The assigned article I read was about
the various information or data management systems that are in use today. From
architecture to industry to market predictions, there is an abundance of
information being categorized and analyzed. The one system I particularly that
has made me think over the years is the customer relationship management
(CRM). Technology is used to learn
about our habits, our interests and our network traffic. Systems make decisions
about the way a customer does something to learn more about them. This
information gathering gives the service provider feedback to on how to better
serve their customer. Personally I am split on this issue. At times I feel as
if I am thinking like an old man in saying that this is not right but the brilliant
truth is that this has made business flourish. It has also give way to business
working within businesses. One business to gather this information and writing
the code that does it and another business to relay the results to the service
provider. Yes this technology can cross the lines at time, from whichever angle
one wants to look at it, but the reality is everyone wants better customer
service when they are shopping and spending their hard earned money.
The article I read this week is entitled, Barcode-Assisted System
for Document Management
of Construction Projects by Shehab, Moselhi and Nasr, relates to
the assigned reading is that this is another data management systems currently
used. The article summarizes the
use of barcodes and documents within the construction phase of projects. Human
error and time are the issues solved by barcoding documents that are then
delivered to a relation database. Efficiency is seen to increase as well as
information actively and quickly shared between all teams. This is and most
likely will become a standard one day on job sites. The trouble is that hint at
is that when do we stop and look at how technology is eliminating jobs within
the industry. Again, I mention that this is a deadbeat issue that almost no one
wants to talk about it must be addressed. We use so much technology to operate
that we need to use some of it for the future planning. Turning back to the
positive side, I am anxious to see how far this type of technology goes in my
life time, when drawing are displayed complete electronically on huge multi
touch boards. The technology has given birth to an information age.
I agree with Dylan in how important database management systems are in how they helped companies flourish. They will also be key in the future of modern companies. The second article he read seemed to be quite interesting in the database management of bar codes. The idea of bar codes in the construction idustry would definitely be a big step. This would be a move towards eliminating human error. A few years ago I read about the concept of having bar codes scanned and documented into a database. Which could be extremely useful in keeping inventory. For instance a grocery store would be able to keep track of its inventory more efficiently.
ReplyDeleteJames, I like your comment on the concept of barcodes being used for inventory purposes and one company that does that to an extent is Wal-mart. They use RFIDs for inventory purposes in their warehouses. I read an article about it my freshman year and I cannot remember the exact number but the amount of time that they saved by having all of their warehouse inventory in a database was able to save them millions of dollars. And Dylan, there is no arguing that this technology will result in the elimination of jobs and further contribute to the disintegration of the blue collar class, much like the car manufacturing industry but there is the argument that these systems will not be entirely self-sufficient and will still need people to monitor them or fix them when they break. It is just more information for the argument that a high school diploma is not enough to make a living in the world today
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