A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
The Eureka project EU130 "CIMsteel" is a visionary, Europe-wide collaboration. It will place the European constructional steelwork sector in a leading position to compete with both overseas steel construction industries and alternative construction materials.
The CIMsteel project will turn an insular craft industry, made up of many small and medium sized companies, into a state-of-the-art integrated manufacturing industry.
Improved integration will be achieved by developing methods for "Computer Integrated Manufacturing for Constructional Steelwork". These will streamline the process of integrating the life-cycle of structural steelwork projects, encompassing design, analysis, detailing, fabrication and erection.
The speed and quality of the entire construction process will be dramatically improved, benefiting both the sector and its customers. A sophisticated CIM system is essential to enable total integration of the information flow from client brief to finished steelwork structure.
More than forty-two organisations from eight European countries are collaborating to research and develop advanced but easy to use standards, methods and software to improve the effectiveness and competitiveness of the steelwork sector of the construction industry.
The CIMsteel Vision
- Faster design, manufacture and construction
- Improved, cheaper steelwork structures
- Unlocking potential for growth in the steelwork market
- Improved competitiveness in the world market
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The key areas of emphasis for the CIMsteel project are:
- to raise awareness within the constructional steelwork sector of the business advantages of integrating the design, manufacturing and management processes and of the concept of "Managing Information for Profit".
- to develop Information Models and Computer System Architectures, based on STEP{ (Standard for Product Representation and Exchange), to provide standards and a framework for the exchange of technical information between different software products used by different companies
- to exploit the opportunity provided by the introduction of European structural steelwork codes to develop integrated and harmonised design procedures, guides and aids for use in the collaborating countries
- to incorporate the design procedures and information exchange technology into new world class software
- to rationalise the provision and specifications of materials and products as part of the integration process
- the development of advanced databases, Management Information Systems (MIS) and related standards for the operation and production side of the sector which are compliant with the emerging Standards
- the development and demonstration of cost-effective Flexible Welding Cells and associated systems suitable for the constructional steelwork sector
- the preparation of guidelines for designing for production, automation and construction
- investigating the wider challenges and issues facing the construction industry today and recommending ways of addressing problems such as communication, international competition and the fragmentation of the sector.
IT AND THE BUSINESS OF CHANGE
With the digital transfer of information between different organisations now a technical possibility, the CIMsteel project is developing and promoting standard product descriptions or models which can be easily communicated in digital form.
The transfer of digital product models opens up a new set of opportunities and challenges. However, exploiting these will require change on the part of each individual business, its trading partners and ultimately the sector as a whole.
The CIMsteel project is examining ways in which the constructional steelwork sector currently exchanges information. The potential business benefits of adopting electronic exchange of information are being identified, along with any associated changes to working practices which might be involved.
Five levels of business transformation have been identified:
- Localised exploitation: introducing new technology, such as a new software product, into an existing organisation
- Internal integration: introducing digital information exchange or communication between different parts of a company, without affecting existing company organisation
- Business redefinition: re-organising a company and its way of doing business to maximise the advantages offered by new information technology
- Redesign external links: redefining links with other companies to enable digital transfer of information which was previously exchanged by traditional methods such as postal services
- Redefine the constructional steelwork sector: totally altering the way in which the sector operates. The long term and contractual relationships between companies, as well as simple information exchange, will be influenced by this. It is also expected that companies will exert a major influence on the way in which their trading partners operate their respective businesses.
A document detailing the results and recommendations of this study will be published in Summer 1994 and will be of interest to both the steelwork and wider construction industries.
Click here to see the list of CIMsteel Collaborators
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