Element 2: Automated Design

Tactical Plan

Download Tactial Plan in PDF | Working Team | Vision | Problem | Benefits and Opportunities | Barriers & Challenges | Goals | Strategy | Focus Areas & Projects | Timeline | 2007 Executive Summary

Scope

Provides the forum for an industry-wide set of design automation features and specifications to be created that will be available for software vendors to use when developing improved design automation software.The team  will support industry knowledge management clearinghouse efforts to avoid duplication of effort. .. Enables industry stakeholders and software vendors to work collaboratively to develop improved design automation technology for the capital projects industry.

Working Team

The team members listed here contributed to the revision of this document and are active in one or more implementation projects. . For a list of current working team members refer to the FIATECH web site.

Aveva, Derek Middlemas
Bechtel, Shikrant Dixit and Darya Nabavian (Team Co-Champion)
Bentley Systems, Inc., Gordon McPhee
CommonPoint, Ted Blackmon
CH2M HILL, Rob Brawn (Team Champion)
Fluor, Dan Slade
Hatch, Peter Blake and Daryl Ofstie
State of Wisconsin, Bill Napier
Software Innovation, Tony Vander Valk
US Army EDRC, Johnnie Shockley

Other Contributors

The team also recognizes these individuals for their past contribution during the original development of this document.

Gordon McPhee, Bentley  Systems
Mike Albert, Bechtel
Mike Alianza, Intel
Jack DeBrunner, The Procter and Gamble Company
Keith Denton, Intergraph
Tamer El-Diraby, University of Toronto
Randy Fix, Fluor
Tom Hannigan, Zachry Construction Corporation
Patrick Holcomb, Intergraph
John McQuary, Fluor
Mike Pye, Fluor
Ian Smith, Bentley Systems
Earl Tipton, Jacobs Engineering
Ray Williams, KBR

Vision

The Vision statement describes what is wanted in the future.

Current and emerging capabilities in 3-D design, analytical modeling and simulation, intelligent systems and distributed information management offer the opportunity to create a truly integrated and automated project design environment. In this environment, all tools will work together as an interconnected system that provides all of the functionality needed to develop and validate detailed designs for every aspect of a project based on the design criteria. This integrated design environment will dramatically reduce the time and cost in moving from concept to construction execution through automation of complex design engineering tasks. It will also greatly reduce errors and liability through comprehensive, automated design optimization and verification. Optimization would include a variety of options including total installed cost, total lifecycle cost, plant output and facilities..
The vision of the automated design system of the future is shown in Figure 1 below. The system will enable design teams to interact with the customer and other stakeholders to assist in the conceptual design process, starting with the capturing of requirements and preferences for design, while automatically processing options in a mathematically accurate, scenario-based visualization environment (see Element 1: Scenario-based Project Planning). Modeling and simulation tools linked to the automated design system will enable quantitative evaluation to assess the cost, performance, and risks of each option.

Figure 1. The automated design system will provide a complete, end-to-end design capability that is seamlessly integrated with both upstream and downstream project processes.

Current Problem

The Current Problem statement describes the existing situation.

Today’s capital project designs are largely produced using computer-aided tools for discrete elements of the facility. The overall “final design” is comprised of a variety of packages of diversely formatted data ready for handoff to the procurement and construction execution functions. Although many aspects of the project effort, including design, analysis, and systems engineering, are performed using electronic tools, the individual tools are not integrated and often do not work well together. This results in inefficiency. The transfer of information is time-consuming, costly, error-prone, and highly dependent on the skills and experience of the design team. Project requirements and design data and information are often lost as the design deliverables pass from the designer to other entities in the project’s lifecycle.

Design tools and technology have advanced significantly in the capital projects industry over the past decade. However, there are still significant opportunities to advance the state of the industry by increasing integration and interoperability of existing applications and creating other applications to meet new needs.
Software vendors currently spend much time and effort determining the requirements for future software enhancements and data conversion. Each vendor attempts to provide the software suite that will meet the needs of its customer base, or partners with other selected vendors to provide additional capabilities. This often results in wasteful overlapping competition among vendors in areas that are not their core competencies.

The customer base reviews and tests vendor offerings, sometimes multiple times within the same company. The customer base also spends a significant amount of time providing input to software vendors regarding current products and desired features of new products, and frequently feels that their concerns are not heard or understood and their needs are not met. Again, this often results in time-consuming wasteful efforts on the part of these customers, time which could better be spent in value producing efforts for their companies.

Potential Benefits & Opportunities

The automated design system of the future will enable the designer to produce detailed designs using multiple design and data software in automated processes that ensures the design will be consistent with all preferences and requirements. Working with established industry-wide product definition and data standards will enable designers to specify supplier-furnished materials, components, and products that designers can directly upload into the design basis, complete with geometry and associated specifications and performance models. Other features and benefits of the system that will be of value to down-stream participants and stakeholders include automated review for code compliance, data and visualizations/simulations for the contractor, and supplier submittals and collection of equipment data that automatically updates the project model and database. The system architecture and standards will enable interoperability with other stakeholders and participants to capture and enable use of information, decisions, and maintenance and operating parameters throughout the life of the project.

Potential Barriers & Challenges

With any implementation there is generally some resistance to change. The capital projects arena is no exception. Examples of barriers to change might include:

• Lack of proven case studies – Companies are nervous to invest until there is proven return on investment. Limited case studies and proprietary data make it difficult to predict a return on investment.
• Contractual methods and legal responsibility – Traditional contracting practices and liability are counter to collaborative processes and lifecycle perspectives.
• Protection of Intellectual Property – Concerns regarding protection of intellectual property and absence of industry standards make it difficult to share information in a secure and confidential manner.
• Lack of a bridge between CAPEX (Capital Expense) and OPEX  (Operating Expense) goals and objectives inside the owner/operator company - Lifecycle goals are often seen as contrary to project goals. As one high-ranking CAPEX manager recently stated, “we are totally committed to the ideas and benefits of lifecycle asset approaches right up to the point where they interfere with project cost or schedule.” If this thinking is not overcome, the discrete products and systems will continue to innovate and incrementally improve but the overall lifecycle goals are not likely to be achieved.
• Powerful and autonomous capital project managers - These managers are measured on individual project results: schedule and budget. They are usually averse to anything they do not understand and see new approaches simply as added project risk. Past experiences indicate that they are rarely open to innovations related to the project cycle itself.
  Reluctance to make necessary alterations to business and work practices - Many companies have set up systems that are “working” and once deemed functional tend to leave them in that state. Due to tremendous changes in technology, companies are using the opportunity of migration to new technology as the junction point to revamp work processes. Ongoing work processes should be challenged to adopt technology just as technology should adapt to work processes.
• Design contractors with legacy systems – Work cannot stop to implement new systems so smooth migration from existing systems is a must. Vendors must balance between satisfying their existing customers while charting a course for the next generation of applications. Development and adoption of industry standards that enable or simplify plug and play solutions may be perceived as opening the door to competition. Meanwhile too often new or improved software tools and utilities may get passed over because of competing internal developed applications.
• Determining how to share the risk and reward for lifecycle approaches – If Engineering, Procurement and Construction companies (EPCs) are forced to use tools they are not familiar with they may charge premium prices to cover the unknowns even though there may be direct benefits to them. In other situations, EPCs may be able to provide useful content that could save the owner money but since there is no incentive to provide the information and there is potential liability, the opportunity is abandoned. Similar situations also occur between planning and design with construction activities.  This may need revision to include facility projects and address other project delivery methods such as Design-Bid-Build, Design/Build, Construction Manager (all variants), and the upcoming collaborative "alliance" model (one contract with Owner for all participants)
• Currently, software vendors spend a significant amount of time researching product needs, and their customers may feel as if they are played against the requests from other customers. On the other hand, customers may resort to back room arm-twisting to force vendors to create new features in subsequent product releases to meet specific project needs which may be counterproductive in the long run. Clear and consistent industry requirements will both motivate and enable vendors to focus on building products that include the required features rather than trying to address the desires of individual users associated with the capital projects industry who usually focus on a narrow market or element of the project lifecycle (e.g., design, construction, equipment, or operations).

Goals

The Goal statement describes what is expected to be achieved.

To expedite advancement of automated design vision to improve cost-efficiency, enhance the lifecycle value of the design work products, and enable interoperability among entities associated with a project's lifecycle, resulting in significant cost savings and/or profit.

The goal is to accelerate the development and deployment of an integrated suite of design advisors, automated design tools and processes in the capital projects arena that increase cost efficiency and improve project performance. Key issues include integration of detailed design with the other vision diagram elements; design reuse; design requirements integration and management; automated design advisors; and industry-specific modeling and simulation tools. This functional element will address automated design and the role it plays within the total project lifecycle, and will capture and provide industry feedback for integration into the Asset Lifecycle Information System (see Element #9 - Lifecycle Data Management and Information Integration) to support total management of project performance.

Strategy for Achieving the Goal

The strategy statement describes how we see the goal being achieved.

The strategy for achieving the goal is composed of two basic parts:

• Provide design automation software vendors with an industry-wide set of design automation features and specifications that are updated annually and the market incentive to rapidly develop products that incorporate those features.
• Use existing or emerging clearinghouses to serve as a knowledge management resource for design automation. Value is gained by reducing redundant investigation of products and approaches, and by reducing the time spent searching for information. Industry will also gain the value of obtaining feedback from a diverse group of reviewers. Automation design experts and industry-wide stakeholders will come together; representing all aspects of capital projects in a forum where the design automation features of the capital projects industry can be developed in collaboration with companies that are likely to provide the tools to fulfill the vision of an automated design system. By having significant representation of customers throughout the supply chain working collaboratively toward a common objective, we expect to provide the impetus and incentives for software vendors to develop a new generation of automation tools and processes that will result in a quantum leap in design productivity and lifecycle value. This strategy will include utliziation of a Web-based knowledge management system, which will serve as a central location for industry to access, review and comment on the latest vendor software and associated automation features. The automated design working group will manage design-related content on the Web site, compile and evaluate information gathered, and combine that with their cumulative experience to develop details for the automated design plan. The automated design working group will obtain review and feedback from industry stakeholders, including software vendors.  

The intent is to provide a single and concise voice from the capital projects industry that will motivate and provide incentives to the software industry to accelerate investment and development of software and processes that will enable the design automation vision to be realized. As with any technology-based solutions, we will need to periodically update and advance the design automation plan to shape the future of the technology and to keep advancing the value to the entire capital projects industry. The working group will provide a concise and unified voice for the capital projects industry consistent with lifecycle objectives and promote the benefits associated with the development of automation tools that provide the desired features to their industry and to their software vendors. Estimates of the market value and depth of such tools combined with the anticipated life expectancy, so that each vendor can calculate their own benefits, may accelerate vendors' adoption of the industry’s vision.

The following steps establish and maintain the organizational foundation that is needed prior to implementing the strategy described above.

1. Establish and charter the automated design working group –The details necessary to accurately convey the needs of the industry are not yet sufficient for a vendor to implement. Formation of an industry-led working group will help guide this process, provide input, and identify existing gaps.
2. Create the automated design plan - The working group will compile and evaluate the information gathered from vendors and industry through the clearinghouse and infuse their expertise to expand and enhance this plan. The plan will expand upon the existing focus areas listed below as well as identify other focus areas that should be pursued. The working group will identify, specify, and validate common features and capabilities necessary to advance automated design within our industry to achieve the vision, to identify barriers to success and to develop approaches to reduce or remove those barriers.
3. Review and update the automated design plan - Technology and industry requirements will change over time. The working group will annually evaluate, update and advance the automated design plan for the Roadmap to provide increased value to the industry and clear up-to-date targets for our software vendors. The working group will compile the information and communicate the updates to the primary software vendors and the industry at large.

Focus Areas and Projects

The focus area section describes what we are going to focus on, and specific projects are proposed within each focus area.

Key components of delivering the vision of a totally automated and integrated design for capital projects are design advisors, knowledge bases, rule bases, integration, and enhanced viewing and collaboration. Some of these components are far-reaching and include the application of technology from other industries or the development of new technologies, while others involve the enhancement of current approaches.

Focus Areas are the broad description of what this Roadmap element is going to do. Each focus area will be addressed through several projects, conducted over time. The project titles are linked to the detailed project descriptions.

Project details can be viewed by downloading the PDF. The project template applied to each project includes: Project Title, Objectives / Deliverables (what result), Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why), Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (with other projects or Elements) (constraints, boundaries), Urgency / Time line (when), Process / Activities (how), and Resources (who). Each project will be more fully defined as time progresses. At this point the project descriptions should indicate what the project will do in sufficient detail to get potential participants interested and to understand the timing and dependencies between projects. Timing or scheduling of these projects is presented in the section, the Seven-year Timeline.

E2-FA1: Metrics for proof of concept and demonstration of capabilities - The metrics developed for proof of concept will be used to validate the approach, focus areas and projects proposed in the tactical plan and to build support for quicker adoption of technology. The working group will organize meetings with software vendors and user groups from industry to gain their input for the automated design plan. The meeting with vendors will provide them the opportunity to have their primary system architects present for interaction and direct feedback from an industry body, and to address implementation issues. After vendor and user feedback is obtained, the working group will finalize the automated design plan and will make it available to industry.

Projects:

E2-FA1-P1 Charrettes
E2-FA1-P2 Contractual Delivery Issues

E2-FA2: Design Viewing - The Design Viewing focus area encompasses all viewing technology associated with design review systems. It is intended to take advantage of the advances made in virtual reality, holographic projection, immersive 3-D walkthroughs, collaboration tools, and redlining.

Project:

E2-FA2-P1 Virtual Design and Validation Environment

E2-FA3: Integrated and Interoperable Design Systems - This focus area centers on those efforts required to communicate specific features and standards of an integrated/interoperable design platform. Results of this focus area will facilitate real-time data integration, data exchange between design systems, and the exchange of information with other elements of the FIATECH Capital Projects Technology Roadmap. It will also address standards to improve the data exchange mechanisms for design information.

Projects:

E2-FA3-P1 Distributed Simulation Environment
E2-FA3-P2 Collaborative Requirements Definition
E2-FA3-P3 Automated Abstraction
E2-FA3-P4 Data Management
E2-FA3-P5 Extend Collaborative Environment to Include Suppliers & Fabricators
E2-FA3-P6 Exchange of Information from Design to Construction

E2-FA4: Intelligent Design Systems - This focus area centers on the creation and definition of rule-based systems, reusable designs, design advisors, and knowledge bases.

Projects:

E2-FA4-P1 Design Conventions, Standards and Rules
E2-FA4-P2 Regulatory Compliance
E2-FA4-P3 Architecture for Design Advisors
E2-FA4-P4 Automated Detailed Design Systems
E2-FA4-P5 Automated Change Management
E2-FA4-P6 Design/Reuse Capability
E2-FA4-P7 Intelligent Capital Projects Design Models

E2-FA5: Create and maintain a design automation information clearinghouse - Under current practice, companies periodically conduct software reviews (sometimes at multiple locations within the same company). The working group will encourage these companies to share their findings, which will be included in the information clearinghouse. Similarly, since software vendors send out large quantities of marketing information, they will be encouraged to provide their relevant information for inclusion in the clearinghouse as well. Through this clearinghouse, industry will be able to easily access, review and evaluate vendor information as it relates to the overall design automation plan. Industry will also be encouraged to submit desired features to support the vision through the automation information clearinghouse.

Project:

E2-FA5-P1 Create and Maintain a Design Automation Information Clearinghouse

Seven-Year Timeline

A timeline is proposed for the projects within this tactical plan.

Assumptions used for the seven year timeline shown below:

1. Preparation for each project will take about 3 months (1 quarter). Preparation includes identifying funding, resourcing and project set-up. Preparation time is included in the following timelines.
2. Project teams will form and disband for each project (unless the team wishes to continue to do another project).

		Yr 1	Yr 2	Yr 3	Yr 4	Y4 5	Yr 6	Yr 7
E2-FA1: Metrics for proof of concept and demonstration of capabilities
E2-FA1-P1	Charrettes			Q2-Q4
E2-FA1-P2	Contractual Delivery Issues		Q2-Q4
E2-FA2: Design Viewing
E2-FA2-P1	Virtual Design and Validation Environment			Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA3: Integrated/Interoperable Design Systems
E2-FA3-P1	Capital projects distributed simulation environment					Q4	Q1-Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA3-P2	Collaborative design environment			Q2-Q4	Q1-Q4	Q1
E2-FA3-P3	Automated abstraction						Q3-Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA3-P4	Data management			Q2-Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA3-P5	Extended collaborative environment			Q1-Q4	Q1
E2-FA3-P6	Handoff from design to construction	Q2-Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA4: Intelligent Design Systems
E2-FA4-P1	Design conventions, standards and rules			Q1-Q4
E2-FA4-P2	Regulatory compliance						Q2-Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA4-P3	Architecture for design advisors				Q1-Q4	Q1-Q2
E2-FA4-P4	Automated detailed design systemsn		Q1-Q4	Q1
E2-FA4-P5	Automated change management		Q3-Q4
E2-FA4-P6	Design/Reuse capability					Q4	Q1-Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA4-P7	Integrity assessment based on design						Q2-Q4	Q1-Q2
E2-FA4-P8	Intelligent capital projects design models						Q4	Q1-Q4
E2-FA5: Create and maintain a design automation information clearinghouse
E2-FA5-P1	Create and maintain a design automation information clearinghouse		Populate and maintain	Populate and maintain	Populate and maintain	Populate and maintain	Populate and maintain	Populate and maintain

Case Studies

To be developed.

Organizations Working in Focus Areas

To be developed.

Existing Relevant Research Activities and Results

To be developed.

Funding Sources

To be developed.

Project Descriptions by Focus Area

Projects are described below within each of the Focus Areas. The project template applied to each project includes: Project Title, Objectives / Deliverables (what result), Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why), Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (with other projects or Roadmap elements) (constraints, boundaries), Urgency / Timeline (when), Process / Activities (how), and Resources (who).
Each project will be more fully defined as time progresses. At this point the project descriptions should indicate what the project will do in sufficient detail to get potential participants interested and to understand the timing and dependencies between projects. Timing or scheduling of these projects is presented in the section, the Seven-year Timeline.

 E2-FA1-P1 Charrettes

Project Title	Charrettes
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Sponsor charrettes (modeled after Baldridge awards) with categories for academics and software vendors Deliverables: a) Promotional material
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Speed development and deployment of desired automation capabilities Business Drivers: Create incentives for software vendors to embrace the FIATECH roadmap and deliver tools that meet the related requirements. Use demonstration projects to advance rate of adoption. Create awareness and recognition within the industry.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Compatibility with overall roadmap objectives b) Constraints with funding and sponsors
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Medium/Short term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Identify focus areas 2) Seek sponsors 3) Develop instructions/guidelines 4) Review entries and make awards 5) Promote results
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia Organizations: Universities, software vendors, industry sponsors

E2-FA1-P2 Contractual Delivery Issues

Project Title	Contractual Delivery Issues
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Identify contractual issues that create barriers to automation and address solutions in a few market segments. Deliverables: a) Example contract terms and approaches b) Whitepaper outlining solutions
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Address contract terms to improve viability of automation approaches and improve project delivery Business Drivers: Contract terms and legal responsibility often limit application of automation, drive inefficient processes and create gaps in overall project execution. The process can be improved for all parties.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Legal constraints and sharing or responsibility/risk/reward b) Historical behavior
Urgency / Timeline (when)	High/short term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble team of industry representatives (owner, EPC, trades) 2) Brainstorm barriers and possible solutions 4) Submit solutions for broader review 5) Incorporate feedback 6) Publish results 7) Repeat process and work with other trades
Resources (who)	Individuals: Representative of organizations below Organizations: Trades, EPCs, Owners Estimated cost: $20K

E2-FA2: Design Viewing

Projects:

 E2-FA2-P1 Virtual Design and Validation Environment

Project Title	Virtual Design and Validation Environment
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: An  environment that allows users to interact with a proposed design to assure full satisfaction of design intent Deliverables: Detailed definition of desired viewing and validation capabilities (then software vendors provide products meeting the need)
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Enhanced communication and more efficient and effective design review Business Drivers: Today, there are many disparate systems required to complete a design but it is not always easy to review the entire project. A common viewing environment allows team members access to design details and alternatives can be reviewed and quickly compared without involving the “application expert”. Improved communication helps ensure project objectives are met.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties to design advisors and code conformance. b) Depends on design tools, simulation environment and technical framework for data exchange
Urgency / Timeline (when)	High/Medium
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble working group 2) Define and detail desired capabilities 3) Publish requirements 4) Create incentives for vendors 5) Review new products as they come to market 6) Enhance and update requirements
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia Organizations: Software vendors, hardware vendors, EPCs, owners Estimated cost: $40K

E2-FA3: Integrated and Interoperable Design Systems

Projects:

 E2-FA3-P1 Distributed Simulation Environment

Project Title	Distributed simulation Environment
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Create an Environment where it is possible to optimize process designs across multiple locations and participants. Deliverables: a) Exchange vehicle for front end and process data
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Improved efficiency of work processes and the resulting process plant. Business Drivers: Inefficiency of current work processes, use of low cost design locations.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) 4.1 design conventions and standards b) 3.2 collaborative design environment c) 3.6 extend collaborative environment
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Low/Long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble working group 2) Define and detail desired capabilities 3) Publish requirements 4) Create incentives for vendors 5) Review new products as they come to market 6) Enhance and update requirements
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia Organizations: Software vendors, hardware vendors, EPCs, owners

E2-FA3-P2 Collaborative Requirements Definition

Project Title	Collaborative Requirements Definition
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Define the types of interaction, information, and user interfaces required through electronic means to support all participants during design execution. Deliverables: a) White paper defining requirements b) Identify current best practices for work-sharing in a global environment, and define future requirements based on a collaborative environment.
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Deliverable to software providers for inclusion/development of existing or new systems Business Drivers: Design execution cost reduction through improved productivity, error reduction and enhanced access to information. Improved work sharing in a global environment.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties with Element 1, Element 3, and Element 9 specific projects TBD. b) Providing incentive to software suppliers at the completion of this effort to incorporate requirements into existing or new products c) Alignment in the industry around terms and definition associated with collaboration.
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Medium/Medium to long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) RFQ to consultant companies to define cost 2) Seek funding 3) Identify team 4) Execute study 5) Follow-up with FIATECH membership and software suppliers
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members Organizations: Owners, EPCs, Software suppliers, and universities

 E2-FA3-P3 Automated Abstraction

Project Title	Automated Abstraction
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Create capability to extract sub sets of a ‘master model’ with selected intelligence to suit particular work processes and applications. Deliverables: a) Specifications of required subsets and work process descriptions
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Improved flexibility in design with improved quality of data exchange and integration. Business Drivers: Improved efficiency in design.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) 4.1 design conventions and standards b) 3.2 collaborative design environment c) 3.4 Data Management
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Low/Long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble working group 2) Define and detail desired capabilities 3) Publish requirements 4) Create incentives for vendors 5) Review new products as they come to market 6) Enhance and update requirements
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia Organizations: Software vendors, hardware vendors, EPCs, owners

 E2-FA3-P4 Data Management

Project Title	Data Management
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: To define a systematic way to identify quality and completeness requirements for data exchange.Deliverables: a) Specifications of such a system
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Improved flexibility in EPCOM with improved quality of data exchange and integration. Business Drivers: Improved efficiency in work processes.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) 4.1 design conventions and standards b) 3.2 collaborative design environment
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Medium/Medium
Process / Activities (how)	1) 1) Assemble working group 2) Define and detail desired capabilities 3) Publish requirements 4) Create incentives for vendors 5) Review new products as they come to market 6) Enhance and update requirements
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia Organizations: Software vendors, hardware vendors, EPCs, owners

E2-FA3-P5 Extend Collaborative Environment to Include Suppliers & Fabricators

Project Title	Extend Collaborative Environment to Include Suppliers & Fabricators
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Work with the trade associations and vendors/suppliers to create prototype projects for data exchange and identify areas of overlap. Deliverables: a) Detailed description of project(s) for team to focus on and the metrics or measurable goals to be obtained at the conclusion of the project.
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Ensure inclusion of all appropriate stakeholders to: 1) assure “buy-in”, 2) derive benefit from existing solutions or ongoing work and 3) consider and address all pertinent perspectives, concerns, objectives, and issues. Business Drivers: Provide a focused project to coalesce work by all the stakeholders so duplication of effort is avoided and synergistic solutions arise.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Work on FA3-5 must have progressed to some “tipping point” where there is a minimum level of consensus on standards, methods, or approaches. b) A critical mass of vendors must have bought-in to the initiative. c) Owners need to supply prototype project(s) that are sufficiently compelling to suppliers to provide motivation to participate and commit. Element 8 FA1-P5
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Medium/Medium
Process / Activities (how)	. That team would comprise the appropriate stakeholders, and would know what initial “functionality” needs to be tested in the project(s), and when to initiate them.
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia, representatives of associations, senior vendor representatives Organizations: Universities, software vendors, associations, governmental groups [NIST, etc.]

 E2-FA3-P6 Exchange of Information from Design to Construction

Project Title	Exchange of Information from Design to Construction
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Identify and address barriers to automated design approaches between design and construction phases of a project. Deliverables: a) Detailed listing by the construction industry of the requirements, needs, and preferences of the deliverables supplied by the engineer/design community – the what, when, and why. Includes checklists for implementation. b) Detailed description of the challenges and/or barriers to providing the above in an integrated and automated fashion.
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Enhance the timeliness, quality, consistency, and value of the engineer/designers’ deliverables to the constructor. Business Drivers: Enable better and quicker execution of the construction phase of a capital project as well as enhancing the usefulness and longevity of all of the “data” within the design.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)
Urgency / Timeline (when)	High/Long term – appears to lie on the critical path for successful integrated/interoperable design systems. These systems/products will not be supported by the constructor community if they do not add real value to the construction phase.
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble team of industry representatives [academic, associations, owners, engineers, constructors, vendors]. 2) Identify work already done to support this goal and by whom. 3) Develop a consensus on minimum requirements for “deliverables” by an engineering/design company to the construction company. 4) Provide results to team comprising FA 3-P5.
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members who comprise the EPC phase of capital assets, academia, senior vendor representatives Organizations: Major EPC firms, Universities, software vendors Estimated Cost: $25K

E2-FA4: Intelligent Design Systems

Projects:

 E2-FA4-P1 Standards for Sharing Design Conventions and Rules

Project Title	Standards for Sharing Design Conventions and Rules
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Create standards and best practices for definition of, rules used within intelligent design systems to enhance adoption and effectiveness of these systems Deliverables: a) Definition of best practices b) Basic rules for design systems developed in a common language which can easily be customized by various market segments c) Definition of standards necessary to build rule base
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Facilitate development and deployment of increasingly more intelligent design systems Business Drivers: There is a need for advanced rule based systems to enable higher levels of intelligent design. Identification of best practices will help identify standard industry approaches which will aid data exchange between applications and organizations.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Element 9
Urgency / Timeline (when)	High/Medium
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble working group 2) Define requirements for rule base for Element 9 3) Assess and document best practices 4) Develop and document core rules 5) Distribute best practices and basic rules
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia Organizations: Software vendors, Universities, EPCs, owners, Governmental agencies

 E2-FA4-P2 Regulatory Compliance

Project Title	Regulatory Compliance
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Define requirements for intelligent design systems to be able to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Deliverables: a) Definition of system requirements b) Examples of regulatory requirements
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Provide clear definitions of requested capabilities so that software vendors and academia can begin addressing needs. Business Drivers: There are often multiple sets of regulations which can result in ambiguity. Significant amounts of time can be spent ensuring regulatory compliance.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties to Element 9
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Low / Long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble working group 2) Assess and define requirements for regulatory compliance 3) Distribute findings
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members, academia Organizations: ICC, Software vendors, Universities, EPCs, owners, Governmental agencies

E2-FA4-P3 System Architecture for Design Advisors

Project Title	System Architecture for Design Advisors
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Define a common framework for the development of “design advisors” to be used in design software. Deliverables: White paper defining standard approaches and functional requirements.
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Simplify effort needed to incorporate best practices, rules-bases and standard approaches into software used in the design environment. Business Drivers: Improved quality and consistency in design work; capture of institutional knowledge for future design training and work.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties with Element 8, Element 9 specific projects TBD; FA3-P2, FA3-P4, FA4-P4, FA4-P6. b) Providing incentive to software suppliers at the completion of this effort to incorporate requirements into existing or new products.
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Medium/Long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Assemble team of industry representatives from detail design engineering firms and software vendors; potentially include university participants 2) Develop functional requirements and preferred behaviours 3) Execute study 4) Follow-up with FIATECH membership and software suppliers
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members  Organizations: EPCs, Software suppliers, and universities

E2-FA4-P4 Automated Detailed Design Systems

Project Title	Automated Detail Design Systems
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Define how automated systems will perform the detailed functions of design based on a facility model, a rule base and unique project requirements. Deliverables: White paper defining standards and functional requirements
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Lower cost of detail design, improve quality. Business Drivers: Lowered cost for detail design in high cost work centers (North America, Central/Western Europe) and increased quality and consistency of work product from low cost work centers (Asia/Pac, Southeast Asia, etc), overall shortened design schedules and faster time to market for owners’ products.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties with Element 3, Element 8, Element 9 specific projects TBD; FA3-P2, FA3-P4, FA3-P6, FA3-P8, FA4-P5, FA4-P6, FA4-P9. b) Providing incentive to software suppliers at the completion of this effort to incorporate requirements into existing or new products.
Urgency / Timeline (when)	High/Short term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Identify team 2) Execute study 3) Follow-up with FIATECH membership and software suppliers
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members Organizations: EPCs, Software suppliers

E2-FA4-P5 Automated Change Management

Project Title	Automated Change Management
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Identify and address approaches to address knock-on effect caused by change management systems. Deliverables: White paper defining standards and functional requirements.
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Improve upon gaps that exist within current commercial solutions. Business Drivers: Improve ability of EPCs to meet schedule and project costs, minimize field rework and change requests, meet owner’s need for market window and, in regulated industries, compliance with governmental configuration management requirements.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties with Element 3, Element 4, Element 9 specific projects TBD; FA3-P2, FA3-P4, FA3-P6, FA3-P8, FA4-2, FA4-P4, FA4-P6. b) Legal/regulatory community involvement around contract and scope definition.
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Medium/Long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Identify team 2) Execute study 3) Follow-up with FIATECH membership and software suppliers
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members Organizations: Owners, EPCs, Software supplier’s, governmental regulatory agencies or consultants

E2-FA4-P6 Design/Reuse Capability

Project Title	Design/Reuse Capability
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Define methodology and functional requirements for reuse of design information from intelligent design systems. . Deliverables: a) White paper defining functional requirements b) Proto-types of systems
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Deliverable to software providers for inclusion/development of existing or new systems Business Drivers: Design execution cost reduction through the reuse of previous designs.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties with Element 1, Element 9 specific projects TBD. b) Providing incentive to software suppliers at the completion of this effort to incorporate requirements into existing or new products c) Alignment in the industry around terms and definition associated with design reuse.
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Medium/Long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Form team 2) Develop functional description of system requirements 3) Solicit Universities for participation or use concept to design competitions 4) Seek funding 5) Develop proto-types 6) Document the results 7) Follow-up with FIATECH membership and software suppliers 8) Provide incentives to the software vendors to further develop the proto-type for inclusion in existing/new design systems
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members Organizations: Owners, EPCs, Software supplier’s, and universities

E2-FA4-P7 Intelligent Capital Projects Design Models

Project Title	Intelligent Capital Projects Design Models
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Define the requirements of the incorporation and/or integration of intelligent design models with automated cost estimating applications for the purposes of the creation of cost-optimized projects (either for total installed cost or life cycle cost). Deliverables: White paper defining standards and functional requirements.
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Improved ability to accurately estimate total installed and life cycle cost of a facility and to use those costs as a design parameter for use by the design system. Business Drivers: Improved use of project capital, reduced risk and better view of project contingencies.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Ties with Element 1, Element 5, Element 9 specific projects TBD; FA3-P3, FA3-P4, FA4-P4, FA4-P5, FA4-P6.. b) Providing incentive to software suppliers at the completion of this effort to incorporate requirements into existing or new products.
Urgency / Timeline (when)	Low/Long term
Process / Activities (how)	1) Identify team 2) Execute study 3) Follow-up with FIATECH membership and software suppliers
Resources (who)	Individuals: FIATECH members Organizations:  Owners, EPCs, Software suppliers

E2-FA5: Create and Maintain a Design Automation Information Clearinghouse

Projects:

 E2-FA5-P1 Populate  a Design Automation Information Clearinghouse

Project Title	Populate a design automation information clearinghouse
Objective / Deliverables (what result)	Objective: Share  design automation information across the industry Deliverables: A populated  clearinghouse providing design automation information to industry members.
Purpose / Business Driver(s) (why)	Purpose: Available and current design automation information to those who need it. Utilize and leverage other work within the industry. Business Drivers: Reduce time spent searching for design automation information and tools.
Ties / Dependencies / Overlaps (constraints, boundaries)	a) Element 9 or possibly buildingSMART Alliance provides the technical framework for the clearinghouse.
Urgency / Timeline (when)
Process / Activities (how)	1) Prepare a specification of features and functionality desired for the design automation information clearinghouse, which will be accessible via the Web. 2) Develop a knowledge management approach to create a common template, populate and maintain the clearinghouse. 3) Prepare guidelines for evaluating information and vendor materials proposed for posting. The guidelines should ensure the value of the clearinghouse for industry stakeholders and prevent it from becoming a dumping ground for vendor marketing materials while providing equal access to software vendors providing products that support design automation for the capital projects industry. The working group will review and approve information proposed for inclusion. 4) Establish a research network tied to educational institutes, government branches, and private not-for-profit organizations to provide the industry with pertinent information associated with each focus area in Element 2. 5) Identify potential funding sources for the creation and ongoing maintenance of the design automation information clearinghouse. 6) Create the clearinghouse, populate it and operate/maintain it.
Resources (who)	Individuals: (people who want to work on this project) Organizations: buildingSMART Alliance and organizations working this topic already

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