A framework for integrating syntax, semantics and pragmatics for computer-aided professional practice: With application of costing in construction industry

Producing a bill of quantity is a knowledge-based, dynamic and collaborative process, and evolves with variances and current evidence. However, within the context of information system practice in BIM, knowledge of cost estimation has not been represented, nor has it been integrated into the processes based on BIM. This paper intends to establish an innovative means of taking data from the BIM linked to a project, and using it to create the necessary items for a bill of quantity that will enable cost estimation to be undertaken for the project. Our framework is founded upon the belief that three components are necessary to gain a full awareness of the domain which is being computerised; the information type which is to be assessed for compatibility (syntax), the definition for the pricing domain (semantics), and the precise implementation environment for the standards being taken into account (pragmatics). In order to achieve this, a prototype is created that allows a cost item for the bill of quantity to be spontaneously generated, by means of the semantic web ontology and a forward chain algorithm. Within this paper, ‘cost items’ signify the elements included in a bill of quantity, including details of their description, quantity and price. As a means of authenticating the process being developed, the authors of this work effectively implemented it in the production of cost items. In addition, the items created were contrasted with those produced by specialists. For this reason, this innovative framework introduces the possibility of a new means of applying semantic web ontology and forward chain algorithm to construction professional practice resulting in automatic cost estimation. These key outcomes demonstrate that, decoupling the professional practice into three key components of syntax, semantics and pragmatics can provide tangible benefits to domain use

Integrating Distributed Sources of Information for Construction Cost Estimating using Semantic Web and Semantic Web Service technologies

A construction project requires collaboration of several organizations such as owner, designer, contractor, and material supplier organizations. These organizations need to exchange information to enhance their teamwork. Understanding the information received from other organizations requires specialized human resources. Construction cost estimating is one of the processes that requires information from several sources including a building information model (BIM) created by designers, estimating assembly and work item information maintained by contractors, and construction material cost data provided by material suppliers. Currently, it is not easy to integrate the information necessary for cost estimating over the Internet. This paper discusses a new approach to construction cost estimating that uses Semantic Web technology. Semantic Web technology provides an infrastructure and a data modeling format that enables accessing, combining, and sharing information over the Internet in a machine processable format. The estimating approach presented in this paper relies on BIM, estimating knowledge, and construction material cost data expressed in a web ontology language. The approach presented in this paper makes the various sources of estimating data accessible as Simple Protocol and Resource Description Framework Query Language (SPARQL) endpoints or Semantic Web Services. We present an estimating application that integrates distributed information provided by project designers, contractors, and material suppliers for preparing cost estimates. The purpose of this paper is not to fully automate the estimating process but to streamline it by reducing human involvement in repetitive cost estimating activities

A Framework for BIM Model-Based Construction Cost Estimation

This thesis presents a framework to conduct a quantity take-off (QTO) and cost estimate within the Building Information Modeling (BIM) Environment. The product of this framework is a model-based cost estimating tool. The framework addresses the cost uncertainty associated with the detailed information defining BIM model element properties. This cost uncertainty is due to the lack of available tools that address detailed QTO and cost estimation using solely a BIM platform. In addition, cost estimators have little experience in leveraging and managing information within semantic-rich BIM models. Unmanaged BIM element parameters are considered a source of uncertainty in a model-based cost estimate, therefore they should be managed and quantified as work items. A model-based system, which assists the estimators to conduct a QTO and cost estimate within the BIM environment, is developed. This system harnesses BIM element parameters to drive work items associated with the parameter’s host element. The system also captures the cost of scope not modeled in the design team’s BIM models. The system consists of four modules 1) establishing estimate requirements, 2) planning and structuring the estimate, 3) quantification and costing, and 4) model-based historical cost data collection. The complete system can produce a project cost estimate based on the 3D BIM Model. This framework is supported by a computation engine built within an existing virtual design and construction (VDC) model review software. The computation engine supports BIM authoring and reviewing BIM data. The Framework’s quantification and costing module was compared to existing methods in a case study. The outcomes of the model-based system demonstrated improved cost estimate accuracy in comparison to the BIM QTO method and improved speed compared to the traditional methods. The framework provides a systematic workflow for conducting a detailed cost estimate leveraging the parameters stored in the BIM models

Seeking evidence for the role of ontological assumptions in the thinking of managers and professionals

Shingo's (1988) seminal innovation in the theory of production management can be seen as a re-conceptualization of production as flow rather than transformation (Koskela 1992). These alternatives can in turn be regarded as reflections of opposing ontological positions which have dominated Western philosophy, holding respectively that reality is constituted of either temporal process, or atemporal substance (Roochnik 2004). Koskela & Kagioglou (2005) suggest that lean production philosophy is based in a process ontology, radically different from the atemporal metaphysics underlying conventional methods and theories. Chi (1992) has argued that the disjunction between ontological categories such as 'substance' and 'process' can constitute a particularly acute barrier to understanding. Studies such as Itza-Ortiz, Rebello & Zollman (2003) have demonstrated the possibility of specifying and classifying learners' mental models as an aid to learning. We examine procedures typically adopted in Quantity Surveying, Structural Engineering Design and Project Planning, in order to specify the mental models involved. We find evidence of an underlying substance ontology. Methods of measurement used in Quantity Surveying are designed to account for physical, rather than temporal properties. In design, the emphasis is on representing the properties of the finished structure, rather than the processes by which it is constructed. More subtly, the temporal dimensions of the construction process are represented in project planning as 'lumps' of time, thus ignoring important facets of their nature as events. We conclude that attention to the role of ontological categories in industry thinking will facilitate the teaching of process oriented approaches to construction project management

Knowledge-based systems and geological survey

This personal and pragmatic review of the philosophy underpinning methods of geological surveying suggests that important influences of information technology have yet to make their impact. Early approaches took existing systems as metaphors, retaining the separation of maps, map explanations and information archives, organised around map sheets of fixed boundaries, scale and content. But system design should look ahead: a computer-based knowledge system for the same purpose can be built around hierarchies of spatial objects and their relationships, with maps as one means of visualisation, and information types linked as hypermedia and integrated in mark-up languages. The system framework and ontology, derived from the general geoscience model, could support consistent representation of the underlying concepts and maintain reference information on object classes and their behaviour. Models of processes and historical configurations could clarify the reasoning at any level of object detail and introduce new concepts such as complex systems. The up-to-date interpretation might centre on spatial models, constructed with explicit geological reasoning and evaluation of uncertainties. Assuming (at a future time) full computer support, the field survey results could be collected in real time as a multimedia stream, hyperlinked to and interacting with the other parts of the system as appropriate. Throughout, the knowledge is seen as human knowledge, with interactive computer support for recording and storing the information and processing it by such means as interpolating, correlating, browsing, selecting, retrieving, manipulating, calculating, analysing, generalising, filtering, visualising and delivering the results. Responsibilities may have to be reconsidered for various aspects of the system, such as: field surveying; spatial models and interpretation; geological processes, past configurations and reasoning; standard setting, system framework and ontology maintenance; training; storage, preservation, and dissemination of digital records

Integration of Cost andWork Breakdown Structures in the Management of Construction Projects

Scope management allows project managers to react when a project underperforms regarding schedule, budget, and/or quality at the execution stage. Scope management can also minimize project changes and budget omissions, as well as improve the accuracy of project cost estimates and risk responses. For scope management to be effective, though, it needs to rely on a robust work breakdown structure (WBS). A robust WBS hierarchically and faithfully reflects all project tasks and work packages so that projects are easier to manage. If done properly, the WBS also allows meeting the project objectives while delivering the project on time, on budget, and with the required quality. This paper analyzes whether the integration of a cost breakdown structure (CBS) can lead to the generation of more robust WBSs in construction projects. Over the last years, some international organizations have standardized and harmonized different cost classification systems (e.g., ISO 12006-2, ISO 81346-12, OmniClass, CoClass, UniClass). These cost databases have also been introduced into building information modeling (BIM) frameworks. We hypothesize that in BIM environments, if these CBSs are used to generate the project WBS, several advantages are gained such as sharper project definition. This enhanced project definition reduces project contradictions at both planning and execution stages, anticipates potential schedule and budget deviations, improves resource allocation, and overall it allows a better response to potential project risks. The hypothesis that the use of CBSs can generate more robust WBSs is tested by the response analysis of a questionnaire survey distributed among construction practitioners and project managers. By means of structural equation modeling (SEM), the correlation (agreement) and perception differences between two 250-respondent subsamples (technical project staff vs. project management staff) are also discussed. Results of this research support the use of CBSs by construction professionals as a basis to generate WBSs for enhanced project management (PM)

BIM extension for the sustainability appraisal of conceptual steel design

Contemporary advancements in Information Technology and the efforts from various research initiatives in the AEC industry are showing evidence of progress with the emergence of building information mod- elling (BIM). BIM presents the opportunity of electronically modelling and managing the vast amount of information embedded in a building project, from its conception to end-of-life. Researchers have been looking at extensions to expand its scope. Sustainability is one such modelling extension that is in need of development. This is becoming pertinent for the structural engineer as recent design criteria have put great emphasis on the sustainability credentials in addition to the traditional criteria of structural integrity, constructability and cost. With the complexity of designs, there are now needs to provide deci- sion support tools to aid in the assessment of the sustainability credentials of design solutions. Such tools would be most beneficial at the conceptual design stage so that sustainability is built into the design solu- tion starting from its inception. The sustainability of buildings is related to life cycle and is measured using indicator-terms such as life cycle costing, ecological footprint and carbon footprint. This paper proposes a modelling framework combining these three indicators in providing sustainability assessments of alterna- tive design solutions based on the economic and environmental sustainability pillars. It employs the prin- ciples of feature-based modelling to extract construction-specific information from product models for the purposes of sustainability analysis. A prototype system is implemented using .NET and linked to the BIM enabled software, Revit StructuresTM. The system appraises alternative design solutions using multi-crite- ria performance analysis. This work demonstrates that current process and data modelling techniques can be employed to model sustainability related information to inform decisions right from the early stages of structural design. It concludes that the utilized information modelling representations – in the form of a process model, implementation algorithms and object-based instantiations – can capture sustainability related information to inform decisions at the early stages of the structural design process

Cost engineering for manufacturing: current and future research

The article aims to identify the scientific challenges and point out future research directions on Cost Engineering. The research areas covered in this article include Design Cost; Manufacturing Cost; Operating Cost; Life Cycle Cost; Risk and Uncertainty management and Affordability Engineering. Collected information at the Academic Forum on Cost Engineering held at Cranfield University in 2008 and further literature review findings are presented. The forum set the scope of the Cost Engineering research, a brainstorming was held on the forum and literatures were further reviewed to understand the current and future practices in cost engineering. The main benefits of the article include coverage of the current research on cost engineering from different perspectives and the future research areas on Cost Engineering