Effective materials management by construction organisations is imperative because of the high contribution of materials elements to the cost of a building. The introduction of materials management systems is dependant upon the accurate and efficient handling of all data relating to the selection, acquisition, delivery and use of both temporary and permanent materials to be included in the construction. Computer based systems incorporating bar coding techniques offer solutions to some of the main problems in materials management. These benefits will be limited on a company basis by the sophistication of the organisation's management systems. The full benefits of bar coding on an industry wide basis will only be obtained with the introduction of Electronic Data Interchange, (EDI), or other forms of electronic information exchange, (IE).

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