A distributed multi‐model‐based Management Information System for simulation and decision‐making on construction projects

The conceptual development of a Management Information System to support decision making on construction projects across all management levels within the owner and the contractor organizations is introduced. The system is designed as a distributed information and service platform. The backbone of the system is a layered ontology framework. Along with the information system, a novel approach to process and multi‐model driven construction management is developed that allows for sharing distributed, yet interrelated, engineering and management application models in so called multi‐models. A major challenge of the system is the management of the information and model logistics as well as the interdependencies among the application models. In order to support the retrieval of information from different project phases, domains and organizations and their combination in coherent multi‐models, an ontology framework is developed. It defines the overall information space of the application models describing the application models content and their links in multi‐models as well as the collaboration processes within the virtual organization of the project. The proposed system represents a paradigm shift. The information space is no longer product‐model‐centric. Central to the model‐based information space is the process model that interrelates application model views contained in multi‐models required for specific planning, production and analysis tasks. The activities are considered the enabler to semi‐automatically combine dedicated information pieces of existing application models in new multi‐models. Therefore we have identified the instantiation of activities and their combination to valid process chains to be the bottleneck to make the process and multi‐model driven construction management efficient. As a consequence, we develop a new process and multi‐model generation method, which is based on process modules formalized in description logics. The process modules combine distinct methods of Reference Process Modelling and Business Process Objects. In the generated processes, related application models, and populated multi‐models are hierarchically structured (1) to support the utilization of project information by different actors of the hierarchical project organization and (2) to handle engineering and management knowledge and decisions piecewise during process generation in accordance to the hierarchy levels of the involved decision makers, thereby reducing the overall complexity of decision making. The paper discusses: (1) the main components of the system for interlinking and sharing models and information, (2) the ontology‐based multi‐model framework and the basics for the hierarchical structuring of the models, and (3) the generation of integrated process models.