doi:10.3850/978-981-08-7920-4_S1-C06-cd

ABSTRACT

This article describes a project that was implemented to demonstrate various characteristics of Construction Smart Forms. The idea is based on the fact that a large amount of data in a construction project is alphanumerical and is gathered by fillable forms. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has made major improvements in data interoperability for geometrical data and 3D models. But for expanding its reach to contain all information shared in a construction project during its lifetime, and beyond, it needs to provide standards and solutions for all the data shared in the projects. eXtended Markup Language (XML) is the most recognized tool for data sharing in Information Technology (IT) industry and must be used alongside Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) to empower BIMfor reaching its full potential. There are efforts underway to develop XML schemas as global standards for data exchanged in construction projects. The paper explains applications andmethods that were selected from among different available solutions for developing the Smart Form system. A prototype system was implemented on data in a set of fillable forms that were used in selecting the best project delivery method. It is suggested that for reaching the full potential of Construction Smart forms they must be datacentric, dynamic, use standard XML schemas when applicable, use Web Services Definition Language (WSDL) technology when appropriate, and contain rule checking when possible. Adding each of these improvements can make a form more Smart and efficient.

Keywords: Construction smart forms, Database, BIM, XML, Interoperability, Document Object Model (DOM), Java.

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