Keywords: model-based systems, bridge design, data standards, integrated systems.

The bridge engineering industry is facing unprecedented challenges to improve the efficiency and quality of bridge design and construction projects. To address these challenges, the industry is currently undergoing a paradigm shift that emphasizes the integration of project processes throughout projects life cycle. However, the objectives of this integration can hardly be realized without the use of integrated and interoperable software systems.

To reduce costs and improve project efficiency and quality, bridge designers need to adopt systems that can achieve close integration of various design and construction processes. Bridge design processes comprise a wide range of activities and are typically accomplished by a collaborative multi-disciplinary effort of several teams and organizations. Fragmentation of the industry has caused much inefficiency that can be primarily attributed to the "gaps" between the design and construction phases of a project. Project information typically flows from design to construction, with very costly and time-consuming feedback loops during the construction phase, in the form of change orders. Experience shows that project gaps have often resulted in project cost and time overruns, reduced quality and maintainability, and the inability to access and communicate project information in a systematic and timely fashion.

The bridge engineering industry has made significant investment and progress in developing software tools to support many project activities. Software applications typically use proprietary data models to represent much of the same data. Data exchange typically requires the output of one tool to be interpreted and transformed into another format, and re-entering a large part of the data into the other tool. This translation process is known to be inefficient, and prone to interpretation and mapping errors. Although translators that map between different file formats are common in the industry, differences in data models and semantics between software tools often lead to inaccurate mapping. Lack of interoperability and inefficient data exchange between software tools has been a major impediment to efficiently integrate and coordinate project processes.

This paper presents a model-based approach to facilitate the implementation of integrated bridge design systems that can support the processes of structural design, analysis, cost estimating, and construction scheduling. The approach aims to support efficient management of project information, the interoperation of function-specific software applications, and the collaboration of project teams. The approach involves the use of an integrated data model and a centralized project data repository, where project data can be efficiently managed and shared across various project processes. An integrated Bridge Core Model (BCM), based on the ISO 10303 Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP), has been developed to support the integration of bridge design processes. Four main views (or sub-schemas) have been identified to support the core model: structural design, structural analysis, construction scheduling, and cost estimating.

The BCM consists of definitions of bridge structural entities, data types, and procedures, as well as rules that define the relationships among these entities. The BCM schema has been developed based on analysis of data from several projects and reviewing the information requirements of several applications. A prototype software system that supports the design of concrete box girder bridges was implemented. The software included an object-oriented DBMS-based project data repository based on the proposed Bridge Core Model (BCM).

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