Keywords: technical data management systems, online project management tools,.

Our paper aims to establish a state of the art of the information systems available today in the building construction sector. First, it focuses on online project management tools (OPM) and shows how useful such tools can be in the Supply Chain Management in the building construction. Second, the paper presents the contribution of our research work to the description of the built elements on the building site where information are shared by partners who are distant from one another and focused on fields of expertise that are distinct but concurrent. Our research work focuses on the description of the works or elements built on the site, taking into account the technical data needed in the different phases of the Supply Chain Management cycle in the building construction field. Our model also emphasizes on the building construction related activities. Our aim is to provide support to the exchange and sharing of data in CAD applications of to devise a program that could be used when building the works. A model will be produced from the results from the "Communication and CAD tools" program currently carried out in the UMR MAP laboratory which enables a description of the building work by each entity involved in its construction (spaces, works, manufactured goods, etc).

The objective is to devise a conceptual data model for the works (walls, partitions, floors, etc.) and to control the validity of information in real time. The main goal of our work is to complement the central database initiated in the "Communication and CAD tools" program. This database will be implemented using CAD, stock management, cost and project management package systems. It shall improve communication and data exchange between the many processes of the project. In the long run, this conceptual data model shall be used to experiment a Supply Chain Management tool for the building cosntruction industry. Its purpose will be to improve the performance of the various actors of the building production in all phases and situations: on the building site, in the management, operation or maintenance of the built work.

This "product/project modelling" oriented model will make it possible to identify the various tasks related to the work completion process, to issue building or work wompletion schedules and to calculate the resources and cost for each phase. This specific question is of high interest to the building managers as they consider these future tools a way to reach true traceability of the works and the decisions they are based on.

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