Feasibility of Using Three-Dimensional Graphics and Object-Oriented Design to Improve Construction Specifications

Currently, individuals including designers, contractors, and owners learn about the project requirements by studying a combination of paper and electronic copies of the construction documents including the drawings, specifications (standard and supplemental), road and bridge standard drawings, design criteria, contracts, addenda, and change orders. This can be a tedious process since one needs to go back and forth between the various documents (paper or electronic) to obtain information about the entire project. This paper concludes that object-oriented technology is now advanced enough to allow development of an object-oriented design and specifications (OODAS) system to make it easier for designers and construction personnel to grasp the project requirements in a quick and efficient manner. OODAS allows users to point-and-click on portions of an object-oriented drawing linked to relevant databases containing information such as specifications, procurement status, and standard drawings. Projects based on OODAS could ultimately reduce the chance of error, improve quality, decrease rework, and shorten the duration of projects. An economic tool is presented that estimates the cost of full development based on time spent on developing a prototype for the Iowa Department of Transportation. Based on the effort required to develop the prototype, an economic analysis is presented that estimates the cost of the full development and maintenance of the OODAS system. The study shows that the estimated cost is $575,000, plus annual maintenance cost $87,000. A summary of user feedback from industry professionals is presented along with recommendations for future work.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Jaselskis, Edward J
  • Walters, Russell
  • Gao, Zhili
  • Kaewmoracharoen, Manop
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2006-1-22 to 2006-1-26
• Date: 2006

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: TRB 85th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Drawings; Object oriented databases; Prototypes; Specifications; Three dimensional displays
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Bridges and other structures; Finance; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01025607
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 06-1449
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 8 2006 11:26AM