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Robert Amor's Publications in 2000

Faraj, I. and Amor, R. (2000) Proceedings of UK National Conference on Objects and Integration for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, BRE, Watford, UK, 13-14 March, ISBN 1 86081 377 1, CRC Publishers, 286pp.

PDF version is available Turk, Z. and Amor, R. (2000) Architectural foundations of a construction information network, International Journal of Construction Information Technology, 7(2), pp. 85-97.

Abstract: Integrated information systems for construction products and information will become an important catalyst of the global construction market. In the frame of the European Union's Technology Transfer Network such a one-stop-shop for the construction industry of Europe has been developed. During 1999, partners from the UK, Finland and Slovenia have been working on a pan-European virtual technology park on the Internet - CONNET (www.connet.org). CONNET is designed as a set of loosely coupled nodes, operated by the different partners in the project. The nodes are integrated on both semantic and technical levels. The first integrates the information offered by the nodes by providing the mapping and translations between the metadata and the classification systems. On the technical level, the services are integrated by providing user management and cross-node searching enabled by publicly defined application interfaces. This paper presents aspects of the design and development of the system. We learned that in integrated, industry-wide information systems, several information schemata and classification systems must coexist; that they will not necessarily be based on standardised building product models and existing building product classification systems but on metadata standards developed outside the construction sector. We present an architecture of loosely coupled, federated services on the Web, which are flexible enough to provide a unified interface to various construction related data. The use of open standards for meta-information, Internet technology and an object oriented design and analysis approach proved vital for the success of the project.

PDF version is available Turk, Z., Cerovsek, T. and Amor, R. (2000) CONNET - Design Issues, Proceedings of INCITE 2000, International Conference on Construction Information Technology, Hong Kong, 17-18 January, pp. 416-428.

Abstract: Integrated information systems about construction products and information will become an important catalyst of the global construction market. In the frame of European Union's Technology Transfer Network such a one-stop-shop for the construction industry of Europe has been developed. During 1999, partners from the UK, Finland and Slovenia have been working on a pan-European virtual technology park on the Internet - CONNET. CONNET is designed as a set loosely coupled nodes, operated by the different partners in the project. The nodes are integrated on both a semantic and technical levels. The first integrates the information offered by the nodes by providing the mapping and translations between the meta-data and the classification systems. On the technical level, the services are integrated by providing user management and cross-node searching enabled by a publicly defined application interfaces. This paper presents aspects in the design and development of the system. We learned that in integrated, industry-wide information systems, several information schemata and classification systems must coexist; that they will not necessarily be based on standardized building product models and existing building product classification systems but on metadata standards developed outside the construction sector. We present an architecture of loosely coupled, federated services on the Web, which are flexible enough to provide a unified interface to various construction related data. The use of open standards for meta-information, Internet technology and object oriented design and analysis approach proved vital for the success of the project.

PDF version is available Nyambayo, J., Amor, R., Faraj, I. and Wix, J. (2000) External Product Library - An Implementation of the Industry Foundation Classes Release 2.0 Model, Proceedings of Product Data Technology Europe 2000, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, 2-5 May, pp. 147-156.

Abstract: This paper describes a generic standards-based product library access system developed as part of a project funded by DETR UK. The aim of the project, developed in conjunction with the Facilities Management domain of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI UK Chapter), has been to provide input into the development of the library model for the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) release 2.0 and to develop a demonstrator product library system to illustrate the use of the model.
Product information is currently available through a number of sources, which include manufacturers, suppliers, and information providers such as product catalogue companies.. There are a number of classification systems both in-house and national that are currently being used by large information providers to organize product information. However this information is often not structured in formats usable by applications, and there are no standard methods in place for accessing this information electronically. The challenge is that of exchanging the product information between the providers and the project environment. For example how can an architect/engineer integrate manufactured product information into their design.
This paper reviews the IFC property set and library models and an implementation of the models to provide access to externally defined manufactured product information. The system described in this paper demonstrates how product information could be structured. It also describes a generic mechanism for searching for product information structured as property sets.

PDF version is available Nyambayo, J. and Amor, R. (2000) National Standards Details Library - An Electronic Library of Parametric CAD Details, Proceedings of the UK National Conference on Objects and Integration, Watford, UK, 13-14 March, pp. 33-39.

Abstract: This paper describes the development of a demonstrator library of parameterised standard CAD Details on the Internet. The library (National Standard Details Library) has been developed as part of a PII project funded by DETR (UK). The aim of the project has been to develop a framework for the development of standard CAD details for specific areas within the construction industry and to develop a prototype electronic library of parametric details that could be accessible from a number of different CAD applications. The paper discusses the issues arising from the development of such a system and the impact it could have on standards and best practice in the development and use of CAD details.

PDF version is available Nyambayo, J., Faraj, I. and Amor, R. (2000) Product Libraries - Technology Review, Proceedings of the 3rd European Conference on Product and Process Modelling in the Building Industry EC-PPM'2000, Lisbon, Portugal, 25-27 September, pp. 267-274.

Abstract: This paper reviews the development of the standards for access to external product libraries in relation to procurement and product data exchange. Procurement accounts for 70-85 % of the value of a building project and hence it is vitally important for the data exchange required to support these processes to be streamlined. Product data exchange between applications is equally important for streamlining the specification, design and construction and maintenance of a building facility. A considerable amount of effort within the Architecture/Engineering/Construction and Facilities Management (A/E/C/FM) has gone into developing standards for product data exchange. Manufacturers and suppliers have supported the development of procurement related standards. With the developments in XML-based standards the technology is now available for developing cost-effective solutions that meet the requirements of both procurement and product data exchange. The paper evaluates the existing and emerging standards and discusses the issues arising from the development of standards for access to product libraries and possible ways forward.

PDF version is available Amor, R. and Faraj, I. (2000) Misconceptions of an IPDB, Proceedings of the UK National Conference on Objects and Integration, Watford, UK, 13-14 March, pp. 124-135.

Abstract: The notion of an integrated project database (IPDB) has existed for decades. Over that time many projects have been undertaken to develop the technologies and frameworks required to implement an IPDB. Also over that time, there has been promotion of the benefits and impacts that IPDB systems will have on the industry. As there are still no industrially stable IPDB systems in existence, the industry's perception of what they are and what they can do has diverged from many of the original presentations. It is also clear that researchers and developers involved in IPDB development have many different ideas about what constitutes an IPDB and what is, or is not, possible to create. This paper aims to describe misconceptions which are growing up around IPDB systems, and presents the authors' view of reality. Consensus in this area is currently being sought through the majority opinion of the UK network of experts in objects and integration (URL-1 1999) which is run by the DETR.

PDF version is available Amor, R. and Hutchison, A. (2000) The UK Technical Information Centre, Proceedings of the UK National Conference on Objects and Integration, Watford, UK, 13-14 March, pp. 74-83.

Abstract: The UK Technical Information Centre (TIC, URL-3 1999) is one of a set of Internet-based services developed in the EC funded project CONNET (URL-1 1999). The TIC aims to provide a single source of information on any purchasable publication of relevance to the built environment in the UK. Over 220 publishers have been identified and it is estimated that information on about 50,000 publications will be collected. This paper examines the issues raised in structuring and integrating the publication information from such a wide range of publishers. Particular attention is paid to data models and integration, the impact of classification systems, and coping with non-standard transfer formats. The structure of the TIC is detailed and strategies for searching across the published base data are examined along with interoperability issues and the benefits these bring to evolving portals.

PDF version is available Amor, R., Turk, Z., Hyvarinen, J. and Finne, C. (2000) CONNET: A Gateway to Europe's Construction Information, Proceedings of Construction Information Technology 2000, Reykjavik, Iceland, 28-30 June, pp. 63-73.

Abstract: The EC funded project CONNET (Construction Information Service Network, at http://www.connet.org/) has developed a set of Internet-based information services. These services are linked through a demonstration European gateway for the construction industry which provides a "virtual technology park", accessible to the whole industry regardless of national boundaries. The gateway provides mechanisms to link all information services for the construction industry, and to establish national gateways to services which can then inter-operate across Europe. The CONNET consortium is moving to establish the existing services in all European nations, and to encourage further existing or planned information services to be linked.
This paper describes the infrastructure which has been developed for the European gateway and the benefits it can offer to linked services within a single nation, or across Europe. The virtual technology park infrastructure developed in CONNET provides for user identification, centralised user profiling and profile management, automated and periodic user profile servicing, classification system management and mapping, discussion groups, secure communication and service validation, etc. The way in which these technology park services are able to be used and adapted in independent, but linked, national services is highlighted in the paper. The five individual services are also described briefly, highlighting the benefits they offer to the European construction industry and the possibilities they offer in terms of ensuring national services are inter-operable across all of Europe.

PDF version is available Amor, R., Marsh, R. and Hutchison, A. (2000) Electronic News Service for the European Construction Industry, Proceedings of Construction Information Technology 2000, Reykjavik, Iceland, 28-30 June, pp. 52-62.

Abstract: The Electronic News Service (ENS at http://www.connet.org/NS/Intl/) is an AltaVista-like service which is specialised for the construction industry. It has been developed as one of the services in the EC project CONNET (Construction Information Service Network, at http://www.connet.org/, Turk and Amor 2000). The ENS provides a searchable index of the contents of Internet sites relevant to the built environment. The database containing the source set of Internet sites to index has information on over 19,600 Internet sites across the world, categorised and classified by several criteria. This base set of Internet sites is drawn from all major lists offered to the construction industry (e.g., Yahoo, EEVL, UK-BRP, etc) and from published sources (e.g., Architect's Journal, Building magazine, etc). Over 35 major lists of site sources are utilised to build, maintain, and develop this set of resources for the construction industry.
This paper describes the ENS, the methods it uses to gather and index construction information across the world, and the services it offers to the construction industry. It also provides an analysis of the references gathered from the 35 major lists of resources which are established across the world. This analysis looked at the overlap that exists between the Internet sites referred to by each of these lists (which is remarkably small), the particular biases which appear in the lists (mainly towards English language and USA-based information), the currency of the sites in the lists (quite poor), and the predicted coverage of total construction-based Internet resources found in all of these lists.

PDF version is available Amor, R. (2000) (Keynote) Integrating Construction Information: An Old Challenge Made New, Proceedings of Construction Information Technology 2000, Reykjavik, Iceland, 28-30 June, pp. 11-20.

Abstract: Integrating construction information for a project is one of the major issues faced in IT supported projects. The change in representations and transport formats from paper to electronic provides a chance to improve upon current methods. Many tools, techniques, and processes are posited to manage this problem, though how comprehensive a solution they provide is not always clear. This paper enumerates the issues around different facets of the information integration problem to help provide an understanding of the scope of issues to be tackled.

PDF version is available Amor, R., Hutchison, A., Newnham, L., Gudnasson, G., Hyvarinen, J. and Turk, Z. (2000) I-SEEC Data Representation and API Specification, EU Report 200370/2000, May, 76pp.

Abstract: The I-SEEC project builds upon the results of the previous CONNET project. The gateway and services developed in I-SEEC will be presented on the Web as part of the Construction Information Service Network (CONNET). Consequently, the term CONNET will appear frequently throughout this report referring to central CONNET web nodes and associated CONNET web services; the term I-SEEC will be used only for the project itself rather that its outputs.
This report documents the developed data models and application protocol interfaces (APIs) for the CONNET thematic node as well as the seven services which sit inside this network. These data models and APIs provide the central representation required to implement the CONNET services. These data models and API form the core of the intellectual property right (IPR) developed in CONNET. Through the replication of these data models and APIs, new services of the same type as these seven could be established anywhere in Europe, and work seamlessly with the CONNET central services.
The initial part of this report covers the methods used to document developed data models and surveys existing standards, or recommendations, for structuring of metadata for similar types of services.
The majority of this report is in the appendices, which detail the data models used by CONNET and each of the services. The models are shown in graphical form (EXPRESS-G), in their full textual form (EXPRESS) and then with basic descriptions of the semantics of the classes and their properties. The second half of the appendices provides similar detail for the API offered by CONNET and each of the services. This provides the definition of how services can interact with each other as well as how the central CONNET services can be accessed.

Amor, R., Finne, C., Turk, Z. and Hyvarinen, J. (2000) CONNET: CONstruction information service NETwork, Final report, EC-ETTN-Lot 4, Contract 501999, March, 71pp.

Abstract:
Robert Amor- Email: trebor@cs.auckland.ac.nz