ITcon Vol. 6, pg. 83-110, http://www.itcon.org/2001/8

Enabling the construction virtual enterprise: the OSMOS approach

submitted:July 2001
revised:October 2001
published:December 2001
editor(s):Rezgui Y and Zarli A
authors:Ian Wilson, Research Fellow
Information Systems Institute, University of Salford, UK
email: i.e.wilson@salford.ac.uk http://www.isi.salford.ac.uk/staff/iw/

Simon Harvey, Research Fellow
Information Systems Institute, University of Salford, UK
email: s.harvey@salford.ac.uk http://www.isi.salford.ac.uk/staff/sh/

Rémi Vankeisbelck, Research Engineer
CSTB - Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, Sophia Antipolis, France
email: r.vankeisbelck@cstb.fr http://cic.cstb.fr/ilc/people/rv/rv.htm

Abdul Samad (Sami) Kazi, Research Scientist
VTT - Technical Research Centre of Finland
email: Sami.Kazi@vtt.fi http://cic.vtt.fi/kazi
summary:This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the findings and results from the OSMOS (IST-1999-10491) project. OSMOS aims to highlight and go some way to meeting the needs of the industry by providing a set of tools, models, APIs and techniques to support the construction \"Virtual Enterprise\" (VE). Key to the OSMOS approach is that the tools will allow companies (especially SMEs) to partake in a project-based VE quickly and at a low entry-level. Through a combination of IDEF0 and UML modelling, within an iterative and incremental project methodology, the OSMOS consortium has elaborated a generic process model for the set-up and structuring of the construction Virtual Enterprise, which has formed the basis for the technical implementation of the tools and API. The tools, once designed, built, and made available for testing, have been evaluated within construction based case scenarios by end-users, and subsequently refined and re-tested. The resultant solution being offered through the OSMOS approach will involve some potential process changes within the companies wishing to take part in the VE, and the project aims to provide a proposed migration path to this end.
keywords:construction, virtual enterprise, API, Internet- based services, information modelling
full text: (PDF file, 0.503 MB)
citation:Wilson I, Harvey S, Vankeisbelck R and Kazi A S (2001). Enabling the construction virtual enterprise: the OSMOS approach, ITcon Vol. 6, Special issue Information and Communication Technology Advances in the European Construction Industry, pg. 83-110, https://www.itcon.org/2001/8