Web-Based Electronic Data Interchange Model to Improve the Callaboration of Participants in Construction Projects

Information management in construction fieldwork incurs high cost and brings about low efficiency, because construction work involves various participants and informal data that circulate among them. To overcome the problems mentioned above, information technology is being widely adopted. And, in this regard, the Korean government has been trying to promote competitiveness within the construction industry by carrying forward CALS (Continuous Acquisition and Life-cycle Support). In particular, linking and sharing knowledge and information among the participants involved has not been as efficient. The currently used EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) was developed only for each company and not for all of construction participants. Thus, a new model to achieve a more efficient methodology for abstracting and applying information that are shared among the participants in a construction project is proposed. The Web-based XML/EDI Model is developed in three steps. In the first step, we analyze construction documents work flow and deduce its remedy. In the second step, we analyze existing EDI in the construction project and establish a developing reorient. In the last step, we propose a Web Based EDI Model based on the results from the previous step. This Model performs various tasks such as document creation, settlement, reception, dispatch, storage, and abolition of documents though the Web.