Developing a web-centric process to support inspection

The multi-party nature of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry creates a challenging environment for successful project implementation. Project success relies heavily on timely transfer of information among owners, project managers, general contractors, trade contractors, cities, inspectors, designers, and lawyers. This task is made difficult by the lack of standard systems of data interchange among project participants. The World Wide Web (WWW) with the incorporation of several new technologies opens new avenues for collaborative engineering by merging Web pages with software applications into a new platform: Web-centric systems. These smart systems can cross the organizational boundaries providing a unique opportunity for team work and work flow automation among otherwise isolated entities. Web technologies can be applied to automate individual functions without supporting entire processes. On the other hand, reengineering efforts can be conducted to completely redesign processes without implementing Web technologies. However, when Web technologies are implemented through reengineering efforts the results are Web-centric systems that support whole processes or Web-centric processes. This research focuses on the implementation and evaluation of a Web-centric process that supports inspection. The process is called: "Field Inspection Reporting System" or FIRS. The evaluation is executed through a case study performed at the Department of Facilities Management of the University of Colorado at Boulder. The development of a Web-centric process to support inspection is a contribution in its own right. The new process, FIRS, is 20% cheaper, faster, and offers better quality and service. The state of the art of inspection has been redefined by setting up new standards for performance. However, the knowledge that this research generates transcends the inspection process and even the construction industry. FIRS is better because it is a Web-centric process and as such it establishes a new paradigm for process management. The main characteristics of this new paradigm shift are centered around the concepts of ownership, accessibility, availability, and timeliness of information together with the notions of process implementation and control.