Assessing barriers to ICT adoption among building contractors in Kaduna State

Information and communication Technology (ICT) nowadays have great impact on the construction industry and the way it works. The technology is viewed as crucial for effective and successful project delivery in construction organisations and the industry as a whole. ICT usage in most construction firms have often been described as relatively limited and ineffective compared to other sectors in most economies. The study brings to fore, the need for adequate adoption of ICT in building construction practice in Kaduna State, this research focuses on reasons hindering ICT usage by building contractors in Kaduna State. A survey based on structured questionnaire was used to elicit the relevant data from 45 contractors based on purposive sampling. While thirty-two (32) respondents completed the questionnaire and valid for use. The data was analysed using frequency analysis, mean score. The findings suggested that budget constraints for ICT investments form the financial sub- group, lack of commitment by firm’s management towards ICT form the human sub-group and lack of training and technical support for construction professionals in ICT form the technical sub- group with mean scores of 3.61, 3.53 and 3.49 respectively were the top most critical factors hindering use of ICT by building contractors in Kaduna State. The study has shown that there is a need for contractors’ financial support for ICT investments, construction client interest in contractors’ ICT capacity, improved training and management for ICT and improved ICT content in construction education at all levels to address ICT adoption barriers in building contractor firms in Kaduna and construction industry as a whole.