Pervasive Production Space: An Innovative Information Technology Framework for Homebuilding

这项研究的总体目标是通过使用创新的信息技术工具，实现在住房建设过程中随时随地提供适当信息的愿景。该项目的愿景将通过开发普适生产空间(PPS)来实现，用于构建使用普适计算这一新兴领域的代码遵从性结果。这项研究将集中于开发和确定普适计算范例、方法论、设计工具和技术，以实现美国住宅建筑业的这一愿景。项目愿景最终可以应用于住宅建设过程的所有阶段，包括土地开发、房屋设计、施工前、建筑施工和施工后。虽然普适计算一般适用于结构化的家庭和办公室环境，但这项研究将通过其在“非结构化”生产环境中的应用来扩展此类计算理论的基本基础。这项拟议研究的学术价值还与其确认了关于住宅建筑行业实施IT的价值的广泛持有但缺乏充分证明的假设有关。拟议研究的更广泛影响是戏剧性的。住房是人类的基本需求。目前的管理方法导致建造新住房单位的周期时间增加，成本也随之增加。提出者估计，由于通信导致的周期时间浪费，约有900亿美元的过剩资本被困在该行业。这笔资金可以用于经济中的其他用途，对房价的影响将提高全国的负担能力。所提出的数据收集策略将为住宅建设的课堂教学提供重要的素材，并通过开展研究来改进教育方法。建议者将尽一切努力广泛传播结果；行业合作伙伴审查的积极数据可能是一个令人信服的工具，推动其他建筑商寻求类似的合作伙伴关系，这反过来可能导致更广泛的合作伙伴关系。围绕核心研究活动开展的其他重要活动将确保将研究与教育结合起来，让具有不同背景和职业抱负的人参与进来，建立有利的基础设施，从长远来看促进和维持创新，以及将创新扩散产生的需求转化为新的业务。

The overall goal of this research is to realize the vision of making appropriate information available anywhere, anytime in the homebuilding process through the use of innovative information technology tools. The project vision will be accomplished through the development of a Pervasive Production Space (PPS) for building code compliance results that uses the emerging field of pervasive computing. This research will focus upon the development and identification of pervasive computing paradigms, methodologies, design tools and technologies to meet this vision for the US homebuilding industry. The project vision can ultimately apply to all phases of the homebuilding process including land development, house design, pre-construction, building construction, and post-construction. While pervasive computing is being generally adapted to structured home and office environments, this research will expand fundamental underpinnings of such computing theory through its application in an "unstructured" production environment. The intellectual merit of the proposed research also relates to its confirmation of widely held, but insufficiently documented, hypotheses about the value of IT implementation in the residential construction industry. The broader impacts of the proposed research are dramatic. Housing is a basic human need. Current management methods have led to an increase in the cycle time for the construction of new housing units, and a concomitant increase in the cost. The proposers estimate that some $90B in excess capital is tied up in the industry due to communications-induced cycle time waste. This capital could be put to other uses in the economy, and the impact on housing prices would increase affordability nationwide. The proposed data collection strategies will provide significant material for classroom instruction in residential construction, improving education methods via conduct of the research. The proposers will make every effort to disseminate the results broadly; positive data vetted by industry partners could be a compelling tool to drive other builders to seek similar partnerships, which could in turn lead to wider partnerships. Revolving around the core research activity will be other important activities that will ensure integration of research and education, involvement of persons with diverse backgrounds and career aspirations, creation of an enabling infrastructure that will foster and sustain innovation in the long-term, and transformation of demand generated by diffusions of innovation into new businesses.