Implementing Digital Visual Management: A Case Study on Challenges and Barriers

The construction industry (CI) has an increasing interest in achieving better situational awareness (SA) in complex projects, by focusing on sharing real-time information among project participants, allowing decision-making based on the project development’s up-to-date situation and status. The implementation of digital visual management (DVM) tools as means of communication to increase SA in CI projects has the potential to simplify information dissemination. This paper identifies the challenges and barriers faced during the implementation of a DVM tool. The authors interviewed nine project management professionals who were part of the client organization in a complex infrastructure project of the western part of the Metro in Helsinki and Espoo, Finland. The findings show that the lack of digital tools for collecting and analyzing project data, the focus of the DVM on the top management, and the lack of trust among the actors involved in the project undermine the success of DVM implementation. Thus, digitalizing data collection, increasing trust among project participants, and disseminating information are crucial for successful DVM implementation.