Algorithm for Determining the Criticality of Documents within a Construction Information System

Abstract

During a construction project, it is important to ensure that accurate and pertinent knowledge is delivered on time to appropriate personnel. The criticality of documents exchanged or referred to by various parties, evolves over the course of the project life cycle. Determining the criticality of documents at different stages of the project can aid companies with managing the flow of information in an organized manner, while providing for the detection of potentially disruptive, erroneous material that could result in delays and costs. Therefore, it is crucial to determine documents that have the potential to disrupt a process, so that they may be prevented from entering or interfering with the active flow of information in a project. Electronic product and process management (EPPM) systems provide the capability to establish and map information flow between different parties in a construction project. Analyzing an EPPM system may yield information about the criticality of certain documents within an activity, as well as isolate characteristics peculiar to documents, which can assist in risk mitigation. A methodology is proposed to identify such critical documents. Four factors were identified based upon metadata, structure, and historical data recorded for documents within an EPPM system to determine the criticality of documents over a construction project life cycle. The factors and a combined score were calculated for a model project scenario-based simulation within a full-scale EPPM system and anticipated problematic documents were identified. It was therefore functionally demonstrated that determining critical construction documents via document metadata and access history records is feasible and may contribute to both industry and the academic body of knowledge for document classification.