CONCUR Project Summary

1
CONCURProject Summary

• CONCUR was aimed at exploiting the developments
  that were made in Product Data Technology
  specifically for the construction industry during
  the mid 1990s. Mechanical, aeronautical,
  automobile and maritime engineering were
  successfully exploiting the STEP advances of the
  1980s, AP225 and CIMsteel had made a start, but
  here were technologies aimed specifically at the
  wider construction industry. In particular, the
  CONCUR partners wanted to exploit the IAI-IFCs in
  the processes that were used in the pre-tender
  phases of construction.
• The CONCUR partners examined the processes and
  the information flows with the aim of using ICT
  and open standards for integration. The project
  looked at the project inception stage, the
  concept design phase with links to power
  engineering processes, the scheme design phase
  and estimating. A common thread through the
  project was the desire to use product models and
  3D modelling throughout the process and to move
  the start of modelling higher up the chain.
• Where possible, established commercial software
  was used so that the project results could be
  deployed for commercial use. Technical
  assistance was both received from and given to
  software vendors. A number of vendors were
  involved as associate partners and undertook
  major enhancements to their software to support
  the goals of the CONCUR project.
• Technically CONCUR has made major advances in
  inception modelling, using web based Information
  Management Systems, linking these systems to
  advanced object oriented Product Data Technology,
  a method for PDT model merging, a method for
  using XML to interface with a PDT database, a
  metadata schema for the IAI, a set of derived
  attributes for the IAI-IFCs, driving forward the
  creation of a lexicon of construction terms
  which will support the needs of both PDT and
  eCommerce for construction, showing that IFCs can
  be used for storing models as well as exchanging
  them, and in methods for browsing and adding to
  the the contents of IFC models.
• CONCUR has helped to move the IAI-IFCs closer to
  widespread use by using them on industrial
  information and by critiquing the IFC translators
  developed by the major vendors of modelling
  systems.
• CONCUR has demonstrated that IFCs can integrate
  the processes of different companies using
  different software applications being used for
  different purposes.
• CONCUR partners are deploying the results
  commercially and have a clearer vision of how to
  profitably extend the use of PDT further into
  their businesses.
• CONCUR has identified weaknesses and gaps in
  these technologies and has helped initiate work
  to improve and strengthen them The Way Forward.