U.S.-Switzerland Cooperative Research on Technology Strategies for Project Integration

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9400332 Tatum This award supports Professor C. B. Tatum of the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) of Stanford University to collaborate with Professor H. R. Schalcher and others of the Center for Integrated Planning in Construction (CIPCON) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. Professor Tatum is a recognized leader in the evaluation, understanding and modeling of innovation and the introduction of new technology in construction engineering. The Swiss group recently began a major research project to improve construction project performance through integrated planning and communication in the building process. They are testing this on a major commercial complex planned for construction in Switzerland. The collaboration provides Dr. Tatum a unique opportunity to extend and refine technologies and organization structures for implementing new technology developed at CIFE by applying them to the CIPCON project. A major barrier to improved performance in construction projects is fragmentation of activities by functional specialists over the various stages of the project. Advanced information technology can assist in meeting this major challenge, but the process of implementing such technology is poorly understood and the effort is frequently unsuccessful. This project will increase understanding of approaches for effective use of new technology to improve project performance in the vital construction industry. The U.S. has given substantial attention to Japanese research and relatively little to European work. In this area where European groups are world leaders, Dr. Tatum's participation will provide valuable insight into the European methods for innovation and the introduction of new technologies in their construction industry. ***