PurposeThere is an increasing recognition of the value of effective information and knowledge management (KM) in the construction project delivery process. Many architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) organisations have invested heavily in information technology and KM systems that help in this regard. While these have been largely successful in supporting intra‐organisational business processes, interoperability problems still persist at the project organisation level due to the heterogeneity of the systems used by the different organisations involved. Ontologies are seen as an important means of addressing these problems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of ontologies in the construction project delivery process, particularly with respect to information and KM.Design/methodology/approachA detailed technical review of the fundamental concepts and related work has been undertaken, with examples and case studies of ontology‐based information and KM presented to illustrate the key concepts. The specific issues and technical difficulties in the design and construction context are highlighted, and the approaches adopted in two ontology‐based applications for the AEC sector are presented.FindingsThe paper concludes that there is considerable merit in ontology‐based approaches to information and KM, but that significant technical challenges remain. Middleware applications, such as semantic web‐based information management system, are contributing in this regard but more needs to be done particularly on integrating or merging ontologies.Originality/valueThe value of the paper lies in the detailed exploration of ontology‐based information and KM within a design and construction context, and the use of appropriate examples and applications to illustrate the key issues.
Purpose -The advent of web services and the semantic web have opened up opportunities for a new generation of interoperable systems on the web. The purpose of this paper is to show the importance of semantics in design and construction, and how this has long been recognised and addressed to varying extents by researchers. Design/methodology/approach -There is now the potential for designs to be developed through a system of collaborating design services and for input by the construction team members. The potential also extends to the construction phase where the designers can provide more timely responses to problems encountered in the field. Within this environment, there is the need for effective mechanisms for design and construction information management, in addition to an ontology that facilitates the sharing of design and construction information and the underlying semantics. This paper explores these trends in collaborative design and construction, and presents an ontology-based approach to project information management in a semantic web environment. Findings -The findings include a framework for semantic web-based information management (SWIMS), which provides for effective collaborative information management. Examples, based on design and construction information, are presented to illustrate the key concepts. Originality/value -This paper presents an innovative approach to overcoming the limitations of conventional information management approaches in construction. The proposed approach is expected to enhance collaboration, and avoid information loss, overload and misunderstanding,
The glass curtain wall system is an architectural, functional innovation where failures of insulation systems create areas of reduced resistance to heat transfer—thermal bridges—during a building’s operational lifetime. These failures enable energy flows that trigger unanticipated temperature changes and increased energy consumption, ultimately damaging the façade structure and directly impacting occupants. Our study aims to design and test an innovative method for rapidly identifying thermal bridges in façade systems, with minimum or no occupant disturbance. The research focus is in the classification of damage as either a local failure or as being related to a poor systematic construction/assembly. A nontraditional approach is adopted to survey an entire fully operational building using infrared thermography and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using a noncontact infrared camera mounted on and operated from the UAV. The system records the emissivity of the façade materials and calculates the thermal radiation to estimate localized temperatures. The system records thermal radiation readings which are analyzed using graphs to be compared with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards, under ideal conditions using the THERM software. The results enable discussion relating to the most common failure areas for existing structures, facilitating the identification of focus areas for the improvement of construction methods through improved processes.
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