prodAEC
European Network for Product and Data Exchange, e-Work and e-Business in Architecture, Engineering and Construction.
Sponsor : | European Union, IST Programme |
Resources : | 14 partners |
Duration : | 24 months |
Project Summary :
The Architecture, Engineering and Construction sector - AEC - in Europe is one of the most important world-wide, with 26 million workers in the EU, depending directly or indirectly on it. However, due to the short term perspective of business partnerships, typical for the sector, as well as due to the sector's high fragmentation, it is difficult to harmonise inter-enterprise solutions long-term. Within the sector there is no single actor able to set the "rules of the game" (the largest companies within either national market in the EU have max. 5% market share).
In view of this, ProDAEC's main objective will be to set up and sustain a Thematic Network for the European AEC sector that promotes the use and implementation of standards and best practices regarding product data exchange, e-work and e-business. The project brings together material providers, construction companies, suppliers, designers, industrial federations, engineering consultancies, software vendors, R&D centres and universities from the EU and Enlargement countries.
Specific ProDAEC objectives are:
- To disseminate the activities of the Network and widen its membership to achieve critical mass within the sector;
- To pursue actively synergies with relevant players in other projects (e.g, ICCI, CONNET, GLOBEMEN, etc.);
- To strengthen the European contribution in standardisation bodies by supporting actively the development and further improvement of AEC related standards, the harmonisation of building classification systems and web-based product data libraries/services and by proposing data and message architectures for adoption of e-Business in AEC, based on standards;
- To transfer know-how and technology to the AEC industry, in particular SMEs, by promoting the adoption and implementation of standards and best practices.
- The creation of a Working Group (WP2 & WP3), structured in National Information Points, which will organise national interface points able to collect industry requirements, disseminate standards and best practices;
- The setting up of Working Groups of experts to evaluate and contribute towards standards, processes and workflow, and electronic business for the AEC sector (WP4, WP5);
- The management and promotion of the Thematic Network, through the establishment of liaisons with existing working groups in AEC and other related sectors (e.g. shipbuilding, furniture, ...), and the support to standards bodies (CEN, ISO).