EngD Position: Developing Information Management Infrastructure for Integrated Product Lifecycle Management of Modular Const.

The modular housing concept tries to shift the construction paradigm from engineering-to-order (ETO) production processes to configure-to-order. This, however, would require adoption of a product platform approach. One of the main requirements of this transition is to establish an integrated approach towards lifecycle information management. In other words, information regarding the products, the processes and the supply chains should be standardized and stored in information libraries to streamline the efficient (re)use of information within and across different projects/organization. However, while standard protocols and agreements are required to ensure a solid approach for creating, storing, (re)using, sharing and linking information in modular construction projects, such an approach is missing. At the moment, information is fragmented, i.e., internal and external stakeholders use their own software applications and protocols to create and store information, making it challenging to (re)use, share and link this information within projects and across the supply chain.

Previous research looked into the development of a comprehensive ontology for industrialised construction with the intention to streamline lifecycle data integration and to reduce fragmented data management. Nevertheless, these conceptual ontologies, i.e., data models, need to be mapped and retrofitted to the specific characteristics of individual users considering their specific needs and use cases. In other words, the introduction of an ontology into the data management of a specific company requires a dedicated implementation strategy.

One of the major contractors in the Netherlands that is busy with the modular housing is Heijmans. Heijmans has several modular housing concepts. These concepts are well suited for industrialized production methods. However, with a vision to achieve integrated product lifecycle management, Heijmans is willing to take a concrete step into the integration and implementation of an ontological approach into their modular construction concepts and projects. However, this would require further customization and incorporation of the ontology into Heijmans processes.