9309655 Fischer The recent years have seen the development of several knowledge- based scheduling systems that facilitate the integration of design information with the generation of construction schedules. This research proposes to extend the idea behind these planners and schedulers by adding detailed models of construction methods. Such knowledge is needed in model-based form to enhance the practicality of the schedules that are generated, and to overcome some of the limitations of heuristic systems. while the use of product models to represent design information has been well documented over the last few years, the formalization and implementation of detailed models of construction methods still represents a major challenge and opportunity. When interacting with a product model, such construction method models will be able to generate construction schedules and cost estimates almost instantly. This will enable project participants to explore more alternatives to a greater level of detail in less time. This will lead to projects that are more constuctible than some of today's projects which in turn will lead to a reduced total delivery time and cost for constructed facilities.
