Computer integrated construction: A review and proposals for future direction

We present a review of the computer integrated construction (CIC) research space spanning approximately 20 years. This review reveals a strong focus on data and application integration for most of that time. We argue that whilst valuable in its own right, such research and the software solutions it yields fall short of the potential for CIC, giving our rationale for these beliefs. Thus we propose a re-focussing of CIC research on the relatively under-represented area of semantically described and coordinated process oriented systems to better support the kind of short term virtual organisation that typifies the working environment in the construction sector. Finally we present an outline vision for such a system, supported by a generic system architecture and a simple business model for its deployment, noting opportunities for future work in its realisation.