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Robert Amor's Publications in 1997

PDF version is available Amor, R. (1997) A Generalised Framework for the Design and Construction of Integrated Design Systems, PhD thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, 350 pp.

Abstract: The building industry employs a significant percentage of the workforce of any country, and encompasses a considerable proportion of a country’s GDP. Despite that, IT tools used in the design and management of a building project are still fairly crude. Many projects have been undertaken to develop IT-based solutions to support the architecture, engineering, and construction domains (A/E/C), but little effort has gone into the tools required to support these development activities. This is the area in which this thesis concentrates.
To develop a schema representing some subsystem of a building it is necessary to have support tools which enhance the modeller’s environment. The current state of the art, a replicated paper based approach, is ineffective at guaranteeing the consistency and validity of large schemas. In this thesis, a more appropriate environment is developed and demonstrated. This provides multiple overlapping views of the developing schema, with guaranteed consistency between all views, the ability for many modellers to work on the schema, and links to related aspects.
The array of schemas being developed for the A/E/C domains contain overlaps of information, though often in different representations. To enable the full use and correct transfer of information between schemas, mappings between their representations need to be defined. This thesis develops a comprehensive mapping language which describes bidirectional mappings between schemas. An automated system has been constructed which can take a mapping specification and manage the updates and consistency of data in models corresponding to the mapped schemas.
To manage the development of environments described above, as well as the finished integrated environments proposed, it is necessary to manage and control the supported processes. A notation is developed to allow this control to be defined, and an implementation is provided to demonstrate how a project can be managed.
The end result of the thesis is a set of notations and associated tools which support all aspects of the development and implementation of integrated design environments. The resultant development environment greatly raises the level of support for developers over that offered by current tools, for all aspects of specification, consistency, testing, validation, implementation, and coordination between developers.

Scherer, R.J., Wasserfuhr, R., Katranuschkov, P., Hamann, D., Amor, R., Hannus, M. and Turk, Z. (1997) A Concurrent Engineering IT Environment for the Building Construction Industry, Proceedings of the European Conference on Integration in Manufacturing (IiM), Dresden, Germany, 24-26 September, pp. 31-39.

Abstract: Since the late 1980s it has been suggested that product modelling is the key to computer integrated engineering, which is also a prerequisite for computer assisted concurrent engineering. Later experience has shown that product modelling alone is not sufficient, and that other aspects, such as processes, documents etc. have to be modelled as well. In this paper we describe an environment modelling approach which can integrate all kinds of construction information, such as the information about products, processes and documents. As a basis for a fully distributed interoperable IT system for concurrent engineering in building construction we propose a conceptual framework which decomposes an abstract concurrent engineering model into a set of hierarchically structured interrelated modelling spaces. The paper presents the main requirements and the key concepts of the developed approach. Reported is the work in progress performed as part of the EU Esprit project 20587 ToCEE.

PDF version is available Amor, R.W., Clift, M., Scherer, R., Katranuschkov, P., Turk, Z. and Hannus, M. (1997) A Framework for Concurrent Engineering - ToCEE, European Conference on Product Data Technology, PDT Days 1997, CICA, Sophia Antipolis, France, 15-16 April, pp. 15-22.

Introduction: 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.

Information technology has an 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, are still being handled in a fragmented manner, as individual, mutually independent, or at best only partially interrelated systems. Interoperable environments have yet to be developed which can fully integrate into practice and increase the uptake of concurrent engineering.

To help tackle these issues the EU ESPRIT project ToCEE (Towards a Concurrent Engineering Environment in the Building and Engineering Structures Industry) was inaugurated in 1996 (ESPRIT IV-20587 ToCEE). ToCEE will contribute to the improvement of the organisational infrastructure for concurrent engineering by utilising the opportunities offered by 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 the results are intended to be applied directly in the current software environments utilised by end-users. Other results will be developed and tested as prototypes leading to a more long term development approach.

PDF version is available Amor, R. (1997) Product Models in Design and Engineering, Icelandic conference on Integration in AEC and the Internet in the design/construction process, Reykjavik, Iceland, 9 May.

Abstract: This paper examines the history of product modelling including the main driving forces behind their development. Major projects which have furthered product models are discussed briefly and the recent development of the IAI and its relationship to the ISO-STEP project is discussed. Applications of product models are examined and likely future directions for product models predicted. The question of sufficiency of pure data models is examined and is shown to lead to a requirement for systems which integrate product, process, documents, legality and other topics into one system. The ToCEE project is used to highlight the benefits of integrating many different aspects of a project and then sharing this information out to all project participants. Further benefits of product models are examined including their use to find information across multiple manufacturers of product information.

PDF version is available Amor, R. and Clift, M. (1997) Documents as an Enabling Mechanism for Concurrent Engineering in the Construction Industry, 1st International Conference on Concurrent Engineering in Construction, CEC'97, London, UK, 3-4 July, pp. 151-162.

Abstract: In current engineering practice, be it concurrent or otherwise, documents are the central mechanism for communicating, informing and instructing. Any attempt to engender a greater uptake of concurrent engineering in the industry has to recognise the central role of documents. To date, the various aspects of IT applied to engineering have developed independently, leading to stand-alone product, process and document management systems. This development path, though productive in each individual area, misses the major gains that can be achieved from integration of all aspects of IT usage. This paper shows that the management of documents provides information about all aspects of a project. It is clear that, through careful management, documents can provide the means to co-ordinate work on the activities required to complete a project, and to determine how processes can be managed to greatest effect using concurrent engineering frameworks.

PDF version is available Turk, Z., Wasserfuhr, R., Katranuschkov, P., Amor, R., Hannus, M. and Scherer, R.J. (1997) Conceptual Modelling of a Concurrent Engineering Environment, 1st International Conference on Concurrent Engineering in Construction, CEC'97, London, UK, 3-4 July, pp. 195-205.

Abstract: Since the late 1980s it has been suggested that product modelling is the key to computer integrated engineering, which is also a prerequisite for computer assisted concurrent engineering. Later experiences have shown that product modelling alone is not sufficient and that other aspects, such as processes, documents etc. have to be modelled as well. In this paper we suggest environment modelling as an approach which integrates all kinds of construction information, such as the information about products, processes and documents. We propose an environment modelling framework which decomposes an abstract concurrent engineering environment into several modelling spaces. For practical reasons we use a two dimensional orthogonal framework decomposition. Along the first axis the framework is decomposed according to the modelling aspect (construction, information system, generic), and along the second axis according to the level of detail (neutral, aspect, application). In this paper we present the decomposition criteria, the resulting framework and some key components of the envi-ronment. Reported is the work in progress performed as part of the EU ESPRIT project ToCEE.

PDF version is available Augenbroe, G. and Amor, R. (1997) Project Control in an Integrated Building Design System, CIB W78 Workshop on Information Technology Support for Construction Process Re-Engineering, IT-CPR-97, Cairns, Australia, 9-11 July, pp. 53-66.

Abstract: With the fruition of research into integrated design systems that allow communication between multiple actors and design tools, there is a growing need for control over the flow of execution of project tasks performed with the help of these systems. This calls for the specification of configurable control systems that are able to âdesignå the organization and management of actual projects.

The paper argues that an IT driven approach, leading to narrow software engineering solutions, is inadequate to solve the new type of project management problems that are inherent in the use of collaborative systems. It is argued that integrated systems will only find acceptance if, apart from providing 'generic integration facilities', adequate tools are provided to design, configure and execute the management control on a case by case basis.

A three-tiered control approach is discussed and a prototype tool to aid the project manager to execute control is introduced.

PDF version is available Newnham, L., Parand, F., Amor, R. and Nisbet, N. (1997) The ARROW Framework for Object Warehouses, CIB W78 Workshop on Information Technology Support for Construction Process Re-Engineering, IT-CPR-97, Cairns, Australia, 9-11 July, pp. 319-328.

Abstract: The Department of the Environment (DOE) of the UK government have recently completed a scoping study for an industry knowledge base (IKB) for the construction industry (DOE 1996). This knowledge base is envisioned as a single point of entry to all information required by the construction industry, from news, journals, standards, codes of practice, practitioners and through to actual product information. The DOE have previously commissioned a demonstrator of such a system (Parand 1996a) and have now committed to establishing an IKB for the UK construction industry. Along with the initiation of the IKB steering committee, the DOE have funded projects to examine various technical and commercial aspects of an IKB. The ARROW project (Advanced Reusable and Robust Objects Warehouse, Parand 1996b) is one of these projects. It is examining how to establish an interface to distributed databases containing product information allowing fast and accurate retrieval of specified products as well as delivering information in a form useable by CAD systems and other design tools (e.g., thermal simulation programs).

This paper describes the ARROW project, the services it will provide, the research issues it is addressing and how it fits into the whole IKB system. The ARROW project will require the development of new techniques for selection and retrieval of data across distributed databases. Initial work is looking at the use of case-based reasoning for appropriate product selection and for the refinement of options to narrow and improve the selection process. Agent technologies are being investigated for retrieval processes, alongside standard methods for retrieval of information. Though developing standards (e.g., ISO-STEP, IAI) can be used for the representation of much information about products, the majority of manufacturers do not maintain their information in such a form, and do not have tools to manipulate their data in this form. This paper investigates what toolkits will have to be developed for manufacturers to be able to migrate their product data in its current form into the form that would be required to operate within the ARROW system. Prototypes of these toolkits will be developed in association with several large manufacturers who will be providing the initial population of product data for the project.

To enable the services of the ARROW system to be incorporated into a practitioner's office requires changes in many current design and construction processes. This paper will also examine current practice and the impact ARROW will have on these processes.

Amor, R.W. (1997) The Future of the BREED Model, BRE Note, CR17/97, March, BRE, Watford, UK.

Abstract: This report presents an analysis of the future of the BREED data model. This model was initially developed during the EU funded COMBINE project that BRE was a partner in, and then further developed internally for BRE use. This was intended to be a standard data model for use by all sections of BRE, but it has had a relatively localised uptake to date. In the meantime, international standards efforts in the construction area have increased, leading to significant standard models for the domain. Some of these standard models have been developed from the models which led to BREED, giving them a very similar structure. Since these standards cover the same domains tackled in BREED, and as they are now almost ISO (or IAI) standards, it is recommended that the BREED model be replaced by the emerging ISO and IAI standards throughout BRE.

The main impact of changing to these standards will be an increase in the complexity of the data. This is due to the ISO and IAI models being built upon a set of very generic resource models which have very complex structures to enable their genericity. The main benefit of the change will be the ability to interoperate with all others in the national and international communities who use these models. This includes a very wide range of academic and commercial partners of BRE. The expertise developed at BRE through the application of the BREED model will allow the ISO and IAI models to be easily incorporated into software already linked to BREED. The standard models include specifications of construction project data, which was a proposed extension to BREED. The BRE work which has fed into the development of this project data extension is discussed along with the resultant structures.

Clift, M, and Amor, R. (1997) ToCEE:WP-G:Document Modelling:Concepts, ESPRIT Project No. 20587, ToCEE G2, EC, Brussels, Belgium, June, 29 pp.

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