Integrated Information Systems of Production Firms in Construction Industry

MAJDANDZIC, Niko¹, LUJIC, Roberto², SIMUNOVIC, Goran³ & SARIC, Tomislav⁴

Trg I.B. Mazuranic 18, 35000 Slavonski Brod, Croatia , Mechanical Engineering Faculty
¹ Niko.Majdandzic@brod.sfsb.hr, http://brod.sfsb.hr/hr/koi/niko.html
² Roberto.Lujic@brod.sfsb.hr, http://brod.sfsb.hr/hr/koi/lujza.html
³ Goran.Simunovic@brod.sfsb.hr, http://brod.sfsb.hr/hr/koi/gogi.html
⁴ Tomislav.Saric@brod.sfsb.hr, http://brod.sfsb.hr/hr/koi/tomo.html

Abstract: This paper presents the results of the development and application of Integrated Information Systems (IIS) for production firms in electric equipment industry, timber and wood industry, metalworking industry and construction industry.

Special attention is paid to the presentation of the structure of the program system for planning and control of construction works (PLAPE) and to the possibility to apply this program to improve the productivity of construction firms based on the management and on the control of the execution of construction projects.

The paper also presents the integrated of the PLAPE program system into the firms IIS, allowing the utilization of up-to-date (prices of materials, tools and services) for the calculation of bid prices and for the control of planned and realized project expenses.

Keywords: Integrated Information Systems (IIS), Managing Information Systems (MIS).

1 Introduction

The countries in transition are going through significant social and technological changes. Still under influence of a special style of living and doing business under centralized plans and agreed economy of prices, they confront themselves with high requirements of international market with respect to prices, terms and quality.

In the meanwhile, some changes in elements of competition capabilities occurred. Formerly, such elements concerned (according to Adam Smith) cheap production factors (cheap labour, cheap capital, cheap energy, cheap transportation and cheap utilization of infrastructure).

The following competition capability elements are present today:

• continuously innovation of products and processes and improvement of organization, management and quality,
• hard competition on home market
• home consumption subject to high requirements
• high quality home suppliers and cooperators.

The modern production of companies in developing countries is characterized by:

• short time of new product developing from idea to appearance on market,
• short time of new technologies application
• high automation of operation processes,
• high flexibility of companies in new ideas and products,
• a new kind of labour division in respect to joint development of products or services (everyone is doing such jobs in which he is most efficient)

In order to reduce the present lagging in competition of their products and services, the companies of lands in transition have to develop their own strategies for long term development program, which would give them the opportunity of appearance and continuance on the demanding market of developed countries. Such strategies would determine the products, cooperation and services aimed for appearance on the market, and after that, the required rationalization in production technologies, organization and education for development strategies realization.

2 Development and application of Managing information systems (MIS) for production companies

The existing managing information systems, developed for the needs of big corporations in developed countries have a lot of qualities, which make them hard applicable for the needs of small and medium companies within wood, electric energy, metal-working, food and process industries, i.e.:

• the implementation lasts too long
• high prices
• too much adjustment to the company organization required
• relatively high prices for any of changes and additional processing.

During ten year period of development at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Slavonski Brod and due to joint efforts of the Informational Enterprise ININ-Informational Engineering and participation of twenty engineers from diverse fields of production, MIS for the needs of enterprises in the developing countries has been realized. This system has been successfully applied in Croatian companies and several companies abroad.

Figure 1 presents connections of MIS with the environment, its management functions and databases for personnel and management. Function of MIS is based on software and hardware base (programs, networks, equipment) and data organized in data bases.

In such a way developed system has found its application in companies of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here below, the Information system of building companies – ISGP will be described in short.

Figure 1. Connections of MIS participants

3 Information system of building companies – ISGP

Figure 2 gives the structure of ISGP.

Figure 2. Subsystems of Information system of building companies ISGP

The ISGP comprises the following subsystems [1]:

• B A Z A P  - Common data base
• P R O K A  - Subsystem Sales and calculation
• N A Z A L  - Subsystem Purchase and stock
• N O R A D  - Subsystem Labor standards
• P L A P E  -  Subsystem Planning and monitoring
• R I N I S  - Subsystem Bookkeeping
• F I N I S  - Subsystem Financing
• O D O P S  - Equipment maintenance

The subsystem Common data base – BAZAP comprises the common data for all other subsystems: data upon organization structure, partners, personnel data, common codes, etc.

The subsystem Sales and calculation – PROKA organizes the data upon working orders, preliminary calculations, accounting statements upon situations, as also programs enabling the automatic making out of invoices and monitoring of collections.

The subsystem Purchase and material and spare parts stock - NAZAL includes data upon required, ordered and stocked material with monitoring the material appertains to the working orders.

The subsystem Labor standards – NORAD comprises the data upon standards for construction works: labor hours standards per labor unit, material standards and labor norm (units per hours).

The subsystem Bookkeeping – RINIS comprises data and programs for records keeping and processing: balance in hand, financial bookkeeping, inventory-material accounting, fixed assets, payroll accounts, interest and tax accounting, small inventory.

The subsystem Financing – FINIS comprises the data and programs for monitoring of securities, giro account state, plans of inflow and outflow of financial funds.

The subsystem Equipment maintenance – ODOPS comprises the data and programs for organizing, planning and monitoring of preventive and planed maintenance, monitoring of repair maintenance, as also monitoring of maintenance costs.

The system Planning and monitoring of objects construction – PLAPE represents the working base of IS of building companies. In Figure 3 are the modules of subsystem PLAPE given.

Figure 3. Modules of subsystem PLAPE

The subsystem PLAPE enables:

• finishing of activity plan resulted from labor norms
• calculation of required capacities, personal and machinery equipment per hours and units,
• calculation of required material and tool, with checking and reservation of states at storehouse,
• of labor cost calculation
• material cost calculation
• automatical finishing of calculations for offers,
• finishing of list of expenses for a work
• automatical correction of list of expenses up to contract price,
• monitoring of works performing,
• calculation of bases for invoicing according to the plan realization.

Figure 4 shows the inlet mask for input of data upon plan activities [2].

Figure 4. Inlet mask for input of data upon plan activities

4 Managing information system application in education

The developed Managing information systems are adjusted to the educational system of technical faculties: Mechanical Engineering Faculty and Civil Engineering Faculty of the University Osijek. A program pack PUT has been developed, which enables the interactive learning of students and the knowledge testing, as also usage of information systems working instructions.

5 Conclusions

The companies of the countries in transition has to organize theoretically their own strategies within the development strategy of their countries, in order to get the competition capability required on international market. One of precondition for that is the development and implementation of Managing Information System adjusted to the needs and financial capabilities of such companies. The implementation of educational versions of such systems into the education procedures of technical faculties, in which way the engineers become the bearers for application of such systems, has been proved as significant.

References