Enviroment Modelling for Concurrent Engineering

The research and development in the area of computer integrated construction have looked at various fragments of the domain to be used as a glue for the integration of the profession. Examples of these fragments include products and processes. In this paper, environment modelling is suggested, as an approach that provides a more complete picture of the domain requires the support of information technology. An environment-modelling framework is proposed, which decomposes an abstract concurrent engineering environment into several modelling spaces. For practical reasons, two-dimensional orthogonal framework decomposition is used. Along the first axis, the framework is decomposed according to the modelling aspect (construction, information system, generic), and along the second axis according to the level of detail (neutral, aspect, application). In this paper, we present the decomposition criteria, the resulting framework, and some essential components of the environment. Reported is the work in progress accomplished as a part of the European Union's ESPRIT project ToCEE.