures and the strengths (intensity,
direction) of relationships. Coordinates for visual representation are established
using multidimensional scaling (MDS), a data analysis technique widely used in
communications research consisting of routines for the transformation of com-
munication matrices into useful graphic depictions of a network. According to
MDS, network actors who communicate frequently with each other are closer
together on the graph and, inversely, infrequent communications are separated by
larger spaces. Within the UCINET software package a ScatterPlot program was
used for MDS data visualization to understand the role of the DyCE system.

7.4.2 Case study 1: new hotel complex

The centrality analysis confirmed the typical primary information distributors
during the construction phase: the supervisor, the project manager and the site
manager (Figure 7.12, left sociogram). The high communication frequency and the
high degree of centrality of the DyCE system, which indicates a key role in the
communication network, were particularly interesting (Figures 7.11 and 7.12).
According to the observations, many of the project participants used the DyCE
systemon a weekly basis to stay informed, to check the status of specific items and to