Integration in Design and Simulation

Today, three dimensional (3-D) solids modeling design technology and the deployment of integrated relational databases on projects in the construction industry have provided the opportunity for advancing the level of achievable integration and automation in the design, construction, and operation of major industrial facilities. The key development has been the linking together of these technologies into one system to allow for the exchange of information between the model and the database (geometric versus nongraphic data), while providing an advanced medium for the accessing, retrieval, and presentation of a project's data. This graphically linked database technique allows the design model to be utilized as a simulation tool to display construction sequences, material availability, installation progress, and other functions, in addition to its primary function of drawing production.