ARCONIS - A SYSTEM FOR ANSWERING QUESTIONS
Elke
Nürmberger Fraunhofer IRB,
Germany
- SUMMARY
- WHAT IS ARCONIS AND WHERE DOES ITS KNOW-HOW COME FROM?
- ARCONIS' SERVICES
- EXAMPLES OF QUERIES
- SERVICES AND PRICES
WHAT IS ARCONIS
AND WHERE DOES ITS KNOW-HOW COME FROM?
ARCONIS Information Consulting is not an ordinary information retrieval or reference service; it provides answers to questions submitted to it by members of the building sector.
ARCONIS is the building information service of the Fraunhofer-Informationszentrum Raum und Bau IRB in Stuttgart, Germany. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is a non-profit-making and impartial body and as such ARCONIS is trusted when it cooperates with associations, public authorities and other organizations. Thus ARCONIS has access to many internal sources, external expertise and also to unpublished material. Indeed, ARCONIS Information Consulting is sustained by the sources of knowledge, developed over decades by Fraunhofer IRB and the other Fraunhofer institutions.
ARCONIS puts specialized construction and planning knowledge at the disposal of its clients, and also gives advice on information management. This mission is carried out by a qualified team of engineers, architects, regional and town planners and economists is available to answer inquiries from all fields of construction and planning. if necessary other specialists are consulted.
In addition to the specialized knowledge of its own staff and external experts, ARCONIS uses all the sources of the Fraunhofer IRB are available to ARCONIS, namely:
- the building and planning databases,
- the specialized building library,
- the computer center,
- the Fraunhofer IRB publishing house,
- the typesetting and printing center.,
Depending on the client's requirements (i.e. on his or her question), ARCONIS will work out the best method to arrive at the optimal solution appropriate to the kind of information required. ARCONIS possesses a well-established network of national and international contacts with construction and planning organizations. If necessary, ARCONIS can collect information from the national and foreign sources in order to answer a question. These sources include:
- databases (e.g. GENIOS, Düsseldorf in economics, STN International, Karlsruhe, or FIZ-Technik, Frankfurt, for technical matters,
- libraries,
- experts,
- professional associations and industry federations,
- public authorities,
- information centers,
- Chambers of Commerce, Crafts and Industry,
- research institutes,
- university faculties,
- etc.
ARCONIS compiles the information obtained from these sources to prepare an answer - calling on outside experts if it is felt necessary to do so.
The various services offered by ARCONIS include inquiry and advisory services, product data and information about (or for) manufacturers, literature searches, tailor-made studies, etc. To provide these services, ARCONIS:
- interrogates planning and building databases,
- searches for addresses, products, suppliers,
- searches for experts,
- searches for official statistics and other numerical data,
- conducts information research for companies,
- conducts trade and market research,
- - prepares intelligence reports based upon the subject literature and, if appropriate, upon
- expert knowledge,
- prepares reports on the state-of-the-art in a particular field,
- collects market information and performs analyses.
When a query comes in, there are several ways of responding. For example, a database search will yield a set of publications. Another approach could result in producing a specialized bibliography on the topic. Alternatively, a telephone call to an expert or to an association could lead directly to an answer to the query. In all cases, ARCONIS acts on behalf of the client in a responsible way at every stage of the work; the approach to be adopted is agreed with the client in advance, together with the associated costs. In all cases, the aim is that the client receive the outcome precisely tailored to his or her own information requirement and, if desired, exclusively and confidentially.
More specifically, the following features characterize the kind of agreement with the client:
- explanation of ARCONIS' systematic way of working,
- the sources that can be consulted,
- the extent of the services to be provided,
- the estimated costs,
- the target date for presentation of results, and
- the expected outcome.
An information service can best be explained with reference to actual examples.
Example 1.
The problem: a foreign market research institute seeks to analyze the building market in a given region for a brick manufacturer of that country. The question relates to the present volume of construction work and predictions over the following five years, by type of building, building system etc., with particular reference to the characteristics of the market (competition, structure of the local industry, role of architects in the award of contracts and in the determination of building techniques.
ARCONIS' method: ARCONIS establishes contact with an institution in the region in question which is likely to have the required knowledge. A sub-contract is agreed and an offer made to the client (the foreign market research institute), regarding procedures and costs. ARCONIS provides statistical data and leaves the remaining work to the sub-contractor who conducts the market research and compiles the information according to the agreed timetable.
Example 2.
The problem: a building contractor wants to develop his own method for drying masonry. Contact with ARCONIS starts with submittal to ARCONIS of an earlier patent, which serves as a basis for describing the technique to be developed by this client. The contractor wishes to know whether the patent has ever been used, or whether that or similar methods are described in the literature; also, what are the addresses of authors of pertinent literature.
ARCONIS' method: ARCONIS searches IRB's in-house databases and finds pertinent references. The important parts are copied and essential passages are highlighted. It is agreed that the client will examine these passages; subsequently, he asks ARCONIS for the addresses of five of the authors.
Example 3.
The problem: a brickworks asks for information about an institution, thought to have its headquarters in Belgium or the Netherlands, of which only the name is known. It is also asked whether this institution is concerned with the testing of bricks used for road construction, whether it is a quality control body and what are the conditions for engaging its services.
ARCONIS' method: through IRB's membership in international organizations, a single telephone call to a Belgian fellow-member immediately yields the address of the institution, and follow-up calls enable full commercial documentation to be obtained.
Example 4.
The problem: an architect is dealing with a case of damages relating to the loosening of plaster on the ledges of external brick walls.
ARCONIS' method: ARCONIS and the architect agree by telephone on the scope of the service that is required. A search of IRB's in-house databases yields pertinent references which are then studied and pertinent clippings extracted. These are forwarded to the client together with the complete references - two of which are immediately ordered by the client from ARCONIS who supplies photocopies.
Example 5.
A firm concerned with the preservation of buildings seeks advice from a consulting firm regarding efflorescence on clinker brickwork. The consultant turns to ARCONIS, requesting a literature search.
ARCONIS' method: ARCONIS conducts a literature search of IRB's in-house databases and sends the results to the consultants who order copies from ARCONIS.
Example 6.
The problem: a manufacturer of construction equipment is commissioned to carry out a R. and D. project on "the current state and development potential of mechanical site auxiliaries for the construction of masonry in the countries of Europe".
ARCONIS' method: a literature search in IRB's in-house and selected external databases is completed by consultations with ARCONIS' cooperation partners in the individual European countries. Selected complete bibliographic references are provided, together with clippings. In addition, copies of pertinent technical literature are also forwarded to the client.
There is a pre-established price schedule for the various services that ARCONIS is likely to be called upon tom provide:
- literature search on a subject specified by the client, yielding references (mostly with abstracts) to pertinent documents: DEM 150 + DEM 50/quarter hour working time + fees for copying etc.
- searches for addresses and searches for products gives a compilation of addresses and/or information about products, with the possibility of obtaining additional information by telephone: DEM 50/quarter hour working time + fees for copying etc.
- statistics derived and analyzed from existing statistics: DEM 50/quarter hour working time + fees for copying etc.
- searches for enterprises, trades and markets based on business, management or company databases: DEM 150 + DEM 50/quarter hour working time + fees for copying etc.
- state of the knowledge reports provide essential specialized knowledge, with copies of important texts and references: price by negotiation, from DEM 3 000.
- state-of-the-art technology reports yield a detailed report on the present state of technology; all available sources are consulted, possibly with the use of consultants if agreed by the client: price by negotiation, from DEM 5 000.
- market investigations and studies of commercial potentials in regions or countries; the studies are conducted by industry experts who draw on available sources of knowledge, databases etc.: price by negotiation, from DEM 5 000.
- interviews and questionnaire campaigns e.g. collection of information for preparing a major strategic decision or market development: price by negotiation.
- ARCONIS consultation service about information management, development of databases, organization of in-house information storage, marketing of information services and interrogation of databases: price by negotiation (usage of IRB's databases is free).
The tariffs are built up and presented to the client before proceeding, from basic hourly rates of DEM 200 for engineers or scientists, DEM 150 for university-trained staff members and documentalists and DEM 50 for administrative staff members.
ARCONIS also offers a service for periodically disseminating information against an interest profile - on diskettes or paper; the initial cost for generating the profile is DEM 300 and for a quarterly delivery the yearly subscription is DEM 500.
In the context of pricing for services, it is important to point out that ARCONIS' clients recognize that they will save much of their own time by using the professional approach that is typical of the ARCONIS service. They also recognize that ARCONIS works quickly and, above all, independently. Also, there is the assurance that both the query and the reply remain confidential, meaning that neither the subject of the inquiry, nor the answer, nor the institution or person making the request, are ever communicated to a third party. However, ARCONIS Information Consulting does not support itself but benefits from the general funds of Fraunhofer IRB.
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