Computer Integrated Construction: Present Status with Curriculum Recommendations

Frederick E. Gould

Department of Civil, Construction and Environment

Wentworth Institute of Technology

Boston, Massachusetts

Introduction

When this project was begun, it was assumed that industry was already integrating the Design, Estimating, Scheduling and Control functions of a project. Because these functions have been computerized in many companies, the technological foundations for integration already exist. Integration is defined as the creation of a common database accessed by multiple users with the ability to manipulate data for many applications. The advantages of integration are clear. An integrated project promotes teamwork and partnering, it saves time and money by eliminating the need to recalculate and re-enter data, and it provides opportunities for estimating, scheduling and design throughout the life of a project. It was also assumed that companies were utilizing this technology on projects and that software compatibility was the greatest obstacle to complete computer integration on all construction projects.

What was found instead is an industry at odds with itself. The traditional contractual relationship between Owner, Designer and Builder does not encourage the sharing of information. Also, fear of database corruption, loss of control over data, and issues of professional liability are as much obstacles as they are facilitators to the development of technology.

Some companies were found to be using customized versions of integration. These tended to be the larger companies where contractual issues are simplified because of full service capabilities. These companies are able to write the translation software to link design and construction soft­ware. Some smaller companies are making steps in the direction of integration, but are concentrating on improving communication between project participants rather than on developing "seamless" integration of software.

This paper will first describe the present state of Construc­tion computer integration in the United States. It will seek to identify what capabilities exist and will identify where integration on projects has succeeded or failed and why. This paper will also look at the future of computer integra­tion and what changes need to occur in industry and in technology. Lastly, this paper will discuss the skills that future construction graduates will need to be prepared in the changing technological environment.

Examples of Computerized Integration

Computer integration is occurring in a number of different forms throughout industry. The Facility Development System put out by the SARA Group is a good example of design-construction integration. This software targets in­stitutional facilities and includes approximately 300 build­ing models. The software is designed to allow the user to program, design, estimate, schedule and lifecycle cost a project with information moving electronically between the modules. Decisions made in the design module can be examined for cost and schedule ramifications. This package facilitates value engineering at all stages of planning and design. It also sets up the project for construction by automatically producing a schedule of values curve and a monthly cash flow analysis.

According to Thomas Trufant, Chief Engineer of the Cost and Scheduling Department of Stone and Webster, Boston, MA they have been using computer integrated construction on a mainframe computer system since the 1970's. As the company switched to PC's and departments each selected different "off the shelf software" the company has had to write integrating software to continue to tie together the different packages. They utilize a 3-D modeling program which links the design activities with the estimating, sched­uling and control of the Project. An advantage of the 3-D modeling package is the ability to automatically generate quantities for estimating. The software essentially sets up a data base that can be accessed, and to a lesser degree altered, by multiple users. Paul McManus, a Senior Com­puter Applications Engineer, demonstrated how they have succeeded in linking their scheduling software with CAD. This integration allows a visual read of the status of a project at different points in time. It also allows contractors or an owner to see what the project should look like when their work is done or at the completion of the whole project. Keith Reece and Tim Wozniak both of Kodak, Rochester, NY described how Kodak has written connecting software to tie together a number of "off the shelf' software pack­ages. They use a combination of CAD, scheduling, and estimating packages which are tied into their accounting and financial systems. AutoCAD, Unigraphics, Timeline, Artemis, and Primavera are all used by different divisions within the company and connected in a variety of ways. They are presently looking at establishing "object orien­tated links" with their principal vendors to be able to receive on-line pricing, scheduling and product availability infor­mation. They are also presently talking to a number of software companies about designing a single standardized package to bring all applications together. This, they believe, will be accomplished in 3 to 4 years.

George B. Macomber, Boston, MA and ADD Inc., Cam­bridge, MA recently teamed up on the successful completion of a new Medical Products facility for Hewlett Packard. Ken Stowe of Macomber explained that by linking the CAD file with the construction schedule the project team was able to create in color a geographic schedule of the facility which visually showed which departments were moving, when and where they were going, and the criticality of each step. It pulled together into a visual display all of the owner's vital activities. This vastly increased the number of people who understood the complicated renovation schedule. Increased understanding led to better coordination, value-engineering and increased teamwork.

George Jackson, Manager of Automation Services, demon­strated how Becthel/Parsons Brinckerhoff is using video to communicate to bidders how work will be sequenced in Boston's $7 Billion dollar Central Artery Project. By using an intermediary software they have integrated schedule information with CAD and are able to provide a visual walk through of different project segments in a specific time frame. These walk through’s are made into short videos which are shown to bidders and serve as an interference check, while providing to contractors a better understanding of the project conditions at the time of their work.

Integration Challenges

As was shown above, integration is occurring, but in a fragmented way. Large owner organizations such as Kodak can design their own software links, or can designate the software requirements for the project. Design-build compa­nies like Stone and Webster or Becthel also have the resources to write their own software and since the design and construction activities are accomplished within one organization a more "seamless" link can occur between the design and construction operations.

Small and medium sized companies, however, are more dependent on the software providers and the individual relationships that are developed between companies. In the Hewlett Packard example integration occurred because the Architect and the Builder agreed to share information on the project. On many projects the designers are protective of the CAD files, and are not willing to release the information. But even in situations where designers are willing to release the CAD files, integration may still not occur because of platform or software compatibility. Software providers like AutoCad, Timberline and Primavera have been working to create a smoother flow of information between the software, but according to several software professionals the seamless linking of the software is many years away. The fragmented nature of the software users and the upfront costs necessary to program the links were the reasons cited. Timberline has developed a package called the Primavera Integrator which moves data between Primavera and Timberline, but re­quires manual intervention. Timberline and AutoCad have been integrated on a special project for T.J. Maxx, but that was again an isolated success.

For a complete seamless integration to occur throughout industry a number of technical improvements and cultural changes must result. Technically, the software used by the designer and construction manager must be made compat­ible, either through the packages directly or through an intermediary software. The offices of the owner, designer and construction manager must also be connected to allow cost effective communication between the project partici­pants. Critically important, is that the database be protected. Access levels must be defined to identify who can use data and who can change data. All data changes must be recorded so that mistakes can be traced and corrected. Since more than one designer may be able to work on a design it is important that all design work be coordinated, checked and brought to the latest revision. For the full benefits of "object linking" to occur a uniform symbol library must be adopted and electronic vendor information must be made available to the designers. The Construction Specifications Institute is now coordinating the development of this symbol library.

The delivery method that is chosen for the project is a major factor in the ability to electronically connect the design and construction activities. A sophisticated owner who under­stands the importance of establishing teamwork on a project, and who also understands the economies to be gained by linking the design and construction processes can choose an arrangement to accomplish this. Knowledgeable owners can mandate the procedures, select appropriate design and construction team members who support integration, and

establish appropriate contractual terms.

The real challenge lies with the unsophisticated, one-project owner. Even if the owner chooses a construction manage­ment delivery method, it is unlikely that the designer and construction manager will electronically exchange data unless this goal is established from the beginning. Not every designer welcomes construction manager input and not every construction manager understands the value of inte­gration. For CAD files to be moved into the estimating software, the software must be coordinated from the begin­ning. This coordination increases the designers cost on the project. Also, as mentioned earlier, the technical issues of data protection, geography, and compatibility must be addressed.

The Future Integration

Every professional that was interviewed agreed that the potential of integration is enormous and that integration will occur in the future. What people disagreed on was how soon integration would occur. Many of the software people saw integration as fairly distant because of the programming problems in linking the different packages. Others pointed to the fragmented nature of the industry and the many different users of the software as the factors that makes integration difficult. Chip Kimball of Primavera sees the seamless integration of packages like Timberline, P3 and Autocad as 10 years away.

Large owner organizations and design build companies will continue to lead the industry in the integration of the design build process. These companies have the resources and the sophistication and will demand integration. Robert Eckstein of Beacon Construction expects full integration to occur within 2 to 3 years on their own facilities, and once perfected "at home" to offer the service to other owner organizations. It is clear that the lead for integration must come from the large owners. The Corps of Engineers or General Services Administration are certainly in a position to provide the push, but it has not happened yet.

Small and medium sized companies will continue to look towards situations where limited integration can be at­tained. By teaming up with a responsive designer or owner, by sharing some files, or by using intermediary software, some of the advantages of integration can be gained. The adoption of a common symbol library and the work by national and regional associations could also help move towards some uniformity and additional economy.

Construction Graduate Skills and Education

This research project was begun with the belief that integra­tion should be taught throughout the entire construction curriculum. In this scenario, students would be exposed to multiple software from the Freshmen year on. As topics like graphics, estimating, scheduling and project control are taught students would move data from one package to another learning both the theory of integration and the data redundancy of the software packages. As this vision was discussed with industry it became clear that this was not realistic for a number of reasons. Software links are not clearly defined and are cumbersome. Also, all the professors who teach these subjects would have to have a working knowledge of all the different software - quite a challenge since new versions of the software are constantly being released. Instead, most industry professionals saw more of a need for graduates to learn the theory of estimating, scheduling and control and to be exposed to software only as necessary to reinforce the theory. Focusing on computer integration, particularly given the state of the industry, would be difficult and might take away from more basic skills. Dr. Robert Logcher, Professor of Civil Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, emphasized the importance of focusing on lifelong learning and manage­ment issues such as the impact of variance and time cost tradeoff, not on the technical skills necessary to operate software.

What appears more appropriate is to develop a case study based course in the Senior year that would take a project     from concept to completion. This could be a capstone course. The course would emphasize presentation techniques (Communication skills were universally pushed by all industry professionals), time cost trade off, cash flow projections, and optimization. Software would be made available as a tool to be used by the students to make their work easier both for technical (calculation) reasons and for presentation (communication) reasons. Several people suggested providing some software training, but in conjunc­tion with open ended problems that would encourage the students to explore the software. The advantage to teaching integration in a single course is that one professor can coordinate the process, bring in outside experts as appropri­ate, and design appropriate case study problem(s).

Conclusion

This research effort clearly reinforced the important ben­efits that can be brought to a project by integrating the efforts of the project team members. Even though obstacles still exist, it is evident that the sophisticated owner can receive the benefits of integration by bringing to the project design and construction professionals willing to work together to electronically integrate their processes. Software providers are beginning to look at the integration of their software products, but are still many years away from being able to provide a complete seamless process.

A complete understanding of the theory of estimating, scheduling, control and integration appears to be the most important skill requirement for the future construction graduate. Knowing where the data comes from, how to use it, and how to optimize the process of construction will carry a student farther in their career than knowing how to technically manipulate a particular software package or packages.

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