Information Modelling and Sharing in the CO-CIS Project

Abstract

Complex information structures are generated and exchanged during the life cycle of large projects. The key to realising improved collaboration amongst the several disciplines involved is in the integration of such structures. Object-orientation has emerged as an appropriate approach for handling the complexity inherent in construction domains. This paper presents a pure object-oriented Integrated Building Project Model (IBPM). The model is a definition of objects and relationships that pertain to the three different construction-related disciplines of architecture, structural engineering and project management. It provides the basis by which software applications can share objects and a means of achieving integration. From the IBPM, the notion of Intelligent Object Classes (IOCs) is introduced, leading to the COllaborative Construction Integrated System (CO-CIS), the development of which is described in terms of its generic conceptual architecture. The exploitation of the architecture in a prototype implementation of the IBPM and IOCs is demonstrated by the generation of construction schedules through the integration of CAD and project management packages.