| Because of the uniqueness and multiplicity of a construction project, construction management automation has been difficult to develop, both for commercial applications and academic research. To resolve this problem, a study was conducted to create an automated management system combining the state-of-art computer technologies: visual computation, World Wide Web communication, and object-oriented technologies. In addition, a prototype program--Object-Oriented Project System (OOPS) was developed to implement the automated system of this study.; This study focuses on highway construction project management. To facilitate the highway construction procedures in the system, the Pavement Construction Cost module's design principles in System Integrated Management for Pavement Performance Life and Economy (SIMPPLE) were implemented. However, a new quantity calculation scheme has been developed in OOPS. In addition, object oriented modeling was used to establish the structural components of OOPS. All the data and procedures are identified, classified, and arranged to form an object hierarchy. All the required data, calculation equations and process procedures of objects are stored in databases. The system does the dynamic binding for quantity calculation by retrieving data from the databases. Moreover, VRML was implemented to perform design and progress visualization. Therefore, the OOPS program can generate 3-D simulations in real-time based on a given pavement design.; The object oriented analysis and modeling performed in this study establishes an integrated environment for automatic construction project management. This model can also be standardized and applied to general construction project for information exchange. Furthermore. the design visualization and progress simulation provided in thus application will improve the communication and understanding among members of pavement construction projects and provide an interactive tool for the construction industry. |
