Journal of Information Technology in Construction
Journal of Information Technology in Construction
ITcon Vol. 30, pg. 1123-1149, http://www.itcon.org/2025/46
Decentralized and Collaborative Information Management System in Construction Contract Administration: A change management case study
| DOI: | 10.36680/j.itcon.2025.046 | |
| submitted: | November 2024 | |
| revised: | June 2025 | |
| published: | July 2025 | |
| editor(s): | Yang Zou, Mostafa Babaeian Jelodar, Zhenan Feng, Brian H.W. Guo | |
| authors: | Navid Torkanfar, M.Sc., Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8304-5957 navid.torkanfar@mail.utoronto.ca Ehsan Rezazadeh Azar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Architectural Science, Toronto Metropolitan University ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9711-2679 ehsan.azar@torontomu.ca Brenda McCabe, Ph.D., Professor Emerita Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto brenda.mccabe@utoronto.ca | |
| summary: | Data quality and lack of reliable information about changes, claims, and risks are ongoing challenges in construction contract administration (CCA). These issues along with ineffective information management, can result in poor decision-making, and eventually, cost overruns and delays. The CCA processes involve complex communications and management of information flow among stakeholders. Blockchain and ontology have been widely studied for their capabilities to improve collaborative information management and foster decision-making, but their integration potentials are mostly unexplored within the context of CCA information management. This study aims to develop a contract information management system leveraging the benefits of blockchain and ontology. The system is demonstrated using change management as a representative CCA process, with two main objectives: (1) to overcome issues hindering trust and collaboration for the effective management of CCA-related information flow, and (2) to improve accessibility to reliable data for effective decision-making. A decentralized and collaborative contract information management (DCCIM) system was proposed encompassing two main layers of blockchain and ontology-based information management. Additionally, a novel framework was developed for designing the smart contract and blockchain network based on a standardized ontology and business process model. The system was evaluated using a change management process as a case study to demonstrate its applicability within CCA workflows. The blockchain infrastructure enables reliable, collaboratively managed information flow, while the ontology facilitates the development of smart contracts aligned with the management process and enhances access to information by supporting complex queries and automated reasoning over captured data. The proposed DCCIM system could be a promising building block for future developments and full automation of CCA processes. | |
| keywords: | Blockchain, Smart contract, Interoperability, Trust, Collaboration, Knowledge integration, Decentralization, Change management, Ontology | |
| full text: | (PDF file, 2.248 MB) | |
| citation: | Torkanfar N, Rezazadeh Azar E, McCabe B (2025). Decentralized and Collaborative Information Management System in Construction Contract Administration: A change management case study, ITcon Vol. 30, Special issue Construction 5.0, pg. 1123-1149, https://doi.org/10.36680/j.itcon.2025.046 | |
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