An ontology-supported asset information integrator system in infrastructure management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply an ontology-supported asset information integrator system (AIIS) in the domain of infrastructure management. The two objectives are: first, to describe how different ontologies developed as part of this research support the design of message templates (MTs) that were implemented in the AIIS; and second, to explain the development and application of the prototype system for tangible capital asset (TCA) reporting. Design/methodology/approach – The proposed system was developed in the MS SharePoint platform using a four-step methodology: create a web site and library; review and modify MTs; design and configure workflows; and add functionalities. Findings – First, the architecture, methodology, and evaluation of the two ontologies: Transaction Domain Ontology and Tangible Capital Asset Ontology, developed as part of this research work were briefly introduced to describe how both the ontologies supported the design of MTs that were implemented in the...