Building Integrated ArchitectureEngineeringConstru

Buildingintegratedarchitecture/engineering/constructionsystemsusingsmartobjects:methodologyandimplementationHalfawy,M.;Froese,T.NRCC-48132Aversionofthisdocumentispublishedin/Uneversiondecedocumentsetrouvedans:JournalofComputinginCivilEngineering,v.19,no.2,April2005,pp.172-181DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)0887-3801(2005)19:2(172):AMethodologyandImplementation1MahmoudHalfawy2andThomasFroese3Abstract:IntegratedprojectsystemsholdthepotentialforimprovingthequalitywhilereducingthetimeandcostofArchitecture/Engineering/Construction(AEC)projects.Afundamentalrequirementofsuchsystemsistosupportthemodelingandmanagementofthedesignandconstructioninformationandtoallowtheexchangeofsuchinformationamongdifferentprojectdisciplinesinaneffectiveandefficientmanner.Thispaperpresentsamethodologytoimplementintegratedprojectsystemsthroughtheuseofamodel-basedapproachthatinvolvesdevelopingintegrated“smartAECobjects.”SmartAECobjectsareanevolutionarystepthatbuildsuponpastresearchandexperienceinAECproductmodeling,geometricmodeling,intelligentCADsystems,andknowledge-baseddesignmethods.Smartobjectsare3Dparametricentitiesthatcombinethecapabilitytorepresentvariousaspectsofprojectinformationrequiredtosupportmulti-disciplinaryviewsoftheobjects,andthecapabilitytoencapsulate“intelligence”byrepresentingbehavioralaspects,designconstraints,andlifecycledatamanagementfeaturesintotheobjects.Anexampleimplementationofsmartobjectstosupportintegrateddesignoffalseworksystemsispresented.Thepaperalsodiscussesthe1APreliminarydraftofthispaperhasappearedintheproceedingsoftheCIB-W78conferenceonDistributingKnowledgeinBuilding,Aarhus,Denmark,June12-14,2002.2CentreforSustainableInfrastructureResearch,InstituteforResearchinConstruction,NationalResearchCouncil,6ResearchDr.,ReginaSK,CanadaS4S7J7;formerly,Dept.ofCivilEngineering,Univ.ofBritishColumbia,2324MainMall,Vancouver,BC,CanadaV6T1Z4.3Dept.ofCivilEngineering,Univ.ofBritishColumbia,2324MainMall,Vancouver,BC,CanadaV6T1Z4.1requirementsforextendingexistingstandarddatamodels,specificallytheIndustryFoundationClasses(IFC),tosupportthemodelingofsmartAECobjects.Keywords:integratedprojectsystems,productmodels,interoperability,intelligentCADsystems,industryfoundationclasses,falseworksystems,smartobjects.INTRODUCTIONIntegratedprojectsystemsareakeytooltohelptheindustrytomeettheincreasingdemandstoreduceprojectscostandtime,andtoimprovethequalityofthefacilitydesignandconstructionprocess.Afundamentalrequirementofsuchsystemsistosupportthemodelingandmanagementoftheprojectinformationandtoallowtheexchangeofthisinformationamongprojectparticipantsefficientlyandeffectively.Themainfunctionalitytoberenderedbyanintegratedprojectsysteminvolvesbuildingandmaintaininganintegratedprojectdatabase.Thisintegrateddatabasewouldservetoensuretheconsistencyandintegrityofprojectdata,enableefficientdatasharingandexchangethroughouttheprojectlifecycle,supporttoolsinteroperability,andenabletimelyaccesstoup-to-dateprojectinformation.Integratedprojectsystemswouldalsohelptostreamlineprojectactivitiesbyallowingdownstreamdisciplinestoaccessthedesigninformationtoevaluatethedesignandtoassesstheimpactofdesigndecisionsondownstreamprojectactivitiesearlyinthedesignprocess.AECprojectinformationtypicallyflowsfromthedesignphasetotheconstructionphasetothefacilitymanagementphase,withverycostlyandtime-consumingfeedbackloopsintheformofchangeordersandreworkduringtheconstructionphase,orexcessivemaintenanceworkduringthefacilitymanagementphase.AECobjectstypicallyinvolvelarge,complex,anddynamicinformationstructuresthatareshared2amongvariousprojectprocesses(e.g.design,specification,costestimating,scheduling,etc.).Atypicalfacilityiscomprisedofalargenumberofsuchobjectswithdistinctstructural,functional,andbehavioralcharacteristics,aswellascomplexdependenciesandrelationships.Differentprojectdisciplinesusuallyhavedifferentviewsofthesameobject,andeachviewdefinesitsownsetofobjectattributesandmethods.Duetothehighlyinterdependentandmulti-disciplinarynatureofAECobjects,theunidirectionalstyleofinformationflowhasoftenresultedininefficientcommunicationandexchangeofprojectinformation,andsubsequentlycausedprojectcostandtimeoverruns,reducedqualityandmaintainability,lossofdesignintent,andtheinabilitytoefficientlyaccessandexchangeobjectsinformationinatimelymanner.Historically,AECsystemswerenotsomuchconcernedaboutsharingorexchangingdataacrossdifferentprojectdomains.Theobjectsembeddedinthesesystemshavetypicallyimplementedfunctionalityandbehaviorthatfocussquarelyonthespecificrequirementsofthesupporteddomain,withlittleornoregardtothecommoncharacteristicsthattheseverysameobjectsshareacrossdifferentdomains.Aclearmanifestationofthisphenomenonistheverylimitedobjectsemanticsexchangedbythesesystemsastheprojectprogressesfromthedesignstagetothecostestimatingorschedulingprocesses.AlthoughtheprocessesforestimatingthecostorplanningtheconstructionofspecificAECobjectssignificantlydrawonthedesignsemanticsoftheseobject