Recent Technologies in Construction; A Novel Search for Total Cost Management of Construction Projects.

There is a continuous rise in the implementation of information-driven technology in construction, especially for effective control and management of construction resources. However, the enormous opportunities that these technologies provide have not been adequately utilized for construction cost management. There are so many innovations in the current IR 4.0 era, where digitization and connected systems are the trend of activities in engineering and other allied industries. These innovations are being adopted in the construction industry, to enhance the efficiency of construction processes. The areas of the current trend include Internet of things [IoT], Augmented and Virtual Reality [AR and VR], 5D-BIM, Autonomous Equipment, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, and Predictive Analytics. This paper explores the applications and benefits of these areas of new technological trends in construction project management with emphasis laid in cost management of construction projects. Eighty-one[81] recent publications in journal articles, textbooks, web pages and conference proceedings published between 2008 and 2019 were reviewed in order to articulate and reveal areas of application of the technologies in project cost management and control. The paper exposes areas of application of the current ICT trends which construction managers and project cost managers should harness.