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Case study Client and project
ELSEVIER
Automation
in Construction
6 (1997) 59-64
Case study Client and project
’
David Taffs Oue Anrp Partnership, 13 Fitzroy St., London, WI9 6BQ, UK
Abstract
This paper describes the use of IT on a major research campus for Glaxo Group research. Ove At-up & Partners were appointed with Sheppard Robson and Davis Langdon & Everest as the Project Engineer Architect. 350 architects and engineers were assembled in a single office and 4,500 drawings produced using CAD with linked networks of Autocad and Intergraph systems. The M & E subcontractors were invited to use the Autocad system which had been bought by the client. CAD was essential to the delivery of the project on time. Outsourcing was rejected. Good management and standards were essential to overcome difficulties and deliver a very complex project. Keywords: CAD; Consortium;
Project Office; Network; Data Exchange
2. The project team
1. Introduction Glaxo Group Research Ltd (GGR) is building a research campus on a 30 ha site alongside the Al(M) motorway in Stevenage, UK. The campus was opened by the Queen on 19 April 1995. It contains some 160000 m2 of laboratories, pilot plants and support services. Set around a lake in an English parkland, the laboratories provide state-of-the-art facilities for some 1500 scientific staff engaged in the search for medicines to combat some of the most serious diseases that threaten mankind (Fig. 1).
’ Discussion is open umil November 1997 (please submit your discussion paper to the E&or of Architecture and Engineering, Y.E. Kalay). 0926-5805/97/$17.00 Copyright PII SO926-5805(96)00182-3
In March 1990 GGR appointed Ove Arup & Partners with Sheppard Robson Architects and Davis Langdon & Everest as their principal architect engineer (PAE). The master plan was prepared by the Kling Lindquist Partnership of Philadelphia (TKLP). The PAE was to work with TKLP on the concept design and develop this into detailed design documents required to let fixed-price lump-sum construction contracts. Procurement and construction are managed by the principal contractor, Laing Morrison Knudsen joint venture. The PAE assembled a task force of 350 engineers, architects and quantity surveyors in a single office complex in London. Members of GGR’s management shared the same accommodation. The task
0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
D. Taffs /Automation in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
60
people affected. A space had to be cleared in the chosen building. The project team was to grow to 350 people over 9 months. The client had no intention of paying for more space than needed at any point in time. The other demands within Amp were dovetailed into those of the PAE so the client paid only what was directly attributable to project needs day by day.
5Offlce Fig. 1. Photograph of one of the buildings on the campus taken early 1995.
force was divided into five multi-disciplinary teams, each responsible for the design of a group of buildings or facilities. A central architectural team was responsible for the external envelope and for the design of interiors. Other teams were assembled for short periods to handle civil engineering and landscaping.
3. Project stages and drawings The central architectural team worked closely with the building teams to integrate standard solutions into the building design. The team was led by Amp’s project director with an executive of six directors drawn from the three fiis. The design process was split into four phases: master plan, concept design, scheme design and detailed design. By the end of detailed design the task force had produced some 4500 drawings using CAD, peaking at 100 drawings a day.
4. Setting
up the taskforce
The project was awarded to the PAE on condition that the task force worked in multi-professional teams in the same building. At the time the teams were to be first assembled, September 1990, the construction industry was already in recession. The autumn of 1990 was not the time to go looking for more office space. Arup already had 22 offices in London and was anticipating reductions in staff. Options for space were considered to the inevitable dismay of the
relacation
The logistics for Arup were complex and dynamic. Staff were being drawn from several parts of the firm. The odd seat vacated in the process made no difference to the scope for regrouping. Moves had to be planned to suit the functioning and interaction of operating units. There was a chain reaction to achieve manageable blocks of space. Staff were moved around to create some space in one location, enough to absorb a functioning unit. This process included determining the IT demands of those on the move. . What had they got? What had to be left behind for others to use? . What extras were needed in the new location? . What data was to be transferred between old and new locations? . What were the consequences for local support personnel? . Was temporary cover for skill shortages needed? Each step required setting up a functioning office in a matter of days, using weekends to the full.
6. Communications
and software
After several steps in the chain Amp was able to move a unit out of the target building. The space vacated was then attacked over a two to three day period. Communications cabling and terminal units were installed, office partitioning remodelled, decorating completed and furniture delivered. Hardware started arriving as soon as the table tops were in place. As hardware was being commissioned and basic office software loaded, staff started to arrive.
D. Taffs /Automation
in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
As much software as possible was preloaded before the hardware came into the building. Every workstation, whether UNIX or DOS, had common NFS communication software. In many cases the design staff had not yet determined what software packages they would be using or when. Their needs would become apparent after starting work on the project. Response from the computer services would then have to be rapid. Some of the specialist application software was hired from Amp.
61
8. Pioneer workstations AutoCAD had just been released on SUN Spare computers. Arup found itself having to pioneer the move to AutoCAD on SUN, a new development and one that would have preferably been proved for six months before being put into production. A prototype configuration was set up while contract terms were being finalised. The prototype of SUN AutoCAD and Intergraph workstations, with a personal computer or two, enabled Amp to explore and establish the best method for interaction (Fig. 21.
7. Choice of systems; Architects Sheppard Robson had their own major Intergraph installation at their head office. Amp was also a user of Intergraph but in the UK this was only for civils and infrastructure work involving three-dimensional modelling. For the other uses of CAD, Arup had developed its own product over the previous 20 years. This had enabled the firm to learn a lot about the use and management of CAD at minimum cost. But the market had matured and cheap alternative CAD programs existled. The dominant market share had been taken by AutoCAD and it provided a solution, with potential, at a low cost with the flexibility of many hardware platforms to choose from. Arup was therefore ready to move to AutoCAD and with the size of the PAE network it was looking to UNIX platforms in 1990 to achieve the connectivity. AutoCAD provided a significantly cheaper option than Intergraph.
9. Provision of equipment Arup used no third-party extensions to AutoCAD but relied on its own customisation of menus, drawing aids for each discipline and run time procedures. Sheppard Robson used AEC Shell and Project Architect application software from Intergraph to provide a standard front end and enhanced initial loading and manipulation of information. A project of this size could not have been designed to the quality required within programme and budget without the use of CAD. The PAE was always committed to using a major integrated CAD network. Initially it was intended that the equipment would be provided by the PAE with a hire charge for the hours logged by each machine. As cancellation of the project became unlikely it was cheaper for GGR to buy the equipment for PAE use. This decision proved to be farsighted as much of the equipment has also been used throughout the construction phase of the project.
10. Data network
Fig. 2. The CAD manager provided on-line support to users and maintained the integrity of the central database. The number of SUNS and disks used grew as the project progressed.
The brief was to supply a secure local area network. It would cover five floors of one building. Each floor would have 80 access points. In total there would be 15 local area network (LAN) segments to match the distribution of staff. The reality would be even more demanding. Unfortunately it was only possible to install the LAN piecemeal. When operating on a network all the stations and other nodes have to be informed of what is con-
D. Taffs/Automation
62
in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
netted and where. Having installed the next increment in the expansion of the LAN, the network addressing system on the master node was then updated and the information pushed out to other workstations and servers. Reconfiguring to optimise the network domains would follow. When the enlarged network was once again fully functioning, the new PAE staff would sign on and get started on their workstations. Pressure was intense at all times to minimise the impact on normal office hours.
11. Network facilities - Four local LAN bridges were installed to filter network traffic. - BICC Isoview network management software was used. - Network protocols were TCP/IP and XNS on Ethernet. - Cabling was thin wire coaxial, the most adaptable of the options. - Plotters were connected to terminal server parallel pods while printers were on SUN RS232 ports. - Any workstation and personal computer could send output to any printer or plotter.
12. Solving
problems
Reproducible or firm network failures were quickly resolved. For example tracing a network repeater failure to a temporary member of staff who decided to unplug it so its power point could be used for a desk light. Intermittent failures are more difficult to trace. One was traced to a cable in a service duct that had suffered from the attentions of a plumber’s blow lamp. The most elusive took several days to solve. There was the occasional loss of a line amongst thousands on a drawing plot. The drawing would be called up on a screen and found to be correct and when reset would be plotted correctly. Later another drawing would suffer in the same way. The cause was traced to a floor duct that must have had a very heavy load run over it, enough to shear one of the supporting lugs. The cover of the duct remained flat and required a person of sufficient weight to use a
heel to flex the cover and compress a network cable. At that instant there was a brief loss of data.
13. Computer
support
In spite of such events and the upheavals and changes to the networking, the service was extremely reliable with the aggregate of all failures over nearly five years being less than a working day. The system was installed and supported throughout by Amp Computing. The principal elements of that support were data communications, CAD application software, systems software and project management application software. The description above of the relocation of staff and their IT services does not do justice to the reality. The element that is difficult to convey is the number of simultaneous and conflicting requirements. There were thousands of projects in progress in Amp at any point in time.
14. cost of support
services
Each project had its deadlines, its critical events that had to be dealt with in one way or another. A peak in production in one team meant access to more kit. A failure in another team’s printer meant access to someone else’s who in turn was fully committed with no capacity to spare. Somehow Amp had to persuade, cajole, barter to inconvenience one project team for the good of the other. With 40 staff in Amp Computing it is a common assumption there will always be someone on hand to help. However, the scale and diversity of work are vast. There is no duplication of roles within the support team. This is one of the factors influencing morale. When so much depends on the individual, motivation is extremely high. With high productivity, low sick leave and absenteeism, costs are kept to a minimum.
15. CAD data exchange When network services suppliers attended the PAE premises and saw what was happening they were
63
D. Taffs / Automation in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
attracted to the potential volume of business. As they got closer and understood the way At-up worked they learnt that the margins were so tight that they were unable to compete or did so at great risk. Outsourcing of the network services was considered and rejected. It would have required training the service provider, a slower statt, higher costs and less control. CAD requirements included: Data created on one CAD system was needed on another. Security of data was important. Files were only to be altered by the team responsible for their creation. Others could read them but not alter them. The readers could not access directly the working file. The solution was to use a postbox arrangement. When the author was happy with, say, Intergraph files, they were posted to an area on an Intergraph server.
in a major contractor’s office. The most cost-effective link between these two London locations was a courier service. The second occasion was a temporary overspill to another building. This time the most cost-effective solution was LAN-to-LAN optical fibre. The improved security offered by fibre was a bonus. Changes to the network meant fluctuations in its performance. When degradation became a concern, the network was stabilised while traffic and bottlenecks were analyzed. Cost-benefit reports were prepared before deciding remedial action. A major refurbishment took place one weekend. Only one of the PAE teams was unable to stop work. That team’s LAN segment was isolated and their keyboard operations were suspended for five minutes while switching the LAN segment in and out of the main network.
16. Exchange protoeds
Mechanical and electrical installation drawings were produced by subcontractors working on the PAE’s network. Contractors’ staff were phased in to take up hardware capacity as design reduced. Contractors’ staff were sitting alongside the PAE in the London office. Data was made available and assistance given to expedite creation of as-built drawings. Then in the autumn of 1992 the bulk of the workstations were relocated to site.
An Olivetti running PC-Micro&&ion v. 3.0 was used to access the saver files and translate them to DXF format. This was done with the aid of customised tables to suit each system. After translation, the DXF files automatically went to the SUN server where they could be read by the AutoCAD stations. The postbox routine was written and refinements to the translator were made to achieve the required level of compatibility. Amp had a few days in which to set up and prove a prototype translation configuration. In this time techniques were explored and implemented with the help of all parties. The chosen translation technique had to be maintained throughout the project. It dictated when and how the various packages were updated. New program releases arrived but were seldom loaded as this would have been disruptive and a.threat to the proven compatibility.
18. Incorporating
contractors
19. Links from site to PAE A megastream line was installed from Portakabins on site to the project database held in London. The PAE LAN was adjusted in size and configuration as equipment reductions occurred in the design office. Both site and office networks were managed from a London workstation. The site accessed files across the tie line. The system manager in London could access and share screens with each of the SUN CAD stations on site.
17. Network developments
20. Be&Its
On two occasions staff had to be located outside the PAE office. For a.period one PAE team worked
PAE procedures contained full flexibility and yet preserved the independence of the contributing fii.
of networking
64
D. Taffs/Automation
in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
fied. High-quality visualisation was available but the client found low-cost techniques gave acceptable results.
21. Conclusion
Fig. 3. AutoCAD services.
was used for visualisation
of some of the
The usual design and build concept was taken one step further by the presence of the client in the design team. The project benefited from the combined resources of the client and PAE members. The client could call upon the design skills for just as long as they were needed. Any idle time between projects was absorbed by the design firm. Compatibility of production information, coordination of staff and control of costs were all dictated by the client. As-built drawings cost more to produce, but it was important to the client to have them. Three-dimensional computer models could also be created if required (Fig. 3). This project was no different to the norm-3D modelling of the buildings could not be cost justi-
The state of the art computer systems provided loose coupling of application software and not an integrated database. The project experience showed what benefits could be derived from bringing the contributors together in common space and with common leadership and objectives. The approach has stimulated interest from construction firms who are exploring how they may interface their IT requirements with those of the designer. The resulting emergence of standards and techniques will benefit the industry. More investment in the pre-construction phase paid dividends. Transition from design to construction was more successful. The interface between designer and contractor can be made to take account of the preferred construction methods, materials or estimating system used by the contractor. When on site the compatibility of the IT elements will produce faster and higher-quality communications with all parties. Data networks provide the means to deliver greater efficiencies and better quality as this project showed.
Automation
in Construction
6 (1997) 59-64
Case study Client and project
’
David Taffs Oue Anrp Partnership, 13 Fitzroy St., London, WI9 6BQ, UK
Abstract
This paper describes the use of IT on a major research campus for Glaxo Group research. Ove At-up & Partners were appointed with Sheppard Robson and Davis Langdon & Everest as the Project Engineer Architect. 350 architects and engineers were assembled in a single office and 4,500 drawings produced using CAD with linked networks of Autocad and Intergraph systems. The M & E subcontractors were invited to use the Autocad system which had been bought by the client. CAD was essential to the delivery of the project on time. Outsourcing was rejected. Good management and standards were essential to overcome difficulties and deliver a very complex project. Keywords: CAD; Consortium;
Project Office; Network; Data Exchange
2. The project team
1. Introduction Glaxo Group Research Ltd (GGR) is building a research campus on a 30 ha site alongside the Al(M) motorway in Stevenage, UK. The campus was opened by the Queen on 19 April 1995. It contains some 160000 m2 of laboratories, pilot plants and support services. Set around a lake in an English parkland, the laboratories provide state-of-the-art facilities for some 1500 scientific staff engaged in the search for medicines to combat some of the most serious diseases that threaten mankind (Fig. 1).
’ Discussion is open umil November 1997 (please submit your discussion paper to the E&or of Architecture and Engineering, Y.E. Kalay). 0926-5805/97/$17.00 Copyright PII SO926-5805(96)00182-3
In March 1990 GGR appointed Ove Arup & Partners with Sheppard Robson Architects and Davis Langdon & Everest as their principal architect engineer (PAE). The master plan was prepared by the Kling Lindquist Partnership of Philadelphia (TKLP). The PAE was to work with TKLP on the concept design and develop this into detailed design documents required to let fixed-price lump-sum construction contracts. Procurement and construction are managed by the principal contractor, Laing Morrison Knudsen joint venture. The PAE assembled a task force of 350 engineers, architects and quantity surveyors in a single office complex in London. Members of GGR’s management shared the same accommodation. The task
0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
D. Taffs /Automation in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
60
people affected. A space had to be cleared in the chosen building. The project team was to grow to 350 people over 9 months. The client had no intention of paying for more space than needed at any point in time. The other demands within Amp were dovetailed into those of the PAE so the client paid only what was directly attributable to project needs day by day.
5Offlce Fig. 1. Photograph of one of the buildings on the campus taken early 1995.
force was divided into five multi-disciplinary teams, each responsible for the design of a group of buildings or facilities. A central architectural team was responsible for the external envelope and for the design of interiors. Other teams were assembled for short periods to handle civil engineering and landscaping.
3. Project stages and drawings The central architectural team worked closely with the building teams to integrate standard solutions into the building design. The team was led by Amp’s project director with an executive of six directors drawn from the three fiis. The design process was split into four phases: master plan, concept design, scheme design and detailed design. By the end of detailed design the task force had produced some 4500 drawings using CAD, peaking at 100 drawings a day.
4. Setting
up the taskforce
The project was awarded to the PAE on condition that the task force worked in multi-professional teams in the same building. At the time the teams were to be first assembled, September 1990, the construction industry was already in recession. The autumn of 1990 was not the time to go looking for more office space. Arup already had 22 offices in London and was anticipating reductions in staff. Options for space were considered to the inevitable dismay of the
relacation
The logistics for Arup were complex and dynamic. Staff were being drawn from several parts of the firm. The odd seat vacated in the process made no difference to the scope for regrouping. Moves had to be planned to suit the functioning and interaction of operating units. There was a chain reaction to achieve manageable blocks of space. Staff were moved around to create some space in one location, enough to absorb a functioning unit. This process included determining the IT demands of those on the move. . What had they got? What had to be left behind for others to use? . What extras were needed in the new location? . What data was to be transferred between old and new locations? . What were the consequences for local support personnel? . Was temporary cover for skill shortages needed? Each step required setting up a functioning office in a matter of days, using weekends to the full.
6. Communications
and software
After several steps in the chain Amp was able to move a unit out of the target building. The space vacated was then attacked over a two to three day period. Communications cabling and terminal units were installed, office partitioning remodelled, decorating completed and furniture delivered. Hardware started arriving as soon as the table tops were in place. As hardware was being commissioned and basic office software loaded, staff started to arrive.
D. Taffs /Automation
in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
As much software as possible was preloaded before the hardware came into the building. Every workstation, whether UNIX or DOS, had common NFS communication software. In many cases the design staff had not yet determined what software packages they would be using or when. Their needs would become apparent after starting work on the project. Response from the computer services would then have to be rapid. Some of the specialist application software was hired from Amp.
61
8. Pioneer workstations AutoCAD had just been released on SUN Spare computers. Arup found itself having to pioneer the move to AutoCAD on SUN, a new development and one that would have preferably been proved for six months before being put into production. A prototype configuration was set up while contract terms were being finalised. The prototype of SUN AutoCAD and Intergraph workstations, with a personal computer or two, enabled Amp to explore and establish the best method for interaction (Fig. 21.
7. Choice of systems; Architects Sheppard Robson had their own major Intergraph installation at their head office. Amp was also a user of Intergraph but in the UK this was only for civils and infrastructure work involving three-dimensional modelling. For the other uses of CAD, Arup had developed its own product over the previous 20 years. This had enabled the firm to learn a lot about the use and management of CAD at minimum cost. But the market had matured and cheap alternative CAD programs existled. The dominant market share had been taken by AutoCAD and it provided a solution, with potential, at a low cost with the flexibility of many hardware platforms to choose from. Arup was therefore ready to move to AutoCAD and with the size of the PAE network it was looking to UNIX platforms in 1990 to achieve the connectivity. AutoCAD provided a significantly cheaper option than Intergraph.
9. Provision of equipment Arup used no third-party extensions to AutoCAD but relied on its own customisation of menus, drawing aids for each discipline and run time procedures. Sheppard Robson used AEC Shell and Project Architect application software from Intergraph to provide a standard front end and enhanced initial loading and manipulation of information. A project of this size could not have been designed to the quality required within programme and budget without the use of CAD. The PAE was always committed to using a major integrated CAD network. Initially it was intended that the equipment would be provided by the PAE with a hire charge for the hours logged by each machine. As cancellation of the project became unlikely it was cheaper for GGR to buy the equipment for PAE use. This decision proved to be farsighted as much of the equipment has also been used throughout the construction phase of the project.
10. Data network
Fig. 2. The CAD manager provided on-line support to users and maintained the integrity of the central database. The number of SUNS and disks used grew as the project progressed.
The brief was to supply a secure local area network. It would cover five floors of one building. Each floor would have 80 access points. In total there would be 15 local area network (LAN) segments to match the distribution of staff. The reality would be even more demanding. Unfortunately it was only possible to install the LAN piecemeal. When operating on a network all the stations and other nodes have to be informed of what is con-
D. Taffs/Automation
62
in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
netted and where. Having installed the next increment in the expansion of the LAN, the network addressing system on the master node was then updated and the information pushed out to other workstations and servers. Reconfiguring to optimise the network domains would follow. When the enlarged network was once again fully functioning, the new PAE staff would sign on and get started on their workstations. Pressure was intense at all times to minimise the impact on normal office hours.
11. Network facilities - Four local LAN bridges were installed to filter network traffic. - BICC Isoview network management software was used. - Network protocols were TCP/IP and XNS on Ethernet. - Cabling was thin wire coaxial, the most adaptable of the options. - Plotters were connected to terminal server parallel pods while printers were on SUN RS232 ports. - Any workstation and personal computer could send output to any printer or plotter.
12. Solving
problems
Reproducible or firm network failures were quickly resolved. For example tracing a network repeater failure to a temporary member of staff who decided to unplug it so its power point could be used for a desk light. Intermittent failures are more difficult to trace. One was traced to a cable in a service duct that had suffered from the attentions of a plumber’s blow lamp. The most elusive took several days to solve. There was the occasional loss of a line amongst thousands on a drawing plot. The drawing would be called up on a screen and found to be correct and when reset would be plotted correctly. Later another drawing would suffer in the same way. The cause was traced to a floor duct that must have had a very heavy load run over it, enough to shear one of the supporting lugs. The cover of the duct remained flat and required a person of sufficient weight to use a
heel to flex the cover and compress a network cable. At that instant there was a brief loss of data.
13. Computer
support
In spite of such events and the upheavals and changes to the networking, the service was extremely reliable with the aggregate of all failures over nearly five years being less than a working day. The system was installed and supported throughout by Amp Computing. The principal elements of that support were data communications, CAD application software, systems software and project management application software. The description above of the relocation of staff and their IT services does not do justice to the reality. The element that is difficult to convey is the number of simultaneous and conflicting requirements. There were thousands of projects in progress in Amp at any point in time.
14. cost of support
services
Each project had its deadlines, its critical events that had to be dealt with in one way or another. A peak in production in one team meant access to more kit. A failure in another team’s printer meant access to someone else’s who in turn was fully committed with no capacity to spare. Somehow Amp had to persuade, cajole, barter to inconvenience one project team for the good of the other. With 40 staff in Amp Computing it is a common assumption there will always be someone on hand to help. However, the scale and diversity of work are vast. There is no duplication of roles within the support team. This is one of the factors influencing morale. When so much depends on the individual, motivation is extremely high. With high productivity, low sick leave and absenteeism, costs are kept to a minimum.
15. CAD data exchange When network services suppliers attended the PAE premises and saw what was happening they were
63
D. Taffs / Automation in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
attracted to the potential volume of business. As they got closer and understood the way At-up worked they learnt that the margins were so tight that they were unable to compete or did so at great risk. Outsourcing of the network services was considered and rejected. It would have required training the service provider, a slower statt, higher costs and less control. CAD requirements included: Data created on one CAD system was needed on another. Security of data was important. Files were only to be altered by the team responsible for their creation. Others could read them but not alter them. The readers could not access directly the working file. The solution was to use a postbox arrangement. When the author was happy with, say, Intergraph files, they were posted to an area on an Intergraph server.
in a major contractor’s office. The most cost-effective link between these two London locations was a courier service. The second occasion was a temporary overspill to another building. This time the most cost-effective solution was LAN-to-LAN optical fibre. The improved security offered by fibre was a bonus. Changes to the network meant fluctuations in its performance. When degradation became a concern, the network was stabilised while traffic and bottlenecks were analyzed. Cost-benefit reports were prepared before deciding remedial action. A major refurbishment took place one weekend. Only one of the PAE teams was unable to stop work. That team’s LAN segment was isolated and their keyboard operations were suspended for five minutes while switching the LAN segment in and out of the main network.
16. Exchange protoeds
Mechanical and electrical installation drawings were produced by subcontractors working on the PAE’s network. Contractors’ staff were phased in to take up hardware capacity as design reduced. Contractors’ staff were sitting alongside the PAE in the London office. Data was made available and assistance given to expedite creation of as-built drawings. Then in the autumn of 1992 the bulk of the workstations were relocated to site.
An Olivetti running PC-Micro&&ion v. 3.0 was used to access the saver files and translate them to DXF format. This was done with the aid of customised tables to suit each system. After translation, the DXF files automatically went to the SUN server where they could be read by the AutoCAD stations. The postbox routine was written and refinements to the translator were made to achieve the required level of compatibility. Amp had a few days in which to set up and prove a prototype translation configuration. In this time techniques were explored and implemented with the help of all parties. The chosen translation technique had to be maintained throughout the project. It dictated when and how the various packages were updated. New program releases arrived but were seldom loaded as this would have been disruptive and a.threat to the proven compatibility.
18. Incorporating
contractors
19. Links from site to PAE A megastream line was installed from Portakabins on site to the project database held in London. The PAE LAN was adjusted in size and configuration as equipment reductions occurred in the design office. Both site and office networks were managed from a London workstation. The site accessed files across the tie line. The system manager in London could access and share screens with each of the SUN CAD stations on site.
17. Network developments
20. Be&Its
On two occasions staff had to be located outside the PAE office. For a.period one PAE team worked
PAE procedures contained full flexibility and yet preserved the independence of the contributing fii.
of networking
64
D. Taffs/Automation
in Construction 6 (1997) 59-64
fied. High-quality visualisation was available but the client found low-cost techniques gave acceptable results.
21. Conclusion
Fig. 3. AutoCAD services.
was used for visualisation
of some of the
The usual design and build concept was taken one step further by the presence of the client in the design team. The project benefited from the combined resources of the client and PAE members. The client could call upon the design skills for just as long as they were needed. Any idle time between projects was absorbed by the design firm. Compatibility of production information, coordination of staff and control of costs were all dictated by the client. As-built drawings cost more to produce, but it was important to the client to have them. Three-dimensional computer models could also be created if required (Fig. 3). This project was no different to the norm-3D modelling of the buildings could not be cost justi-
The state of the art computer systems provided loose coupling of application software and not an integrated database. The project experience showed what benefits could be derived from bringing the contributors together in common space and with common leadership and objectives. The approach has stimulated interest from construction firms who are exploring how they may interface their IT requirements with those of the designer. The resulting emergence of standards and techniques will benefit the industry. More investment in the pre-construction phase paid dividends. Transition from design to construction was more successful. The interface between designer and contractor can be made to take account of the preferred construction methods, materials or estimating system used by the contractor. When on site the compatibility of the IT elements will produce faster and higher-quality communications with all parties. Data networks provide the means to deliver greater efficiencies and better quality as this project showed.