Construction in all advanced industrial societies is fragmented. On a single project, a variety of design technologies reside within different AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) firms which are frequently dispersed geographically (and increasingly internationally). Coordination during design and construction can be enhanced via electronic networking among the various AEC firms and the project manager. This paper is a description of a prototype CAD (computer-aided design) conferencing system jointly developed by CSIRO and Telecom Research Laboratories capable of operating on high-speed wide area networks (WANs) linking heterogeneous CAD platforms (hardware, software, networks). It represents a new paradigm in construction, introducing the potential of virtual private networks—project WANs for virtual organisations formed as a result of strategic alliances between individual AEC firms which come together for a particular joint venture. The technical as well as management issues to be resolved and document costs and benefits of CAD conferencing versus traditional methods of operation are all highlighted.
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