This thesis presents a solution for integrating document handling technologies within the construction industry using metadata in a novel way and providing a working solution in the form of an application called Columbus. The research analyses in detail the problem of project collaboration. It concentrates on the usage of document management, project hosting and document control systems as important enabling technologies. The creation, exchange and recording of information are addressed as key factors for having a unified document handling solution. Metadata is exploited as a technology providing for effective open information exchange within and between project participants. The technical issues relating to the use of metadata are addressed at length. The Columbus application is presented as a working solution to this problem. Columbus is currently used by over 20000 organisations in 165 countries and has become a standard for information exchange. The main benefit of Columbus has been in getting other project participants to send metadata with their electronic documents and in dealing with project archival. This has worked very well on numerous projects, saving countless man-hours of data input time, document cataloguing and searching. The application is presented in detail from both commercial and technical perspectives and is shown as an open solution, which can be extended by third parties. The commercial success of Columbus is discussed by means of a number of reviews and case studies that cover its usage within the industry. In 2000, it was granted an Institution of Civil Engineers' Special Award in recognition of its contribution to the Latham and Egan initiatives for facilitating information exchange within the construction industry.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:571394 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Herrero, Juan Jose |
| Contributors | Woollard, Christopher |
| Publisher | University of Greenwich |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://gala.gre.ac.uk/8671/ |
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