Information and communications technologies to facilitate concurrent engineering in construction

The adoption of concurrent engineering techniques in the construction industry needs to be underpinned by cost-effective, secure and reliable communications networks. These need to support a wide range of communications facets which are considered important in concurrent life cycle design and construction (CLDC). This paper investigates the enabling information and communications technologies which are applicable in this context. It briefly describes these technologies highlighting, where appropriate, current developments and future trends. The extent to which the identified facets of communication are addressed by the new and emerging technologies is also examined and recommendations made on the way forward.