TECHNICAL PAPERS
Jan 1, 2006

Construction Business Automation System

Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 132, Issue 1

Abstract

This paper introduces a system prototype, the construction business automation system, for modeling and automating construction business processes by using workflow and object technologies. Construction management tasks are developed as distributed internet applications for supporting reusability of software components, simplifying process modeling, and automating business processes. The development of the prototype has resulted in the following technologies: (1) the object-oriented reusable component technology for modeling construction management tasks; (2) the construction business process modeler based on the task based modeling methodology; (3) the request driving methodology for raising business requests and instantiating corresponding process instances; and (4) the supporting technology for interacting with a commercial workflow engine (e.g., i-Flow) for executing business process instances. A purchasing process is used as an example to illustrate these related topics and the applicability of the methodologies in construction business automation.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

References

Abeysinghe, G., and Urand, D. (1999). “Why use enactable models of construction processes?” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 125(6), 437–447.
Ahmad, I. U., Russel, J. S., and Abou-Zeid, A. (1995). “Information technology (IT) and integration in the construction industry.” Constr. Manage. Econom., 13, 163–171.
Basu, A., and Blanning, R. W. (1999). “Metagraphs in workflow support systems.” Decision Support Sys., 25, 199–208.
Batory, D., and O’Malley, S. (1992). “The design and implementation of hierarchical software systems with reusable components.” ACM Trans. Softw. Eng. Methodol., 1(4). 355–398.
Brown, C. D., and Riley, J. M. (2000). “The application of BPR: A case study in construction.” Knowl. Process Manage., 7(4), 217–223.
Cardoso, J., Bostrom, P. R., and Sheth, A. (2004). “Workflow management systems and ERP systems: Differences, commonalities, and applications.” Inf. Technol. Manage., 5(3), 319–338.
Davenport, T. H. (1993). Process innovation: Reengineering work through information technology, Ernst & Young, Boston.
Ellis, C., and Wainer, J. (1994). “A conceptual model of groupware.” Proc., Conf. on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, ACM, New York, 79–87.
Ellis, C. A., and Nutt, G. J. (1996). “Workflow: The process spectrum.” Proc., NSF Workshop on Workflow and Process Automation in Information Systems, Athens, Ga., 140–145.
Fitzgerald, A. (1992). “Enterprise resource planning (ERP)—Breakthrough or buzzword?” Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. on Factory 2000, Competitive Performance Through Advanced Technology, IEEE, U.K., 291-297.
Georgakopoulos, D., Hornick, M. F., and Manola, F. (1996). “Customising transaction models and mechanisims in a programmable environment supporting reliable workflow automation.” IEEE Trans. Knowl. Data Eng., 8(4), 630–649.
Geppert, A., Tombros, D., and Dittrich, K. R. (1998). “Defining the semantics of reactive components in event-driven workflow execution with event histories.” Inf. Sys., 23(3/4), 235–252.
Hales, K, and Lavery, M. (1991). Workflow management software: The business opportunity, Ovum, London.
Hare, D. (1999). “Succeeding with ERP,” Manuf. Eng., 78(2), 65–67.
Hassan, M. T., and McCaffer, R. (2002). “Vision of the large scale engineering construction industry in Europe.” Autom. Constr., 11(4), 421–437.
Hollingsworth, D. (1995). “The workflow management coalition specification—Workflow management coalition the workflow reference model.” Doc. No.: TC00-1033, Issue: 1.1., Workflow Management Coalition, Winchester, Hampshire, U.K. ⟨http://www.wfmc.org/standards/docs/tc003v11.pdf⟩.
Hoyle, D. (1998). ISO 9000 quality systems handbook, 3rd Ed., Butterworth Einemann., Jordan Hill, Oxford, U.K.
i-Flow™ Developer’s Guide. (2002). Fujitsu Software Corporation., San Jose, Calif.
International Standard ISO 9001. (1994). “Quality system—Model for quality assurance in design, production, installation, and servicing.” ISO 9001, 2nd Ed.
Issa, A. R., and Cox, F. R. (1996). “Using process modeling to gain ISO 9000 certification in construction.” Conf. Proc. 1996 Computing in Civil Engineering, Anaheim, Calif., 1013–1019.
Jacobs, F. R., and Whybark, D. C., (2000). Why ERP? A primer on SAP implementation, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Jensen, K. (1991). Colored petri nets, Berlin.
Johansson, J. H., McHugh, P., Pendlebury, A. J., and Wheeler, A. W. (1993). Business process reengineering: Breakpoint strategies for market dominance, Wiley, New York.
Kong, C. W. S., Li, H., Hung, P. L. T., Shi, W. Z. J., Castro, L. D., and Skibniewski, M. (2004). “Enabling information sharing between E-commerce systems for construction material procurement.” Autom. Constr., 13(2), 261–276.
Krasner, H. (2000). “Ensuring E-business success by learning from ERP failures.” IT Prof., 2(1), 22–27.
Leymann, F., and Roller, D. (1997). “Workflow-based applications.” IBM Syst. J., 36(1), 102–122.
Malamateniou, F., Vassilacopoulos, G., and Tsanakas, P. (1998). “A workflow-based approach to virtual patient record security.” IEEE Trans. Inf. Technol. Biomed., 2(3), 139–145.
Role Modeler Ltd. (2003). “From requirements to roll-out immediately—white paper.” ⟨www.rolemodeller.com⟩ (December 2003).
Ross, J. W. (1999). “Surprising facts about implementing ERP.” IT Prof., 1(4), 65–68.
Shi, J. J., and Halpin, W. D. (2003). “Enterprise resource planning for construction business management.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 129(2), 214–221.
Sun Microsystem. (2003). “Tutorials & code camps—jGuru: Remote method invocation: Introduction.” ⟨http://java.sun.com/developer/onlineTraining/rmi/⟩ (December 2003).
Thomson, G. I. (1996). “The need for an enterprise resource management measurement/forecasting infrastructure.” Proc. Resource Management and Performance Evaluation of Enterprise Computing Systems, Computer Measurement Group, CMG96-22, San Diego, 467–478,
Van der Aalst, W. M. P. (1996). “Petri-net-based workflow management software.” Proc., NSF Workshop and Process Automation in Information Systems: State-of-the-Art and Future Directions, A. Sheth, ed., Ga.
Van der Aalst, W. M. P., Scoffele, M., and Wamelink, J. W. F. (2003). “Case handling in construction.” Autom. Constr., 12(3), 303–320.
Wamelink, J. W. F., Stoffele, M., and van der Aalst, W. M. P. (2002) “Workflow management in construction; Opportunity for the future.” Conf. Proc., Distributed Knowledge in Building, International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction, Vol. 12.
Wang, S. (2001). “The role of Java RMI in designing workflow management system.” ACM SIGSOFT. Software Engineering Notes, 26(2), 49–52.
Wang, S., and Sun, J. (2001). “A framework design of workflow management system with Java RMI.” ACM SIGPLAN Notices, 36(9), 86–93.
Workflow and Reengineering International Association (WARIA). (2002). ⟨http://www.waria.com/⟩ (August 2003).
Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC). (1995). “The workflow management coalition specification—The workflow reference model.” WFMC-TC-1003. Winchester, Hampshire, U.K. ⟨http://www.wfmc.org/standards/docs/tc003v11.pdf⟩.
Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC). (1997). “The workflow management coalition specification—Workflow client application (Interface 2) application programming interface (WAPI) naming conventions.” Doc Version 1.4, WFMC-TC-1013.
Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC). (2002). ⟨http://www.wfmc.org/⟩.
Zhuge, H. (2003). “Component-based workflow systems development.” Decision Support Sys., 35, 517–536.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 132Issue 1January 2006
Pages: 88 - 96

History

Received: Sep 13, 2004
Accepted: May 26, 2005
Published online: Jan 1, 2006
Published in print: Jan 2006

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Dong-Eun Lee, A.M.ASCE [email protected]
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Construction, School of Engineering, Southern Illinois Univ. Edwardsville, Box: 1803, Edwardsville, IL 62026. E-mail: [email protected]
Jonathan J. Shi, M.ASCE [email protected]
Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Architectural Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3201S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60616 (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share