Strategy for Computer Integrated Construction Technology

Abstract

This paper presents a strategy or overall approach to the integration of the design and construction of facilities. This strategy relies on the use of computers to support the members of the design and construction team in the development and communication of project information throughout the project's life cycle. We propose the use of a shared object‐oriented project model as the basis for integration. Networking technology then provides the communication links between project participants and individual applications. The technologies suggested in this paper do not represent radical departures from those employed in other engineering disciplines (e.g., mechanical design); rather, the technologies are presented in a framework that is appropriate for the facility development process. Some of these suggestions have been developed and tested at the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) at Stanford University over the past four years.