ABSTRACT
Concurrent engineering technology has been developed substantially
in automotive and other manufacturing applications. It is now finding
applications in the construction industry in both the U.S. (El-Bibany
and Paulson, 1999; Pena-Mora and Hussein, 1999) and Japan
(Kaneta et al, 1999). The current prevailing practice is to complete
the design before the construction is started. But, changes in the
design might be necessary to improve the product or project even
after the construction has already begun. Successful application of
concurrent engineering in the construction industry should be based
on effective integration of the construction management and
scheduling with the design process (Adeli, 1999, 2000). Two
essential prerequisites for such an integration are a tool to automate
the complex process of engineering design and a tool for
construction scheduling, cost optimization and change order
management.
