- Must be hardwearing/durable (Rugged)
- Internet/email facilities
- At least 10 hour battery life
- To be able to synchronize with office PC
- At least 40 MB of memory
- Digital camera
- Bluetooth
- Password Protection
- Be a phone as well
- Contacts and Appointments
- Memo pad
- Calculator
The report will know explain why these features are relevant to your company in the construction industry.
Rebolj, D., Magdič, A. and Čuš-Babič, N (2000), looked at a ‘multipurpose experimental, educational and research project called Mobile Computing at a Construction Site (or e-site, for short)’.The main goal of this project was to ‘examine the characteristics and potential of commercially available PDA's for the construction industry’. They found that ‘The commercially available PDA's that were used in the project already offer abundant functionality and processing speed; they are not, however, suitable under stress conditions (dust, strong light, rain, handling by workers, etc.), which are normal at a building site.’ After evaluating this information I concluded that a rugged PDA would be the most relevant to your needs. A rugged PDA is ‘protected from dust, water and shocks, works in larger temperature range’ (Eisenblätter, K. and Menzel, K., 2005). I believe this would be the most important factor to you as there would be no point of having the PDA if you could not take it on site with you.
The second most important feature is the need to be able to access the internet from the PDA as all ‘bids, project reports and operational transactions…will need to be submitted electronically’ (from case study). Even though the majority of PDA’s do have this feature, without this it the PDA chosen will be little use to you.
The third most important feature is the PDA must have at least a ten hour battery life. The average working day in 1998 in the UK was 7.1 hours (including paid overtime, excluding meal breaks), (Green, F., 2000), with industries such as the construction industry having longer working hours especially during high pressure projects (i.e. the building of the Olympic stadium). Due to this I decided that a minimum 10 hour battery life was needed.
The next most important feature is the ability to be able to synchronize with the office PC’s as all your computer based records would be held on these and transfer from the PDA to the computer and vise-versa will be vital to the organization of any construction project.
The fifth most important feature has been determined as the PDA must have at least a 64 MB memory. When deciding between a 32MB memory and a 64MB memory I looked at what features both size memory are suited to. A ‘32MB: Allows smooth use of email applications and office software’ and a ‘64MB: Recommended for surfing the Internet and multimedia functions’ (eBay Inc, 2006) A large memory capacity is required because you will have to download software onto your PDA, as you will be using ‘software provided by the consortium responsible for the overall management of the construction work’ (case study). Due to this I decided a 64MB memory would be most appropriate for Greenwich Construction Ltd.
I believe the next most important feature is that the PDA must have a digital camera on it as well. My own research with a McNicholas plc, a ‘multi-disciplinary company’ (mainly site work the same as Greenwich construction PLC), employee I found that often to show what work has been completed photos of the job are taken and sent via PDA’s to the site mangers and managers in the offices so everyone can effectively and accurately be kept up to date with progress. I believe this could be important to Greenwich construction when organizing large building projects such as the Olympic Stadium.
I have determined Bluetooth capabilities as the next most important feature on a PDA. Dyson, Laurel Evelyn & Er, Michael (2004), wrote ‘Bluetooth-enabled PDA's were suggested by Er and Kay (2003) as a solution to mobile document management on building sites.’ By using this research it is clear to see Bluetooth enabled PDA’s would be an asset to your company. You would be able to synchronize information between PDA’s, mobile phones and computers at no cost to you.
Password protection would be needed to ensure that the information is not accessed by unauthorized personnel. ‘Unauthorized access is generally a prelude to fraud or intentional damage and therefore needs to be prevented’ (Curtis, G. and Cobham, D., 2005, p349). As you can see password protection would be very valuable in controlling access to project reports, operational transactions and personal data stored on a PDA.
If the PDA was a phone as well it would save money as there would be no need to update company phones and enable all supervisors and mangers to only have to carry one device with them when going on site. This would reduce the likeliness of it getting forgotten or misplaced. It could also improve communication between managers and supervisor as they would always be able to contact each other with issues regarding construction projects.
The final three features, Contacts and Appointments, Memo pad and a Calculator, are all standard features of PDA’s but are still important to you. Contacts and appointment will be stored to make sure everyone is kept up to date with on site developments and meetings. The memo pad will help individuals remember tasks that they have to undertake. And the calculator is a standard feature that could prove invaluable on site when calculating the amount of material needed, area of build, etc.
Taking all these features into account and weighting them based on there importance I created a table (see appendix 3) demonstrating what PDA may be the best for Greenwich Construction. Using this you can decide which model you believe would be best for you
Conclusion
By using this report you should be able to easily and effectively search the internet. You should also be able to evaluate the information’s authenticity by cross referencing information from multiple websites. It should also show what features you need for your PDA and why they are relevant to Greenwich Construction Ltd. This will aid you in choosing the best PDA for your new mobile computer system and win the bid for the Olympic Stadium for Greenwich Construction Ltd.
Recommendation
By evaluating your needs to make a successful bid for the 2012 Olympic Stadium I believe that the information I have provided will help you search the internet, initially when choosing a PDA and then into the future. I also think that with the features identified as crucial for your PDA you will be able to choose the most suitable one. From the PDA’s available at the moment it would make the most sense to choose the Datalogic Jet as it has all the features you need. I wish you good luck in searching the internet, choosing suitable PDA’s and making a successful Olympic Stadium bid.
Appendices
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Glossary
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