Integrated models for construction planning: Object flow and relationship

Sharing and exchanging information between project participants are basic requirements for developing construction plans. An isolated construction planning knowledge-based system is no more useful and beneficial than any another island of automation' unless the integration with other construction applications are addressed. This paper proposes conceptual data and process models for a construction planning system, CONPLAN (Intelligent CONstruction PLANning), which works within a fully Integrated Construction Environment (ICE). An object oriented methodology (James Martin) has been used to establish generic construction models within which other construction applications can be integrated. This paper also introduces briefly the modularized approach that has been adopted to integrate the various construction applications over the project life cycle.