Abstract:
Pakistan is a developing country, but it has a lot of potential in the construction industry. In the recent era every other industry is shifting towards advancements and sustainability by adopting automation and innovative technology. On the contrary in technology adoption the construction industry of Pakistan is at a snail’s pace. Internet of things (IoT) has been adopted by many other industries and its results are astonishing but in construction it is limited to a very few applications.
The aim of this study is to identify challenges in adoption of IoT in the construction industry of Pakistan, provide a reasonable conceptual framework which will help the stakeholders in its adoption and it will also pave a road for the future researchers in IoT in Pakistan. This study will not only benefit Pakistan but other developing countries as well.
To carry out this research a mixed research method is adopted. Quantitative and qualitative research methods are used for data collection. A web based questionnaire and interviews of the concerned focus groups clients, Contractors, subcontractors, consultants, and individuals having construction experience were conducted for data collection. The sample size of the respondents is 74. The data analysis is done using Statistical software for data analysis IBM SPSS Statistics 26.
The research concludes on developing a conceptual framework for IoT adoption which will help the Construction sector of Pakistan. Moreover, according to this research the main factors which restrain IoT adoption in the construction industry of Pakistan are Lack of awareness about IoT, its benefits to improve the industry, cost of initial investment, very limited research on IoT in Construction., PEC and other related agencies are not confident enough to invest in this area., presence of less skilled labour in construction industry causes lag in adoption of new technology. The poor attitude of the top management in technology adoption is also a dictating factor in IoT adoption. In addition, Pakistani culture acts as a barrier in adoption of new technology in construction industry.
