Integration of project documents in model-based information systems

The architecture, engineering, construction, and facilities management (AEC/FM) industries are adopting emerging communications and information technologies in order to improve collaboration, coordination, and information management among participating organizations throughout the project life-cycle. Model-based information systems are increasingly being explored for this purpose. They are based on the creation of semantically rich representations of a project and its components that can provide a framework for information integration among a variety of computational systems used during the project life cycle. Since a large percentage of AEC/FM information is stored on documents, methods for integrating text data in model-based systems become important for the full integration of project information. This study focused on information integration in model-based systems. In particular, it investigated methods for the integration of text documents in AEC/FM model-based information systems and determined the formalisms and mechanisms needed to achieve this integration during the development and utilization of such systems. The main objectives were: (1) to formalize methods to improve the organization and access of large document collections in project management information systems, and (2) to elaborate a methodology to integrate project documents in AEC/FM model-based information systems.