ABSTRACT
The traditional system of construction, separates the the two main disciplines of design and construction. Normally the design is carried be a consultant and the construction is carried out by a contractor and rarely they communicate before the starting of the construction phase of the project. Designers in most cases lacks construction experiences, and construction expert knowledge is not available for junior designers, therefore they do not take into account the construction methods during the design stage of the project. As a result of this the construction industry is suffering from design complexity, increasing costs and longer construction durations. To overcome this problem, it is necessary to incorporate construction knowledge as part of process of design. Artificial intelligence (AI) and expert system techniques can be applied to make the construction knowledge available to assist the design engineer in evaluating the constructability of a selected design detail. The use of Expert Systems in construction is not new. These systems have been developed either as stand alone modules or integrated with commercially available algorithmic software systems. This paper focuses on integrating construction expertise with the design process at the detail design phase. It also describes the development of a PC-based expert system for the assessment of the constructability of a design detail. Knowledge for this particular domain was gained from design engineers, architects, and field practitioners such as site and planning engineers. The development of the appropriate knowledge acquisition and integration techniques are covered. The system is tested with practitioners and novices and the concept of consultation is validated.
