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Robert Amor's Publications in 1996

PDF version is available Mugridge, W.B., Hosking, J.G. and Amor, R.W. (1996) Adding a code conformance tool to an integrated building design environment, Auckland UniServices Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand,Ref. 4376.04, May, 26pp.

Abstract: We describe the conversion of ThermalDesigner, a code conformance tool, and its connection to an integrated building model. The original version of ThermalDesigner was developed as a stand-alone application in Kea. It has been converted into Snart, the primary implementation language of our integrated building design environment. Snart has been extended with constraints over collections of objects, in order to implement code provisions as specified in ThermalDesigner and provided by Kea. VML, a declarative mapping language, has been used to integrate ThermalDesigner with the IDM.

PDF version is available Amor, R., Langham, M., Fortmann, J. and Bloomfield D. (1996) The UK Industry Knowledge Base Feasibility Study, CIB W78 - TG10 Workshop on Construction on the Information Highway, Bled, Slovenia, 10-12 June, pp. 35-44.

Abstract: The UK Department of the Environment (DOE) has funded a feasibility study into the concept of an electronic knowledge base for the construction industry. It is envisaged that this knowledge base would provide a single point of entry for the UK, creating a gateway to all information of relevance to the A/E/C industry. A wide range of commercial, social and technical issues have been investigated in the study, which provides a recommendation of the best way forward together with a marketing strategy. The results of the feasibility study are summarised in this paper.

PDF version is available Dutton, D., Amor, R. and Bloomfield D. (1996) Knowledge-Based Systems and the Internet: A Future Perspective, CIB W78 - TG10 Workshop on Construction on the Information Highway, Bled, Slovenia, 10-12 June, pp. 153-164.

Abstract: This position paper details views of the UK Building Research Establishment with respect to future research concerning the Internet and Knowledge-Based Systems. Itcontains some view-points on what the future (both near and far) may hold for the construction industry in these areas. Discussion of these topics is presented with theintention of stimulating debate, and promoting consideration of them as possible research directions.

PDF version is available Grundy, J.C., Hosking, J.G., Mugridge, W.B. and Amor, R.W. (1996) Support for constructing environments with multiple views, The 1996 International Workshop on Viewpoints in Software Development, San Francisco, USA, 14-15 October, ACM Press, pp. 212-216.

Abstract: We describe several approaches to supporting the construction of design environments with multiple views of common information. We then outline a new approach that draws on the best of each of them.

Katranuschkov, P., Scherer, R.J., Clift, M. and Amor, R. (1996) ToCEE Migration Perspectives, EU ESPRIT IV Project No. 20587, ToCEE Deliverable J.1, Public report, EU/CEC, Directorate Generale III, Brussels.

Abstract: The construction industry has been moving towards concurrent engineering for many years. However, in practice the degree of success achieved through the application of concurrent engineering varies considerably. Organisational factors, especially with respect to information management methods and techniques, coupled with different levels of training and experience of personnel, place considerable limitations on the level of concurrency and collaborative work that can be achieved.
Today's information technology has enormous potential to improve both the organisational and the technological infrastructure of construction projects and thus to facilitate the effective application of concurrent engineering methodology. In the application of IT for concurrent engineering in the building industry valuable steps have already been achieved:
In spite of these achievements, concurrent engineering issues, such as the management of the process, product, documentation and communication flows, are still being handled in a fragmented manner, as individual, mutually independent, or at best only partially interrelated systems. For their better acceptance in practice fully integrated, interoperable environments have yet to be developed.
The ESPRIT project ToCEE (Towards a Concurrent Engineering Environment in the Building and Engineering Structures Industry) aims to contribute substantially to the improvement of the organisational infrastructure for concurrent engineering by utilising the opportunities offered by today's IT. The primary objectives of the ToCEE project are the development of an overall conceptual framework as well as specific software tools for concurrent engineering support. Some of these tools are intended to be applied directly in the current software implemented by end-users at the end of the project. Others will be developed and tested as prototypes in a more long term approach. This Y-model of short term deployment and long term research is one of the underpinning concepts of the ToCEE consortium, allowing to focusing both on the application of sophisticated AI-methods for the solution of complex tasks, and on the rapid introduction of advanced state-of-the-art information technology in everyday practice.
This report is intended to give an overview of the ToCEE project and present the planned ideas for migration from the targeted prototype environment for concurrent engineering to full industrial implementations. Written in the first phase of the project, it should also set up the basis for detailed migration guidelines, which will, at the end of the project, summarise the achieved results and give practical advice for their exploitation to software vendors and industrial end-users.

Amor, R., Clift, M., Juli, R., Papaspyridis, A.C., Sparacello, M., Borg, I. and Heikkinen, L. (1996) ToCEE:WP-G:Document Modelling:RequirementsESPRIT Project No. 20587, ToCEE G1, EC, Brussels, Belgium, June, 26pp.

Abstract: The document modelling work package defines the requirements for an electronic document management system (EDMS) able, at the minimum, to satisfy the requirements of all the players involved in a construction project for formal documents. Typical formal documents currently include documentation on briefing, design assumptions, progress records, specifications, schedules, bills of quantities, drawings, contracts, site diaries, design, calculation records, operating assumptions, etc. These documents represent a series of views of the common product information, the instantiated product model, fulfilling legal requirements of the product and the production process as required by both contract and common law.
In current practice these documents are usually distributed and held in paper form requiring a costly resource-intensive filing, retrieval and issue system. This document model addresses the enormous administration costs associated with document handling (estimated at 30-40% of an engineer's work effort). The scope and layout of documents are determined by practise and may be laid down in standards which differ from country to country. The document model must be generic enough to handle all variations required by the different countries practise.
A conceptual model of an electronic system to replace and enhance the traditional procedures must be produced. This system will allow the integration of all documentary information as well as creating audit trails to be used for quality assurance and legal purposes. The document model will be closely tied to the product and process models in ToCEE to help facilitate the concurrency aspects of the project and in recognition of the vital link documents play to the relationships between these models in a running project.
Particular emphasis is paid to how such a system can keep track of document version numbers, the interrelationships between them, and their auditability. This is managed whilst retaining the document character of electronically stored data to be preserved.
The model has to have an open architecture which can be easily adapted by users to meet requirements particular to them. It must address current and emerging standards for project information, making use of existing systems where appropriate and seeking to influence their future development so that they facilitate the future requirements of electronic concurrent engineering. Though the document model is specified independently from the product and process models there must be very close links between the models to help maintain the legal and auditing requirements of the emerging concurrent engineering environment.

Amor, R.W. and Grant, W.D. (1996) Review of Capabilities of OLE for Design and Modelling Applications, BRE Client Report, CR215/96, December, BRE, Watford, UK.

Abstract: This document reviews the capabilities of OLE for Design and Modelling Applications (OLE for D&M) with regard to the proposed National Standard Details Library (NSDL). Initially there is a description of the base technologies of COM and OLE which is followed by a description of OLE for Design and Modelling Applications. Next a scenario for the NSDL is laid out and lastly the capabilities of OLE for D&M are explored in the context of the NSDL.

Guardamino, R. and Amor, R.W. (1996) A Process Model of BRE's Building 16, BRE Client Report, CR222/96, December, BRE, Watford, UK.

Abstract: This report is a programmed output from PiT project 'Computerized Exchange of Information in Construction Industry'. It documents the processes associated with the design and construction of a new building at the Building Research Establishment (BRE), hereafter referred to as Building 16. These processes are modelled with the formal activity modelling language IDEF0. This formalism captures the flows ofinformation between activities, along with the participants, inputs and controls which regulate each activity. Taken as a whole this model paints a detailed picture of exactly how Building 16 was designed and constructed, as opposed to how it was planned to be designed and constructed. As such the model presented in this report forms a reference point against which to compare other process models or other modelling formalisms. It also allows for validation of product models developed for particular stages in the design and construction of a building. The model detailed in this report will be reviewed and updated following comments by the participants in this project. This will lead to a more generic model capable of describing design and construction on a wide range of building types.
Robert Amor- Email: trebor@cs.auckland.ac.nz