FIATECH
Data Exchange Standards Activity

Planning
Pre-Project Planning Map the Decision Pocess - This project described and mapped the decision-making process including participants, timing, milestones, inputs and outputs. COMPLETED.

Product and Process Survey and Analysis - This project identified and evaluated commercially-available, decision-modeling products capable of analyzing the particular complex nature of facilities and the interrelated variables. A second purpose of the evaluation was to decide if commercially-available models are adequate to meet our objectives or if additional development of decision models for this type of situation is needed. COMPLETED.

Design
Design Project Management Automated Design Workflow Mapping and Checklists - Project startup is critical to the overall success of project execution. Unfortunately, all too often, there is insufficient time to get organized before work commences. Starting work without awareness of overall workflow requirements can result in rework, which is inefficient and costs money. This project is addressing the configuration and startup phase of project execution by providing boilerplates for common work exchanges and supporting checklists to make communication, setup and coordination easier. ACTIVE.
Design BIM for Precast Concrete (BPC) - This project defined the functional requirements for a Building Information Modeling (BIM) standard for precast concrete, focusing on the multiple exchanges between the architect and the precast contractor. It documented the process and workflows, and monitored the costs and benefits associated with the new data representation. It also incorporated the results into the National BIM Standard. It is the first module of the NBIMS and will be used by designers, fabricators, contractors, owners and software developers. COMPLETED.
Code Compliance Streamlining the Building and Land Use Regulatory Processes - This is a new project chartered to offer streamlining and use of automated technologies in the nation's building regulatory system that is compatible with the development and application of automated technologies within building construction, operations and maintenance. Elements of the project include:
  • Coordinating the development of a national Building Regulatory Technology Roadmap that integrates with FIATECH's Capital Projects Technology Roadmap.
  • Linking and better coordinating streamlining and automated technology efforts between government and the private sector.
  • Creating new projects to accelerate research, development and deployment of integrated technology in the capital projects industry and in government building and land use regulatory programs.
  • Strategic opportunities to grow the membership to include state and local municipalities and engage them in existing FIATECH projects and activities that will add value to their construction and building operation's programs.
ACTIVE
Documentation FIATECH and NIST developed a Capital Facilities Information Handover Guide. This guide explains the main issues in determining strategies for the handover of capital facility information and illustrates the use of available classification systems and reference data libraries for the delivery of capital facility information. FIATECH is now working on the development of a Part 2 for plants. COMPLETED.

Preconstruction
Scheduling Map the Decision Pocess - This project described and mapped the decision-making process including participants, timing, milestones, inputs and outputs. COMPLETED.

Product and Process Survey and Analysis - This project identified and evaluated commercially-available, decision-modeling products capable of analyzing the particular complex nature of facilities and the interrelated variables. A second purpose of the evaluation was to decide if commercially-available models are adequate to meet our objectives or if additional development of decision models for this type of situation is needed. COMPLETED.

Construction
Procurement Automating Equipment Information Exchange (AEX) - This project is developing, demonstrating and deploying eXtensible Markup Language (XML) specifications to automate information exchange for the design, procurement, delivery, operation and maintenance of engineered equipment. ACTIVE.

Global Valve Cross-Reference eCatalog (GVCC) - The GVCC leverages and builds upon the Process Industries Practices (PIP) reference valve catalog and FIATECH’s automating equipment information exchange (AEX) XML protocols. The GVCC will enable participating companies to automatically cross-match their internal valve catalogs and technical specifications with their business collaboration partners via a common cross-match to an electronic version of the PIP valve catalog. ACTIVE.
Construction Management Leveraging Technology to Improve Construction Productivity (ICP) - This project was conducted as a joint venture between FIATECH and CII, identified the impacts that changes in equipment, material, and information technologies have had on construction productivity. The project adapted existing tools and developed a metric to quantify the type and level of technology usage. Since a multitude of factors simultaneously impact a project's productivity, including work force characteristics and management practices, it is difficult to isolate technology's impact on productivity. Therefore, the project utilized an activity-based analysis in order to control for the number of factors that influence productivity at the project level. Correlating changes in technology with changes in productivity through statistical analysis allowed the project team to identify the order of magnitude that different technological characteristics have had on construction productivity, which forms the foundation for a model to assist future planning and implementation of new technologies. The model was validated and expanded through field testing of a material tracking system. COMPLETED.

Smart Chips - This project investigates commercial-ready and near-ready radio frequency identification (RFID) and sensor technologies that can be easily adapted for field construction and O&M applications. ACTIVE.

Valuing Emerging Technologies (VET) - This project Identified and assessed the potential value of emerging technology applications in facility logistics, construction, operations and related applications. COMPLETED.

Adoption of Mobile IT - In order to provide business benefit, the increase of the acceptance and uptake of new mobile technologies, within the construction industry, is needed. Key barriers and enablers to the adoption and diffusion of innovative mobile IT, and in particular to the ‘point of activity’ worker, are being identified. By increasing the attractiveness of the industry to new entrants, particuarly graduates, further development of mobile technologies will flourish. This project will produce A detailed analysis of case studies to result in best practice guides that can be used directly by the construction industry. ACTIVE

Ongoing Operations
Asset Management Accelerating Deployment of ISO 15926 (ADI) - This project is using the ISO Standard 15926 for process industry lifecycle information integration as a foundation to establish an online Work-In-Progress (WIP) ISO 15926 repository that is continuously evolving with input from the domain experts for the information models and state-of-the-art software tools and methodology. ACTIVE.

Capital Projects Technology Roadmap - This project established a consensus vision for the capital projects industry and a unifying initiative to achieve the vision. ACTIVE.

Operational Facility Roadmap Directory - This project is assessing the current state of Intelligent buildings and Intelligent Building Roadmaps to envision future capital facilities that will be programmed, designed and constructed to be an intelligent integrated system of systems. These intelligent systems will utilize data flow from self monitored equipment and systems to manage actions and ensure conditions and performance necessary to enable safe, secure, and continuously optimized facility operations. Several organizations are working on different aspects of Intelligent Buildings and FIATECH plans to review what is being done, determine what gaps exist, how these gaps should be addressed, and how it all fits into the FIATECH Capital Projects Technology Roadmap. Information and data transfer leads to interoperability; one of FIATECH’s imperatives. ACTIVE.

Data Standards Clearinghouse - This project developed an online information resource of standards bodies, their current activities, and their ongoing activities. COMPLETED.

Attracting the Next Generation - To collectively achieve synergy in recruiting the next generation workforce in technology-related fields by creating a shared resource that will be available to all in an interactive and flexibly manner. ACTIVE

Teaching Core Technology Competencies - The objective of this project is to identify unique (i.e. university, trade unions) programs and techniques used to teach design and construction technology to serve the capital projects industry.in order to achieve a better educated workforce. ACTIVE.

Life Cycle Data Management (LCDM) - Initiated in early 1999, originally through the Owner Operators Forum, this project was focused on significantly reducing facility creation and operation, time and cost by building tools to integrate disparate technologies and business processes across the entire plant lifecycle. COMPLETED.