AVS. Arkitektúr verktækni skipulag - 01.06.2003, Page 72

Guðni Guðnason, Civil Engineer, lcelandic Building Research Institute, Gestur Ólafsson, Architect, Building Information Center
E-Construction
Building Product
Information
Dynamic, model-based, electron-
ic-product information is one of
the key drivers for future e-Work
and e-Business in the construc-
tion industry. The eProCon
(Electronic Product Information in
Construction) project, funded by
the Nordic Industrial Fund, aims
to develop and implement specifi-
cations and technology for pre-
senting information on building
products via the Internet in a way
that will enable e-Work in building
design and construction, e-
Procurement of building products
and improve building product
cycle information management
throughout the construction value
chain.
Introduction
The construction industry is unlike
other manufacturing industries in
many respects. Predominantly
comprised of small companies
(97% with fewer than 20
employees), the industry operates
in dynamic, temporary, multi-
organizational project teams in
virtual enterprises on a project-to-
project basis. Its business
processes are also characterized
by unique products, such as one-
of-a-kind buildings, as opposed
to assem-
bly-line
products.
Complex
information
flows
among
many inter-
related
processes
involving
many differ-
ent players,
each sup-
plying their
unique
expertise
and
resources.
Many of the specific problems
and challenges the industry faces
in operation of its business
processes are attributed to the
level of complexity in their inter-
facing and integration.
Coordination of resources, shar-
ing of information and effective
communication is central to its
successful operation. Information
and communication technologies
are considered the primary
enablers in integration of con-
struction business processes and
value-chain activities.
40% of the costs in the construc-
tion value chain can be attributed
to building products. Building
product information, along with
information on construction
equipment and machinery, also
play an important role in the
innovation process of the indus-
try. Construction professionals
continuously need to discover
new materials, new products and
new technical solutions being
developed by product manufac-
turers that can influence the out-
come of the construction busi-
ness process in many ways. The
time spent searching for product
information and evaluating prod-
uct performance, properties and
installation methods, then finally
selecting and purchasing prod-
ucts appropriate for application,
is a considerable part of the con-
struction professional’s work.
Some studies have indicated that
at times as much as 60% of
designer time is spent on these
tasks alone.
Building Product
Information
One could reasonably have
expected a paradigm shift in pro-
duction and publication of quality
product information with the
advent of the Internet, but this
has not happened yet. Despite
the growing quantity of content
on web sites, information portals
and e-marketplaces that publish
building product information, e-
brochures and e-catalogues its
value to construction profession-
als is fairly limited. Observations
have shown current e-product
information available on the
Internet to be incoherently organ-
ised, incomplete and much infor-
mation needed is still missing.
Together with considerable varia-
tions in presentation and content
Information
providers
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