Freeway to the Future

Servers and workstations allow more data interaction than desktop computers, at prices that now make them competitive. This article outlines a six-step procedure on developing this technology for more efficient and cooperative civil engineering project design. First, a project web should be established, which can be a single server with a series of World Wide Web pages, each of which is connected to relevant information. It becomes a home base for everything that anybody might want to find out about the project. Once the Web infrastructure is in place, organizations should use server-based programs to extend the accessibility of engineering data and better coordinate engineering work flows. As the information technology (IT) transition proceeds, more information sources will be accessible through Web-based interfaces. Those Web pages will contain programs for accessing information, and those programs will probably be written in Java. The next step is more substantial: transforming engineering information from a document-oriented, departmental resource into a project-oriented, corporate resource. Firms can do this by storing project information in an indexed database with server-level software that controls data access. The next step is to increase the semantic content of models created by engineering tools. Rather than automating the traditional paper-and-pencil process of creating a drawing, engineers can construct an electronic simulation that models the form and function of a future asset. Once component modeling, information services, and user connectivity are in place, an engineering model can become the user interface for the database of an asset. Thus, everyone involved in the life cycle of the project can view and interact with that model.