CSIRO INFOBUILD: PROVIDING AN INFORMATION SERVICE TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Gaye
McDermott Manager, CSIRO
Building Information Resource Centre.
- SUMMARY
- INTRODUCTION
- THE INFORMATION PROBLEM
- TOWARDS A SOLUTION: I. A COMMON LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION
- TOWARDS A SOLUTION: II. CREATION OF CSIRO INFOBUILD
- Services
- Budget and marketing
- CONCLUSION
- REFERENCES
The construction industry is diverse and fragmented. The adoption of new and innovative technologies is generally low, even in instances where improved processes and cost effective solutions to long standing construction problems are known. The problem of the low adoption rate of improved materials, processes and management methods, as well as the reluctance of the industry to adopt current technologies, is not easily solved. The problem is influenced by technical, economic, political, management, information and historical issues. The research, development and adoption process should be viewed as a complete system. Often, however, the research and development and information dissemination parts of the process are viewed as separate and unrelated activities to the process of construction.
As long ago as 1974, the Boston Architectural Center identified the lack of information "which could enable decision-makers on the building team to effect changes in the delivery of the built environment" [1]. In this report, prepared for the National Science Foundation, the NSF said "A serious problem in the building industry is the lack of coordination of research efforts related to the industry and the long time lag between the completion of research and the incorporation of the results in practice" [2].
David Pellish said "...there is no dependable system for informing all decision-makers in [the building] industry that a proposed innovation is technically valid. In fact, innovators have no reliable system to inform each other about current technical advances in the state of the art" [3].
The Boston Architectural Center found that problems in most aspects of construction and building products are covered in more or less detail by existing research. However, the fact that practitioners complained about a lack of problem solving information indicated a gap between this research and its application. The report suggests there is a breakdown in the mechanism for linking the two functions.
The report found that a spectrum of situations existed, ranging from researchers researching the wrong problems, being ignorant of, or disinterested in, the potential application of their research, leaving the writing of research findings incomplete or publishing only in journals enjoying limited circulation that excluded exposure to a wider and more relevant audience. At the other end of the spectrum were building practitioners who were unaware of or were unwilling to admit to building problems, found their own problems difficult to define, were either ignorant of information sources or were unwilling to pay for them.
The findings of S. Bardin, G. Blachere and C. Davidson [4] would indicate that the situation reported in 1974 had not substantially altered by the early 1990's. In this case study, confined to France, they found that a significant gap existed between the research conducted and the take up rate of this research by construction practitioners. They found that an "information problem" existed largely due to researchers who were not conscientious about disseminating their findings, difficulties inherent in the actual application of these findings and the low rate at which practitioners apply research. The study found that research reports were not always located by documentation centers, largely due to inadequate indexing and poor retrieval capabilities. Again, the case studies revealed that many practitioners were unfamiliar with information sources that might be relevant to them and a resistance on their behalf to pay for information.
The building and construction industry is under increasing pressure to achieve improvements in both quality and value. At the same time, the industry remains fragmented and uncoordinated. Communication of research results to practitioners and within the industry itself is problematic. In the case of Australia, for example, there appears to be no formal mechanism specifically designed to facilitate construction technology transfer and information transfer.
TOWARDS A
SOLUTION: I. A COMMON LANGUAGE OF
COMMUNICATION
Howard Leslie, Project Manager, Building Information Systems, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Building, Construction and Engineering, is instrumental in developing a common framework for the construction industry to help achieve more effective integration within the industry and to solve some of the communication and coordination problems that mitigate against it maximizing resources and productivity. This is called "Lexis".
The objective of the AEC (Architectural, Engineering, Construction) information framework is "to establish a basis for improving communication and coordination between stages of the project life-cycle, decision-makers within a project stage and project team, and external reference sources (codes, technical literature, research findings, ...) "[5]. Within the AEC information framework, Lexis is a language for communication that will form the basis for information management within the industry.
By examining the "dialogue" between the various members of the project team, and between these decision-makers and the various sources of external reference data (for example, technical data, research results), CSIRO is seeking to identify and describe the objects required for industry to clearly and concisely describe a facility from operational, spatial and physical perspectives. These descriptions are then processed for incorporation into the relevant part of Lexis (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Object descriptions are incorporated into the relevant parts of Lexis.
Lexis Core identifies the nominated objects, including their respective attributes, relationships and processes. Its purpose is to establish a common industry agreed repository from which domain-specific "views" can be developed.
Lexis Views are domain-specific classifications that are developed and maintained by particular industry sectors in support of their respective project responsibilities, for example, cost control, thermal engineering, construction management or asset management.
In addition to supporting the development of decision-support software, the Lexis Views will enable stakeholders to compare potential project solutions and to make information gained on one project available to subsequent ones. Using a common repository to build these views provides a common language and a basis for clear, concise intra-project communication.
Lexis Dataflow is a temporal view. Its purpose is to identify and relate objects, including their attributes, over the project life-cycle. For example, an attribute of the relationship between two activities might be a level of acoustic separation (briefing). This might become a "required" performance attribute of a generic wall (sketch plan). Later, once a technical solution has been specified, the acoustic performance is "projected". This longitudinal mapping provides a basis for quality management and compliance checking. It also provides the reference library manager with a structure within which to more precisely package and deliver their material.
The components of the information are outlined in Figure 2. Figure 3 shows the logic model, Figure 4 outlines the components and resources needed to create an information management system for the construction industry.
Figure 2. Components of the information system.
While the project is still being developed, the proposal offers the construction industry a real vehicle to exploit expertise, data, knowledge and information technology in a combination that will be accessible and applicable to real projects. Another impact will be to ensure that information is not diluted or lost over time, or from one project to another, as so often still happens. Lexis should also go a long way to narrowing the gap between research conducted and what the industry perceives as useful. In addition, Lexis should ensure that the current disparate and uncoordinated parts of the construction process will be less delimited and a recognition that all players in the process are linked may occur. Lexis should minimize the difficulty of transferring research into practice.
Figure 3. Logic Model.
Figure 4. Components and resources needed to create an information management system for the construction industry.
TOWARDS A
SOLUTION: II. CREATION OF CSIRO
INFOBUILD
The difficulties of information and technology transfer to the construction industry are well known. One of the vehicles for enabling this transfer to take place is through a well resourced and responsive information service aimed specifically at the information needs of the industry practitioners.
Independently commissioned market research completed in 1994 indicated there was a niche for an information service targeted at the building and construction industry. CSIRO Building, Construction and Engineering already had an established "library", now called the Building Information Resource Centre, which had operated since the Division's inception in the 1940's. Historically, this has been the repository of not only the results of CSIRO scientific research but also of international work related to building and construction. In addition to a document collection, over the last twenty years the Information Resource Centre has taken advantage of information technology in the sourcing, storage, retrieval and delivery of a vast number of information resources. To date, an estimated 5Ê000 databases are available for access.
Indeed, since CSIRO is the primary government funded research organization in Australia, it had always been the focus for building information from all sectors of the construction industry, including home owners. In addition to its main function of supporting the information needs of the scientific staff, the Building Information Resource Centre had routinely been providing "free" information for many years. If appropriate potential customers are referred to the Information Resource Centre by the scientific staff. Conversely, in situations where contacts have not already been established, the Information Resource Centre acts as a referral point for callers coming to the Division seeking advice, testing or consultancy services. InfoBuild was established in 1994 as a commercial information service. The primary reason behind the establishment of InfoBuild was an imperative for the Building Information Resource Centre to become partly self funded. Another reason was to seek a return on the considerable investment already made in the collection, much of which is unique. Very little additional investment was needed to create a commercial venture since the "product" was already there.
There are no direct competitors in the market for CSIRO InfoBuild, although all information brokers in Australia offer many services in common. The competitive advantage of InfoBuild lies in its expertise in, and access to, specialized construction and engineering information, since the Building Information Resource Centre holds the resources of more than forty years' worth of unique research material in construction that is highly regarded and sought after by industry.
In response to the various and diverse information needs arising from industry sectors, different products and services are offered at differing levels. Basic product information is available, plus research and development results, technical information, market research, export information, construction management, company intelligence, media and newswire services and statistical data. Location of and supply of documents independently of source is included as part of the service.
InfoBuild also gathers information from a wide variety of sources and provide summaries. If it is an answer that is required to a specific question or solution to a problem, InfoBuild will locate an appropriate "expert". While InfoBuild provides traditional information services, it also adds value to existing information and uses non traditional means of locating the right information where appropriate.
One often repeated criticism of documentation centers is their apparent failure to sometimes locate what is required. This is a serious problem because vital documents can remain "lost" in huge data banks, only to be found serendipitously or not at all. This can often be due to inadequate indexing or to consulting an inappropriate source.
BUILD, the Building Information Resource Centre's database, minimizes the problem of retrieval, as do most of the sophisticated databases in the world, by including substantial abstracts of reports, books, standards, theses and journal articles, in addition to their descriptions. All of the words are searchable, including authors and subject headings. Every possible point of access is available to the inquirer. This is one of the functions that differentiates a database from the traditional library catalog. Nevertheless, some databases are not amenable to intuitive searching and require the skills of an information professional to produce optimal results.
The other problem is not looking in the right place, or places. An information broker adds value to the information seeking process by selecting the sources that will produce the best results. This usually means consulting a number of sources, depending on the question. It is our experience that building practitioners are not aware of the range or type of information available to them and have neither the time nor the inclination to pursue the information they want. In addition, few companies (and fewer individuals), can afford to acquire and maintain the skill that is required to access information. It is simply not cost effective for them to do so since it is not their primary business.
The scope of questions asked of InfoBuild is broad. To illustrate, some examples of the questions that InfoBuild has provided answers to recently include the following:
- A company looking at three possible locations in Melbourne for an office. They wanted two lists on a disk for each specified area, one, a list of businesses and their primary activities, the other a list by street of all the business names. The mix of businesses in each area helped them make an informed decision on the best location for their office.
- The current state of the art for tunneling practices, required to assist a large construction company to compete for a major contract.
- Supply of product catalogs, including specifications, from manufacturers of steel reinforcing mesh in the UK, US and Europe.
- The current world practices for recycling building waste and minimizing waste.
- The size of the housing industry in South Africa, required by a company wishing to expand its building products business.
- The market for concrete in Indonesia, required by a manufacturer of building products.
- The state of the art technology for transforming sewage sludge into bricks.
- Reported effects of sonic boom on domestic dwellings that caused structural damage, required by a consultant engaged by an insurance company.
- Earthquake damage data for buildings in Australia, required by an overseas insurance company.
Customer feedback is sought on the services provided by asking customers to complete customer satisfaction surveys. While the rate of return of completed questionnaires is low, they generally express a high level of satisfaction with the service, to the degree where most of the respondents say they would use the service again. In the few instances where some dissatisfaction is registered, the issue has been over the cost of the service. There is still a widely held expectation that information should be free and there is widespread resistance in the market to paying for information, although not at the sophisticated end of the market. To further complicate the issue, acquisition of information is still often regarded as a highly optional activity.
InfoBuild has the advantage of being an ancillary service to its primary reason for being, which is to serve the information needs of the scientific and technical staff of the Division. Apart from the initial market research, very little additional outlay was required to establish InfoBuild as a business. The name had to be registered and brochures printed. In terms of staff time, brochures were mailed to identified potential customers, and cold calls, followed up by visits and presentations, were carried out.
Some advertising was undertaken, although limited to the Division's magazine, enjoying a circulation of more than 12Ê000. (Advertising is expensive and has to be carefully targeted to achieve results). An information service is intangible and is a difficult concept to convey to potential customers in traditional advertising. Consequently, advertising as a marketing activity was rejected in favor of other strategies such as one-on-one contacts.
When InfoBuild was established, an additional position was created in CSIRO to manage the function. Now, however, due to increasing staffing pressures, InfoBuild activities have been incorporated into the routine activities of the Building Information Resource Centre. Rather than using the resources of a dedicated staff member, inquiries from external customers are handled on an ad hoc basis by existing staff. In this way, income is generated with no additional outlay.
In 1961, Ron Ballantyne [6] published the results of a long term study on the causes of fracture of toughened glass wall cladding. The investigation was carried out at the request of Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand Ltd, to study the cause of failure of the glass panels in I.C.I. House, Melbourne. The glass had been in place for about two years when the rate of failure became high enough to warrant investigation into the cause. Some of the glass had actually fallen out, creating potential hazards for pedestrians.
This research established the cause of failure and the remedy for preventing failure in glass wall cladding and was adopted by industry. Curtain wall construction appeared to go out of fashion not long after this and other construction materials and methods seemed to dominate the industry, for example, concrete. This was probably due at least in part to the unacceptably high rate of failure of curtain walls in high rise construction generally at the time.
It is interesting to note that designs often evolve in cycles, and curtain wall construction is again popular and the problem reported in the 1950's has, to some extent, resurfaced, despite the availability of a remedy that is still valid. It would appear that the knowledge in this case had disappeared from the industry's consciousness, or become "lost" to all, with the exception of some individuals who are aware of the report's existence. It is, for example, this kind of situation which highlights the role of the information professional and of the information service.
Information professionals have a responsibility in the communication chain between researchers and practitioners to emphasize the importance of timely, accurate and complete information to facilitate better informed decisions. They also play a role in helping to ensure that relevant research is not "lost" over time.
This can be achieved by conscientious indexing of documents to ensure their retrieval, even when a user is unaware of the existence of information that could be instrumental in providing solutions.
Another way in which the information profession can contribute to keeping information easily accessible to the end user is through collaboration with others working in information related areas. The mission of the AEC information framework quoted above (see also ref. 5) exemplifies an opportunity for information managers to contribute their knowledge of source material, indexing and organization skills to information identification and retrieval when needed.
1. Wilson, Duncan M. Utilization of research results in the building industry: a state of the art survey. Boston, MA, Boston Architectural Center, 1974. (NTIS report PB 252 351). (Go back)
2. ibid. p. 7 (Go back)
3. Pellish, David, in Utilization of research results in the building industry: a state of the art survey, ibid., p. iii (Go back)
4. Bardin, S., Blach_re, G., Davidson, C.H. "Are research results used in practice?". Building Research and Information, Vol. 21 No. 6, 1993, p 347-354 (Go back)
5. Leslie, H., January, M. , McKay, D. Lexis Cost: a cost management view of building and construction: part of Lexis, a common language for the management and exchange of information in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction industry. CSIRO Building, Construction and Engineering, The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors. (Draft only). (Go back)
6. Ballantyne, E. R. Fracture of toughened glass wall cladding, I.C.I. House, Melbourne. Melbourne, CSIRO Division of Building Research, 1961. Report 06.1-5. (Go back)
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