The objective of the research described in this paper was to design and field test a prototype computer-based system which would improve the ability of public owners to monitor progress on and manage the site documentation of construction projects. In doing so, the goal was to model how distinct project records, which have traditionally been treated as unique data entities, contribute to an overall picture of construction events. Essential to such a system is the ability to seamlessly integrate the functions of planning and scheduling, progress measurement, quality management, documentation of progress and problems, and analysis of performance. This infers that such a system must be able to maintain multiple views of a project, including activity, resource, pay item, location and day-by-day views, in order to facilitate the selective review and analysis of information from various sources on a common basis. Benefits of the proposed system are intended to include improvements in claims support, problem assessment, report generation, communications, and the historical reference of as-built records for future design and constructibility refinement. (A)
Abstract