Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks The Precast Concrete Industry A proposal for the adoption of advanced Information Technologies

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 2 Introduction 1.Existing processes and business environment. 2.Available and suitable information technologies. 3.A framework target plan, including assessment of potential benefits. 4.Assess the expected costs of achieving the plan. 5.Analysis of the readiness for implementation of the framework plan. 6.A detailed plan for the next incremental step.

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 3 Part 1: Environment - Scope What is Precast Concrete Construction ? Construction of buildings and other facilities using precast concrete elements; Precast concrete elements are reinforced concrete elements produced in a dedicated plant. They are transported and erected after curing. For examples - Precast Concrete InstitutePrecast Concrete Institute

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 4 Part 1: Environment - Scope What sub-sectors are there ? Architectural Precast generally includes the production and erection of precast panels for facades of buildings.Architectural Precast Structural Precast generally includes production and erection of structural systems (assemblies of precast elements), and in certain instances of complete buildings.Structural Precast

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 5 Part 1: Environment - Scope An economic review approximately 380 plants in Canada, the US and Mexico, operated by some 160 producer companies.

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 6 Part 1: Environment - Scope

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 7 Part 1: Environment - Scope

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 8 Part 1: Environment - Scope Who is involved ? Owners/Clients Architects Structural Engineers Precast Concrete Producers and Erectors General Contractors Material Suppliers Designers and providers of other building systems

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 9 Part 1: Environment - Process What activities are there ? Win contract and acquire project Assembly design Detailed design Planning and Scheduling Production Handling - Storage and Shipping Erection

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 10 Part 1: Environment - Process What are the information dependencies ? Building design (geometry & systems) Product design Materials Procurement Plan, Schedule and Production Erection Company Management information

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 11 Part 1: Environment A High Level Process Model

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 12 Part 2: Information Technologies What is in use ? CAD – 2-D drafting e.g. Precast DrawingsPrecast Drawings Structural Design applications e.g. LEAPLEAP ERP software (production planning, materials management, human resources, accounting, etc.) Scheduling software

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 13 Part 2: Computerization for Design (PCI/CPCI Survey 2001)(Arditi et al. 2000, ASCE Journal of Architectural Engineering ) 41% of producers reported encountering problems in production due to ambiguities in design “often” or “very often”.

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 14 Part 2: Information Technologies What is the effectiveness of IT use ? Errors are commonplace. No integration – data is re-entered for each application. Examples…

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 15 Office Building

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 16 Parking Deck 1

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 17 Parking Deck 2

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 18 Parking Deck 2

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 19 Prison Complex

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 20 Arena

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 21 Part 2: Information Technologies What else is available ? CAD: 3-D Modeling Rendering, Animation and Virtual Reality, CAM and Robotics, B2B, collaboration portals, Product Model based integration, Automated data collection and monitoring

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 22 Part 3: A Framework Target Plan What are the long-term IT goals ? What are the short-term IT goals ? Potential local benefits – activities and cost- centers Potential system benefits in the supply chain A future process model

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 23 Part 3:Long-term IT goal Integration Process planning application Design application Analysis application Shop drawing Application Integrated Precast/ Prestressed Data model Rebar bending application Design Stage Architect or contractor Mold design application Production Stage Robotics applications Logistics and production app. Scheduling and workflow app. Materials order/ tracking app. Enterprise Applications Material suppliers “B2B” exchanges Formwork fabricator Outside Exchanges Internal Exchanges (Eastman & Augenbroe, 2000, presentation to PCI )

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 24 Part 3:Short-term IT goal 3-D Modeling Process planning application Design application Analysis application Shop drawing Application 3D Modeling of Precast Buildings Rebar bending application Design Stage Mold design application Production Stage Robotics applications Logistics and production app. Scheduling and workflow app. Materials order/ tracking app. Enterprise Applications Internal Exchanges (Eastman & Augenbroe, 2000, presentation to PCI )

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 25 Part 3: Local benefits Reduced drafting hours/salaries Reduced drafting and production errors Shortened sales response time Shortened time to erection Improved management information flows All of the above = Increased Market Share.

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 26 Part 3: Supply chain benefits Improved coordination with and support for project architects and engineers. Shorter activity times for GC. Lower overall cost for Owner. Shorter overall duration – benefits all.

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 27 Part 3: A future process model Precast Process Model

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 28 Part 4: Expected Costs What are the ‘ hard ’ costs ? –Initial investment in hardware and software –Annual maintenance fees –Training fees and salaries –Equipment

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 29 Part 4: Expected Costs What are the ‘ soft ’ costs ? –Business re-organization and adaptation –Decreased productivity during ‘learning-curve’ period. –Management time (salaries) –Opportunity cost

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 30 Part 5: Industry Readiness What are the conditions that must exist ? Which conditions are presently satisfied ? Which conditions can be satisfied in the short-term? Which conditions can be satisfied in the long-term?

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 31 Part 5: What conditions must exist ? 1)Significant value-added portion 2)Perceived economic benefits 3)Available production automation technology 4)Computerization in the business environment 5)IT integration in external environment 6)Modeling software 7)Product model integration PreconditionsConditionsNecessary Developments

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 32 Part 5: Industry Readiness Which conditions are currently satisfied ? 1)Significant value-added portion 2)Perceived economic benefits 3)Available production automation technology 4)Computerization in the business environment 5)IT integration in external environment 6)Modeling software 7)Product model integration Materials are 15-20% of product cost Yes; especially schedule, error reduction and market share Yes; rebar, mold, casting and finish automation is available Yes; enterprise management systems are common

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 33 Part 5: Industry Readiness Which conditions can be satisfied in the short-term? 1)Significant value-added portion 2)Perceived economic benefits 3)Available production automation technology 4)Computerization in the business environment 5)IT integration in external environment 6)Modeling software 7)Product model integration Yes; development is now under way by Tekla. For example…Tekla Yes; development is now under way by Georgia TechGeorgia Tech

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 34 Part 5: Industry Readiness Which conditions can be satisfied in the long-term? 1)Significant value-added portion 2)Perceived economic benefits 3)Available production automation technology 4)Computerization in the business environment 5)IT integration in external environment 6)Modeling software 7)Product model integration Through the IAI ?

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 35 Part 6: The Next Step What technologies and resources are required ? –3-D Modeling Software and Product Model –software and model development teams –industry technical working teams –financing What short term benefits are expected ? –reduced errors, –reduced lead times, –reduced engineering costs.

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 36 Summary 1.Existing processes and business environment. 2.Available and suitable information technologies. 3.A framework target plan, including assessment of potential benefits. 4.Assess the expected costs of achieving the plan. 5.Analysis of the readiness for implementation of the framework plan. 6.A detailed plan for the next incremental step.

Strategies for IT Adoption in the Building Industry © 2002 Prof. C.M. Eastman & Dr. R. Sacks 37 Precast Concrete Industry - Role 1 Welcome. As you listen to this presentation, try to consider the issues from the point of view of an imaginary interested party. Try to protect your interests by asking questions and asserting your views ! To help you prepare, here is a description of your role: You are the CEO and president of a medium sized precast concrete production company. The company specializes