The Sustainable Management of Civil Infrastructure: A Methodology and Testbed to Bridge Information Technology and Application

该奖项是为了支持美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的项目ENG-CISE-IITA94， National Challenges。这是工程局和计算机信息与工程局的联合倡议。民用基础设施系统是大型的、复杂的、异构的、分布式的、动态的系统，它影响技术、环境、社会、政治和经济因素，也受到这些因素的影响。例子包括通信系统、道路、桥梁以及水、气和电的分配。这类系统的生命周期包括设计、建造、操作、维护、修理、修复和处置。在整个这些阶段，需要在分布的、不同的专家组之间进行协调，以产生高效、具有成本效益和可持续的做法和成果。为了应对这些挑战，成功的信息技术应用程序必须同时解决技术问题（信息技术的设计和实现）和社会问题（涉及对人类问题解决、工作实践、通信和组织结构的考虑）。这里讨论的解决方案是团队工程分析和建模方法，用于组织中信息技术的设计和应用，以及信息基础设施中先前工作的集成和扩展；包括集成和促进团队的系统工作台（SWIFT）、代理协作环境（ACE）和由美国陆军建筑工程研究实验室（CERL）开发的工程管理系统。该陆军实验室开发了ACE和一套与军事背景下民用基础设施设计和管理相关的软件应用程序。这些现有的软件系统为拟议的信息基础设施技术的发展提供了重要的基础。团队工程方法论侧重于在可用的媒体、技术和组织结构的背景下，对人类团队中的活动和沟通进行建模；以及技术可能性与交流和工作实践之间不断发展的相互关系。本项目将此方法应用于乔治亚州戈登堡天然气管道和道路系统可持续管理的具体案例，该项目被陆军指定为21世纪的“示范设施”，因此致力于使用先进的信息技术。这种“受控”的环境提供了一个很好的机会，可以在应用信息技术解决民用基础设施可持续管理问题方面进行试验。该项目的目标是通过(1)团队工程的方法论来支持土木基础设施的可持续管理——包括工作实践的研究、问题解决、协调和组织中技术的使用，以及新技术基础设施的部署和管理；(2)集成和进一步发展先进的信息技术，支持团队决策和信息共享；(3)该部署方法和信息技术在乔治亚州戈登堡民用基础设施系统中的应用和演示。该项目有助于(1)复杂系统中人类协调和技术交互的基本知识，(2)适用于其他大型复杂系统的信息基础设施设计和部署范例，以及(3)将该方法和技术实际应用于国家重要问题，即民用基础设施的可持续管理。

9422730 Lu This award is made in support of the NSF initiative ENG-CISE-IITA94, National Challenges. It is a joint initiative between the Engineering Directorate and the Computer Information and Engineering Directorate. Civil infrastructure systems are large, complex, heterogeneous, distributed, dynamic systems that affect, and are affected by, technological, environmental, social, political, and economic factors. Examples include communication systems, roads, bridges, and the distribution of water, gas and electricity. The life cycle of such systems includes design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, and disposal. Throughout these phases, coordination among distributed, diverse groups of experts is required to yield efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable practices and outcomes. To meet these challenges, successful information technology applications must address issues that are both technical (the design and implementation of information technology) and social (involving consideration of human problem solving, work practices, communication, and organizational structures). The solution addressed here is the Team Engineering Analysis and Modeling methodology for design and application of information technology in organizations, and the integration and extension of previous work in information infrastructure; including the System Workbench for Integrating and Facilitating Teams (SWIFT), Agent Collaboration Environment (ACE), and engineering management systems developed by the U. S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL). This army laboratory has developed ACE and a suite of software applications related to the design and management of civil infrastructure in a military context. These existing software systems provide a significant base for the development of the propoqed information infrastructure technology. The team engineering methodology focuses on the modeling of activity and communication within human teams, in the context of avail able media, technology, and organizational structures; and the evolving interrelationships between technological possibilities and communicative and work practices. This project applies this methodology to the specific case of the sustainable management of the gas pipeline and road systems of Fort Gordon, Georgia, which is designated by the Army as a "Model Installation" for the 21st century and is thus committed to the use of advanced information technology. This "controlled" environment provides an outstanding opportunity to conduct experiments in the application of information technology to the problems of the sustainable management of civil infrastructure. The objective of this project is to support the sustainable management of civil infrastructure via (1) a methodology for team engineering -- both the study of work practices, problem solving, coordination, and use of technology in an organization, and the deployment and management of new technological infrastructure; (2) the integration and further development of advanced information technology to support team decision making and information sharing; and (3) the application and demonstration of this deployment methodology and information technology to the civil infrastructure system at Fort Gordon, Georgia. This project contributes to (1) fundamental knowledge of human coordination and interaction with technology in complex systems, (2) a paradigm of information infrastructure design and deployment applicable to other large-scale complex systems, and (3) the practical application of this methodology and technology to an issue of National importance, namely the sustainable management of civil infrastructure.