Electronic technical information: The opportunity it provides for structural engineers to improve th

The Steel Construction Institute (SCI) has the mission ‘to develop and promote the effective use of steel in construction’. It is the largest organisation of its kind in the world.

Development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is now the most important part of its forward planning.

This paper presents the underlying rationale for this investment and demonstrates, with examples, how ICT is being used to improve the services it offers its members for:

• access to comprehensive technical information for engineers, architects and contractors
• tertiary education and CPD
• dissemination of research

As a result of these developments, a range of electronic communities is developing in steel construction with the opportunity to transform customer relations management for the steel construction supply chain.

The paper concludes with predictions of how ICT will enhance performance in construction and change ways of working in the future.

Graham Owens
PhD, DIC, MSc, CEng, FIStructE.

John Moran
BEng(Hons), MSc, CEng, MICE

Andrew Crowley
BEng, PhD
The Steel Construction Institute