Strategies for Life Cycle-Oriented Integration of Information Processes

The economic situation in the European construction industry demands efficient project execution and shorter planning times. Integrated information technologies are thus essential to optimise all process logistics to improve the designing, building and managing process. Integration is therefore a core aspect of the Nemetschek business philosophy. Thanks to the company’s extensive, wide-ranging product portfolio in the areas of planning, building and use, Nemetschek AG is able to offer integrated process solutions and consistent, end-to-end IT support for the relevant disciplines throughout the entire structure life cycle. In this contribution several strategies are presented to realize an integrated Product Lifecycle Management. 2 PROCESS INTEGRATION 2.1 Integrated cost management Integrated costing plays a central role in this respect. Characterized as “design to cost”, Nemetschek’s software versions 2006 allow users to harness even more advantages of integrated design, in particular in the field of integrated costing (CAD systems – programs for tendering, ordering and billing). In addition to quantity takeoff operations based on graphics, the individual processes including all the planning and construction phases are linked and access the same master data. This way, users can combine data in order to run analyses and evaluations based on a wide range of different criteria like costs, time, geometry, quantities and articles. Nemetschek’s integrated solutions aim to harness all the advantages provided by an efficient and interdisciplinary flow of information based on a common database, facilitating better and more reliable costing and scheduling procedures. Process Data Item Quantities Item Quantities Building Information Server Ressources Element Master Data Element Book CAD Process management Bill of Quantities Costs Efford Figure 2: integrated costing 2.2 Information-logistic networking as an opportunity Building is largely a cooperative activity – in other words, a complex interplay between various professionals from different fields. As the structure of the construction industry is changing and the spatial factor of project structures is losing importance, networking and cooperative project handling will become more and more important. With the markets being increasingly opened up and globalized, the economic situation in the European construction industry imposes growing demands on efficient project execution and tight schedules. Using IT-based products and networks, cooperation needs to be optimized in terms of logistics in order to improve the processes of designing, building and managing and to achieve a strong competitive position. An important aspect is to improve technical interfaces and to create a database that consistently manages all the building data involved. Sophisticated interfaces ensure that all processes run smoothly and the various applications and systems interact seamlessly. Instead of managing individual parts of processes in the life cycle of buildings using isolated applications, this approach provides integrated support and improves the quality of processes. However, these cooperative activities also impose ever-increasing demands on communication and coordination. Nemetschek’s collaboration strategy is specially designed for these demands: an important factor is to integrate all those involved – and thus their expertise and knowledge – in the building process and to synchronize their work. This is achieved by the creation of a collaborative framework, which coordinates the actual designing and building processes, making them as efficient as possible. Nemetschek AG offers powerful document management and office organization systems as well as web-based project rooms providing workflow functions and improving communication. 3 INTEGRATION OF MOBILE ON-SITE SOLUTIONS For a consistent integration of processes, it is essential that all the processes taking place directly on the building site be supported and integrated. To facilitate site management, Nemetschek provides various mobile software module referred to as Nemetschek On-Site-Solutions. This product label includes tools for entering and managing defect records as well as checking and monitoring progress. As an example, the following sections briefly introduce Nemetschek’s On-Site Inspector and On-Site ProgressManager. C o n stru c tio n S ite S ite an d P ro jec t M an age r C o n stru c tio n O ffice C e n tra l O ffic e S ec re ta ry , S ite M ana g e r B u s ines s M a n age r, S ite M a nag e r M o b ile D a ta C ap tu re (e .g . O n -S ite In sp e cto r) D e fec t M an a g em en t (e .g . IB P M ) A c co u n tin g (e .g . b au fin a n c ia ls ) ca p tu re as sess m e n t as s ig n m en t ac cep tan ce transa ctio n c o nn e ctio n S C c o rre spo nd en ce trac ing e tc . ten d e ring o ffe ring b illin g e tc . (T a b le t P C , m o b ile ) (n o teb o o k / P C , in te rn e t) (P C , n e tw o rk ) 3.1.1 On-Site Inspector Nemetschek’s On-Site Inspector is a software tool for entering digital information directly on site. The possible applications for the On-Site Inspector are manifold: besides the capability of using it to accomplish all kinds of tasks that are not constructionrelated, the On-Site Inspector is especially designed for entering defect records directly on site. Using a tablet PC, alphanumeric data is associated with information provided in plans and/or drawings. Photos, sound and video files can be added to describe the defects in more detail. Nemetschek’s On-Site Inspector features a ‘defect takeup mode’ for entering defects and a ‘defect revision mode’ for monitoring and checking progress. Figure 2: entering defects in a mobile and quick manner using tablet PC, digital camera, video and voice input Figure 3: processes involved in defect management After the defects have been entered, the data can be transferred to defect management systems for further processing via freely configurable interfaces. The PlugIn technology used facilitates a transfer to and application of various other programs. By default, Nemetschek’s On-Site Inspector includes tools for exporting and importing data in Excel and XML format. In addition, interfaces to building portals and defect management systems can be purchased, ensuring data and media consistency and reducing the time and effort spent managing data in all the phases of a project. This way, customers can harness all the advantages provided by a consistent process encompassing on-site data entry to data administration through to final acceptance. 3.2 On-Site ProgressManager By launching the new On-Site ProgressManager, Nemetschek presents a cutting-edge program for entering data and monitoring progress directly on the building site. This program provides a convenient way of entering and saving detailed information on a building’s degree of completion directly on site. This information can then be edited in the office. Comprehensive evaluations and analyses are available at the press of a button, making site management and scheduling a lot easier.