Keywords: programming, planning, linear work, civil engineering, time chainage, 4D, virtual reality.

The technique for the representation of the information based on the time chainage diagrams [1] is the most common approach, over other more traditional systems such as networks (P.E.R.T., C.P.M., dependences, etc.) or the Gantt charts, for the development of linear work planning. Although the use of time chainage diagrams can control small variations in construction works, these diagrams are widely used for the development of linear works.

The development of a software tool that allows the management of linear works by the use of this technique is a problem that has not been solved for general cases [2]. Although there are several commercial software applications that work with time chainage diagrams, all of them show limitations that make their use infeasible in a general practice setting. Visual 4D Civil Works is a software framework that solves many these problems, allowing the user to plan building work designs with the interactive time chainage diagrams and to visualize them by means of four-dimensional techniques.

Most of the available commercial software products lack a general solution to convert time chain diagrams into bar char representations, which can be opened using standard project management applications such as Microsoft Project or Primavera Project Planner. These shortcomings are related to the problem of updating the bar chart representations in real-time as the users modify the associated time chain diagram. As a result of this accused necessity, a software application called Visual 4D Civil Works has been developed. This software permits the development of construction plans based on time chainage diagrams by exporting bar chart representations as well achieving a real-time interface with the user.

Concerning the four-dimensional representations, construction requires the problem of allocation of three-dimensional models to activities and their later representation. Nevertheless, civil work includes non static work units and also dynamic units, whose geometry varies with the plan of the work. An embankment or clearing unit is an example. In this case, the four-dimensional visualization is much more complex and it is not totally solved either by other commercial programs. Visual 4D Civil Works deals with this problem including the implementation of an editor oriented to dynamic models.

1

M.J. Mawdesley, W.H. Askew, J. Lees, J. Taylor, C.M. Stevens, "Time Chainage Charts for Scheduling Linear Projects", Computing in Civil Engineering: Computers in Engineering Practice, American Society of Civil Engineers, 613-620, 1989.

2

J. Porkka, K. Kähkönen, "Software development approaches and challenges of 4D product models", Proceedings of 24th W78 Conference Maribor 2007 Bringing ITC Knowledge to Work, 85-90, Maribor, Slovenia, June 2007.

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