A multi-agent collaborative framework for concurrent design of constructed facilities

The need to adopt an integrated approach in the facility design and construction process has been widely recognized in the construction industry and academia. The complexity and scope of integrated construction projects typically require the collaboration of a number of design and construction companies to accomplish the project. The primary goal of this dissertation is to develop and implement a concurrent engineering methodology and a computational infrastructure that would enable these companies to share and exchange design and construction information, support the interoperability of their heterogeneous and distributed software systems, and to support the collaboration of the geographically distributed project team members. We have developed the DesignShare framework to support the requirements to implement concurrent facility design environments. The framework computational model defines the architecture, tools, and techniques to support the implementation and deployment of a concurrent engineering methodology in construction projects. The framework addresses the specific characteristics of the facility design domain, supports the reuse of existing software tools in this domain, and develops efficient integration mechanisms. The DesignShare approach provides the mechanisms to integrate the project team members, to integrate the information models of different disciplines, and to support the interoperation of heterogeneous software tools. The framework defines a three-layer architecture. The top layer, called the applications layer, provides the design team members with function-specific software tools to perform activities such as structural design/analysis. The second layer, called the concurrent engineering services layer, defines three main components: the design process modeling and management component, the design information modeling and management component, and the team collaboration component. The second component includes a 3D modeling and visualization sub-component to support the visual representation and manipulation of design information. The lower level layer, called the infrastructure layer, provides basic computing and communication services. We have implemented a prototype environment based on the framework. The scope of the prototype environment is the preliminary design of steel I-girder and concrete box girder bridges. We have conducted an evaluation of the framework and the prototype environment. The evaluation from domain experts' perspective has indicated satisfactory results. The evaluation criteria have primarily addressed the concepts and techniques employed by the framework as well as the utility and performance of the prototype bridge design environment.