| Robert Amor's Publications in 1998 |
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| Amor, R. (ed) (1998) Proceedings of the second European Conference on Product and Process Modelling in the Building Industry, London, UK, 19-21 October, ISBN 1 86081 249 X, Clowes Group, 581pp. |
Abstract: Product and process modelling is fundamental to all IT developments in the architecture, engineering and construction domains. The proceedings of the second European Conference on Product and Process Modelling in the Building Industry (EC-PPM'98), held at BRE, Watford, UK from 19-21 October 1998, contains 62 papers from 17 countries. In total these papers provide a global picture of the state-of-the-art from three different viewpoints. One is the research work being undertaken in this area throughout the world. Another is the state of the industry and the uptake they have achieved in this area. The third viewpoint is that of the EC and the major projects they are promoting to help develop the industry, alongside the international standardisation efforts. Overall, these proceedings provide a thorough review of the international status of product and process modelling and its impact on the industry being served.
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Newnham, L. and Amor, R. (1998) Translation of Manufacturer's Product Data for the ARROW Product Search System, the second European Conference on Product and Process Modelling, London, UK, 19-21 October, pp. 405-412. |
Abstract: ARROW is a UK initiative that can provide access to any construction manufacturer's product information through virtual warehouses. This enables designers and specifiers to correctly identify products that match the parameters of their particular design. These warehouses rely on a system of indexing the manufacturer's product databases at regular intervals to keep the warehouse data up to date. To do this efficiently the manufacturers need to make their data available to the ARROW system in a standard format, which will probably be very different to the format of the manufacturer's internal database. For a manufacturer to participate in such a system there needs to be an easy and efficient method of translating product data information between different database structures.
The data model used by ARROW is an extended IFC model, and as such is a very complex structure when implemented with a relational database, (involving approximately 200 tables). To be accepted by manufacturers, the translation mechanism must take into account the following requirements. a) There is minimal re-entry of data. b) Once set up, it must be capable of running as an automatic process on the manufacturer's machine, so that as the manufacturer changes product data in the internal database so the data available to ARROW automatically changes without further user input. c) The full complexity of the IFC data structure is hidden from the user.
The approach taken by ARROW is to provide a toolkit for manufacturers that consists of; a) a flattened data structure, hiding the full complexity of the IFC data structure, and b) a tool for defining a mapping between the manufacturer's database fields and the flattened IFC structure.
This paper examines the particular problems such systems face in this area, and examines the approach used in the ARROW system to find a workable solution.
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Lockley, S.R. and Amor, R. (1998) The Construction Information Gateway, the second European Conference on Product and Process Modelling, London, UK, 19-21 October, pp. 337-348. |
Abstract: A recent U.K. study set out the objectives for an Industry Knowledge Base, which would create and exploit information and knowledge to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the whole U.K. construction industry by:
o improving the quality and efficiency of buildings and building projects by sharing standards and best practice
o improving the efficiency of the construction market by improving communications
o reducing the cost and quality of building design by sharing design knowledge
o providing relevant, value added network services to support communications on construction projects
o providing news and information that will enable the construction industry to compete more effectively
A Construction Information Gateway (CIG) is a way of providing on-line access, using internet and World Wide Web technology, to the industry's knowledge base. The development of an industry specific gateway would give users easy access to a wide range of information, reduce the costs of information delivery mechanisms for both suppliers and users, and would enable standards of both content and context to be more easily unified.
The range of information would include product information; cost information; project information; site information; industry 'knowledge' such as codes of practice, standards and research; software for analysis, calculation and expert systems; and construction news. Users of the gateway would have a single point of access to information appropriate to their needs.
This paper describes the first phase towards the realisation of the CIG being carried out jointly by Construction Industry Research and Information Association, Building Research Establishment, Royal Institute of British Architects Companies Ltd, Construction Informatics at Newcastle University and Thomas Telford Ltd. This phase aims to demonstrate the viability of a CIG Ð in technical, financial, commercial and organisational terms.
The paper outlines the information flow process model that is proposed for the CIG together with a methodology for managing the exchange of ISO 10303 STEP file based product models.
This research builds upon and provides a review of previous work in the area of construction information process and product modelling. Based on this past work a more detailed investigation of construction industry user types and needs has been carried out together with a study of the requirements of those who supply information to this industry.
The ability of a CIG system to find the right information for its users in an accurate timely manner is very dependent upon the structures used to represent the "meta-data" about known information. The "meta-data" model defined for the CIG is based upon the evolving IAI model for core construction information (eg classifications, contact information, costs, etc), but extended for CIG requirements. These extensions allow the accurate determination of the type of information represented (eg standard, product, news, etc). Based on this broad categorisation of information types a set of attributes are then specified which capture the important parameters of the information type. The requirements for, and the actual "meta-information" model being developed for the CIG are described in this paper.
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Amor, R. (1998) A UK Survey of Integrated Project Databases, CIB W78'98, The Life-Cycle of IT Innovations in Construction - Technology Transfer From Research To Practice, Stockholm, Sweden, 3-5 June, pp. 67-76. |
Abstract: The UK network of experts in objects and integration for construction has now been in existence for a year. In this time it has built up to over a hundred members drawn in almost equal parts from industry and research. The initial meetings of this network have strived to identify areas of concern in the domain as well as to provide feedback to the supporting government agency in terms of policy issues, and to inform its members of the range of issues in the domain.
The first published output of this network is to be a survey of integrated project databases (IPDB). The initial survey work, analysed and described in this paper, looks at IPDB development and use in the UK. Preliminary work of the network determined a set of criteria to be used to measure the development and impact of various IPDB. These criteria were then used to survey a range of EC supported, UK developed, and commercial implementations of IPDB. Though not comprehensive in terms of the total number of IPDB developments in the world, it gives an initial benchmarking of the state of this domain.
The results of this survey, and the ongoing surveys of IPDB developments, are being used to inform the network and government of the state of play in this area. It provides a point to determine: what work has previously been done; which data models might be re-used; where tools reside that could be re-used; where commercial developments have taken place which implement portions of the surveyed projects; what the problems of commercialisation have been; where there are gaps in research; and what life-cycle stages are poorly addressed by IPDB development.
| Newnham, L., Amor, R. and Parand, F. (1998) Gaining Quality Manufactured Product Information Through ARROW, European Conference Product Data Technology Days 1998, BRE, Watford, UK, 25-26 March, pp. 39-46. |
Abstract: ARROW is a UK initiative that can provide access to any construction manufacturer's product information through virtual warehouses. This enables designers and specifiers to correctly identify products that match the parameters of their particular design. Benefits of this approach will be reduced abortive design work and reworking, a more reliable design specification, designs that can be constructed quicker, greater use of off-the-shelf components, savings in cost, and improved response time for customers. To make ARROW feasible a central search engine able to handle structured data and also free-text information has been developed. This is based on data collected from all manufacturers and suppliers willing to publish electronic information. This allows fast and accurate retrieval of specified product information, as well as delivering information in a form useable by CAD systems and other design tools (e.g., thermal simulation programs).
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Clift, M. and Amor, R. (1998) Concurrent Engineering Support with an Advanced DMS, European Conference Product Data Technology Days 1998, BRE, Watford, UK, 25-26 March, pp. 55-64. |
Abstract: This paper reports on the DMS (Document Management System) development in the EC funded project ToCEE (Towards a Concurrent Engineering Environment) in the context of its support for concurrent engineering in the construction industry. The usage scenarios described in this paper highlight how a DMS could be used within the life-cycle of a construction project to engender concurrent work practices. This includes not just parallel working, but the DMS's support for co-operative and collaborative working practices.
| Amor, R., Newnham, L and Cronin, D. (1998) The ARROW Data Model, BRE CR 149/98, BRE, Watford, UK, February, 31 pp. |
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| Wix, J. and Amor, R. (1998) The Building Construction Core Model, BRE CR 152/98, BRE, Watford, UK, March, 38 pp. |
Abstract:
| Amor, R., Balder, R., Clift, M. and Juli, R. (1998) ToCEE:WP-A:Design Process:Verification I, ESPRIT Project No. 20587, ToCEE A3, EC, Brussels, Belgium, April. |
Abstract:
| Sparacello, H.M., Mangini, M., Amor, R. and Clift, M. (1998) ToCEE:WP-B:Construction Process:Verification I, ESPRIT Project No. 20587, ToCEE B3, EC, Brussels, Belgium, March. |
Abstract: