Tbe SMART system project: a strategy for management of information andautomation technology in computer integrated construction

摘要

In today's construction industry, information and automation technology must be viewed as potential resources. Computer Integrated Construction (CIC) is an emerging technology, and it is an approach to assisting construction f m s respond to the difficult environment in which they are operating currently. There is no standard formula for CIC. A strategy for implementing CIC should be formulated, and promoted at the highest company level. To demonstrate the concept of CIC, a prototype system should be introduced to investigate integration problems. It only presents a way of approaching the CIC. SMART (Shimizu Manufacturing system by Advanced Robotics Technology) system is a part of Shimizu s strategy for developing CIC based on site automation systems which automates a wide range of construction process. It also integrates a wide range of design, planning and management activities of the project. By introducing SMART system, amount of labour required and the construction period are both reduced significantly, and the planning and management productivity is increased. The objective of this paper is to describe the strategy in management of information and automation technology development from a Japanese construction company' s view point, and to present a prototype made1 for CIC implementation. Although the prototype system is not established as a comprehensive system, it can be viewed as a strategy toward a total CIC.