USING ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE FOR CONCURRENT DESIGN IN THE STEEL BUILDING-INDUSTRY

The ability to communicate clearly is vital to any quality engineered project. Because of the high degree of interdependency among activitie s in the concurrent design of complex engineering systems, the ability to coordinate and synchronize communication among design team members is crucial. The computer-based tool, SteelTeam, is under development and integrates knowledge-based expert systems with a computer-aided de sign and drafting environment to create a system that helps bridge com munication gaps in the steel building industry. SteelTeam makes design , fabrication, and construction knowledge available to each of the par ties involved in the steel building design. In addition, SteelTeam pro vides a standard format for the design information that is passed betw een parties during the design process. The completeness of this inform ation is crucial to the generation of design alternatives, which are n ecessary to ensure that the optimum product is developed. By looking a t the issues involved in concurrent engineering, it is possible to ide ntify areas whose improvement leads to faster product development, low er cost, and improved productivity. These issues are addressed by Stee lTeam through improved communication between the parties involved in t he design of the steel building.