Development and On-Site Evaluation of an Automated Materials Management and Control Model

Materials resources constitute a large portion of a project’s total cost and this makes them an important and attractive subject to control. Proper control and management of materials can meaningfully increase productivity by 6%, or more. A model based on automatic, or semiautomatic, data collection for materials management and control was developed. Based on project plans, the model initiates and manages the ordering of materials automatically and monitors both the actual flow of materials and the current stock at the construction site. The model permits real-time control, enabling corrective actions to be taken. In this manner, costs and unnecessary handling of materials are reduced. In addition, up-to-date information regarding materials flow is available and different statistical analyses are enabled: materials acquired from a specific supplier; materials used for a specific activity; and materials used during a specific month, etc. The information generated by the model enables the updating of a historical database to be used for planning of future projects.