PDT Days 1998 - Programme and Booking Form

European Conference
Product Data Technology Days 1998

24/25 - 26 March 1998
Building Research Establishment
Garston, Watford, UK

The 1998 European Event for
Managers, Developers,
and Users of Product Data Technology,
and STEP (ISO 10303)

PROGRAMME and
BOOKING FORM

The Time is Now ...

Continuing the work of
PDTAG-AM
Product Data Technology
Advisory Group
ESPRIT 9049

This event is co-organised with the
European Commission, DG III (Industry)

Product Data Technology

European Product Data Technology Days is an annual event, previously organised by PDTAG. Now the PDTAG project has concluded, the continuity of this highly successful event is being maintained by QMS. PDT Days will continue to provide an opportunity for the business, industrial, and scientific communities to report, monitor, and discuss the increasingly rapid progress made in PDT methodologies and its industrial/commercial applications.

Following the success of the PDTAG project as a whole, PDT Days 1998 will continue to provide a platform to launch PDT developments into the marketplace which show tangible business benefits, and invites developers and users to progress PDTAG’s "Visions 2000" theme into reality.

Product Data Technology includes all aspects of the defining and processing of information pertinent to a product throughout its development and operational life. PDT thus includes the entire product information required from early conception to eventual disposal of the product. PDT provides a unified perspective for all elements in this domain and offers a sound strategy for integrating and re-engineering the business processes related to the product through its entire life-cycle. Effective application of PDT means reduced costs and faster times to market, and the time to make the most of the opportunities from PDT implementation, is now ...

PDT is strongly supported by the international product data definition standard 'STEP' - ISO 10303, but it is by no means limited to the scope of STEP. The need for a concerted use of several existing standards and technologies (e.g. EXPRESS, HTML, etc) is recognised in the business community and will form an important theme for the Conference, along with new initiatives such as AI, IiM, etc.

The rôle of PDTAG

PDTAG - the Product Technology Advisory Group was an 'Accompanying Measure' ESPRIT Project (no. 9049), whose goals included the promotion of European co-operation on Product Data Technology, especially in standardisation, the improvement of the European PDT infrastructure, and dissemination of information. PDTAG was a three year project which ended in July 1997. A proposal is already in course of preparation to continue this work with a second PDTAG project, which, like the original, will consist of a working team in several work packages who will take responsibility for organising conferences, workshops, tutorials, and other PDT co-ordination and communication actions. PDT Days 1998 provides the continuity link between these activities.

PDT Days Exhibition and PISTEP Showcase

The exhibition at PDT Days 1998 will combine with the UK PISTEP Technology Showcase event, and will include live demonstrations of many of the projects presented during the conference sessions, and practical 'hands-on' experience of the latest STEP software developments. If your organisation would like to participate in the exhibition, or if you require more information about sponsorship opportunities at PDT Days 1998, please contact the Organisers, QMS, on +44 1252 878482, or tick the appropriate box on the booking form, or Email: billm@qmsstep.demon.co.uk

Conference objectives

The overall aim of the Conference is to raise awareness within industrial and commercial enterprises, of the business advantages that can be achieved by adopting and using modern PDT methods, and to share experiences on how measurable benefits can be realised. This topic is of particular relevance at a time when many companies are about to enter into a new generation of PDT methodology, and realise the business opportunities achievable by implementation of the latest product data technologies. The time to seize the opportunities from PDT implementation, is now ...

Who should attend?

The 1998 PDT Conference is for Managers, Developers, Project Engineers, and Electronic Data Technologist who are involved in developing and introducing technologies such as Concurrent Enterprise, STEP, BPR, EDI, Data Warehousing, 'virtual offices', and other 'product data-dependent' business innovations.

The 1998 PDT Conference is expected to attract more than 150 delegates from the major engineering business sectors of Process Engineering, Aerospace, Building and Construction, Automotive, Ship Building, Power Generation, Petrochemical, and Manufacturing.

Attendance Costs and Payment

Cost of attendance at this two day event is Ł480*. This delegate fee includes all refreshments and lunches on both days, a delegate case with copy of Proceedings and copy of PDTAG video, and free access to the PDT Days/PISTEP exhibition.
To register, use booking form attached.

A discount of Ł100 is offered for all bookings received before 31 January 1998*, and

For all bookings received from bona fide academic institutions*.

(*Fees for all UK based delegates are subject to VAT @ 17˝%)

To reserve your place at PDT Days 1998 please complete the attached form and return to the organisers, QMS, as soon as possible. Payment may be made by cheque or credit card, or by QMS invoice. Please complete attached booking form, indicating payment method, and return to QMS.
EC registrations received from non-UK delegates must include VAT registration number.

Bookings will be acknowledged by VAT invoice, together with venue location details, and hotel and travel options.

For more information ..........

Call the organisers:

Quality Marketing Services,
Telephone: +44 (0)1252 878482
Fax: +44 (0)1252 877386
Contact name: Bill Mesley QMS logo

Email: billm@qmsstep.demon.co.uk or see PDTAG web site: http://www.cadlab.tu-berlin.de/~PDTAG.

ESCN Project Day, Tuesday 24th March

The ESCN project (European STEP Centres Network, ESPRIT 24883), is a new EU project whose strategic objective is establish and execute a STEP/PDT Training and Technology Transfer (TTT) programme: a necessary building block to make STEP a sustainable competitive advantage for European industry. STEP is, in theory, accessible to all since it is an international standard. However it is a lengthy process for newcomers to familiarise themselves with, due to its complexity, broad scope, and continuous development. ESCN will target EU funded projects using STEP technology, particularly SMEs, who have an increasing need for PDT and standardised interfaces, but have found it difficult to acquire this emerging technology. All members of the ESCN project will be represented at PDT Days. The day preceding PDT Days (Tuesday 24th March) will comprise a formal EU review of the ESCN project. This day is NOT a public day. Attendance is by project representatives or by EU invitation only.

PISTEP Consortium Day, Friday 27th March

The Process Industries STEP Consortium (PISTEP) is a UK based programme of collaborative industrial and business development, established in January 1992, whose objective is to create an environment in the UK Process Industries where companies can use and implement STEP technology effectively. The Consortium's 40+ members meet quarterly to discuss and share STEP developments, and hold regular 'Technology Showcases' to provide hands-on experience of STEP tools and methodology. The next PISTEP Technology Showcase will be combined with the exhibition at PDT Days 1998. (See page 2 for details). The next PISTEP Consortium meeting will take place on the day after PDT Days, i.e. Friday 27th March, from 10.00 until 16.00, and will consist of business and 'mini project' presentations from PISTEP members, followed by informal discussion. This PISTEP day is NOT a public day. Attendance is by PISTEP Consortium members or by invitation only. Delegates interested in attending this meeting should apply in writing to: The PISTEP Secretariat, Marchland Consulting Ltd, 108 East Kilbride Road, Busby, Glasgow, G76 8JF, UK, or Email: donald@marchcon.demon.co.uk

Conference Programme Wednesday 25^th March

Day 1, Morning Main Theatre, Bldg. 17

08.20 Arrival, with refreshments (in exhibition area).

09.00 Welcome and Introduction:
1. The Time is Now…
Prof. Horst Nowacki, PDTAG Project leader, (Technical University of Berlin)
2. The European Perspective.
European Commission representative (Speaker to be announced)

09.25 Keynote paper: 'When Soft is Hard'
John Gill, Strategy Co-ordinator, Group Safety, Security, and Environment Directorate, BAA plc, UK.

Plenary Sessions 1 & 2 Main Theatre, Bldg. 17

Session 1: Setting the Scene
Chaired by: Johan Vesterager, Technical University of Denmark.

09.45 Authentication of Product Data Structures
Prof Reiner Anderl, Martin Momberg, (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany)
The demand for a replacement of the approved technical drawing as the legal document for production, long term archiving, and guarantee issues by a digitally represented product model couldn't come true by now because the authenticity of the product model could not be proved as easy as of the approved drawing. The integration of cryptographical components in the product model offers a promising way to solve this problem.

10.15 MOKA: A User Driven Project to Develop Methodology and Tools Oriented to Knowledge Based Engineering Applications
Martine Callot, (Aerospatiale, France).
Industrial companies need to reduce lead times and costs. Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) allows to fulfill this goal but still represents a significant investment risk due to the lack of methodology and support for the full KBE life cycle. MOKA project will provide:
- A methodology for capturing and representing product and process knowledge; and:
- A software tool supporting this methodology

10.45 Refreshment break (in exhibition area).

Session 2: STEP in the Process Industry
Chaired by: John Gillis, DTI, London, UK.

11.00 STEP into the Real World
Dr. Matthew West, (Shell Information Services, London)
This paper looks at what happens when you take the STEP standard and try to apply it in the "real" world of the Process Industries. In order to conduct a successful project (from a business perspective) it is important to understand the experimental nature of what you are doing, and of being prepared to apply STEP principles, tools, and techniques in a flexible way.

11.25 The PIPPIN Project
Alan Thomson, (BP International, UK)
The ESPIRT Project "PIPPIN" aims to develop a data warehouse for use in the process industries to support lifecycle engineering information. It is based on EPISTLE and STEP (ISO 10303) AP221 principles. However, its novel meta-model approach in not restricted to AP221 or indeed the process industries. This paper will provide an update on the PIPPIN implementation and provide some lessons learnt from the development.

11.55 An interactive discussion: "Is STEP working?"
Seeding presentations from Norman Swindells, (Ferroday, UK); Bob Fisher (Intergraph UK); Robin La Fontaine (Monsell EDM, UK, and Project Manager, STEPWISE project); followed by open discussion to address the shortcomings of current processes and methodologies. Discussion chaired by Patrice Poyet, (CSTB, France)

12.30 Lunch break (in exhibition area).
Note:
Today's afternoon programme comprises two parallel sessions:
Sessions 3 and 5 will be in the Main Theatre (Building 17),
Sessions 4 and 6 will be in the Environmental Theatre (Building 16).
Tomorrow's programme also includes four parallel sessions which will be held in the same two locations.

Parallel Sessions 3 & 5
Main Theatre, Bldg. 17 Parallel Sessions 4 & 6
Environmental Theatre, Bldg. 16

Session 3: Product Data Technology in the Construction Industry (1)
Chaired by: Dr Fikry Garas, Taylor Woodrow Construction, UK. Session 4: Product Data Technology in Manufacturing (1)
Chaired by: Alain Bezos, Association Goset, France.

13.30 Obtaining Quality Manufactured Product Information Through ARROW
Dr Robert Amor, (Building Research Establishment, UK)
ARROW is a UK initiative which can provide access to any construction manufacturers product information through virtual warehouses. This enables designers and specifiers to correctly identify products which match the parameters of their particular design. Benefits of this approach will be reduced abortive design work and reworking, designs that can be constructed quicker, greater use of off-the-shelf components, savings in cost, etc. The Concept of View in Parts Library - an Integrative Feature for the Design Process?
Andreas Ort, Peter Dietz, (Technical University Clausthal, Germany)
The paper is an analysis of the feature of views in the ISO 13584 "Parts Library" standard. It investigates the possibilities to use this feature in the design process with respect to design support methods. The paper shows also documentation and feedback strategies in the design process using the power of parts library.

14.00 The GENIAL Project: the Common Semantic Model - a Critical Gateway Towards Intelligent Data Access
Philippe Debras, Dirk Hagemann, Zsolt Pocsai, Dirk Stumpf, Lars Seifert, Jin-Kang Gui, (Fra., Ger., & Finland)
The project aims at elaborating a software infrastructure that will comply with the new trends of manufacturer-supplier relationships, allowing component information and services to be rapidly and cost effectively brought to the designers desk. Within this infrastructure, the Common Semantic Model assesses an homogeneous publishing and retrieval of information whether it relates to classifications, users, products or services. Analysis of Human Perception of the Real World - APEX
Ben Marx, (TU Darmstadt, Germany), Dr Francisco Sastrón, (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain)
The APEX project aims at the underlying mental processes of conceptual modeling with EXPRESS. It develops an evaluation tool that collects empirical data about reaction and modeling times, the creation process, and the congruence of the actually created models. The tool is embedded in an EXPRESS tutorial system written in Java and accessible via web.

14.30 Concurrent Engineering Support with an Advanced DMS (with live demonstration)
Mike Clift, Dr Robert Amor, (Building Research Establishment, UK)
This paper reports on the DMS development in the ToCEE project (Towards a Concurrent Engineering Environment) in the context of its support for concurrent engineering. The story-board described in this paper highlights how a DMS could be used within the life-cycle of a project to engender concurrent work practices. This includes not just parallel working, but the DMS's support for co-operative and collaborative working practices. Standardisation of Industrial Manufacturing Management Data: The MANDATE (ISO 15531) Approach
A F Cutting-Decelle,(UdS, France), J Deuse, (WZL, RWTH, Germany), Jean-Jacques Michel, (CETIM, France)
This paper describes the work undertaken within the international standardization ISO TC 184/SC4 committee, on the modelling of manufacturing management (ISO 15531 MANDATE) and the results already achieved. It will also examine the benefits expected from the use of this type of standard (alone, and in relation with other standards) for the management and exchange of manufacturing information.

15.00 Refreshment break (in exhibition area, Bldg. 17)

Session 5: Product Data Technology in the Process Industries
Chaired by: Stuart Lord, ICI Technology, UK. Session 6: Data and Activity Modelling
Chaired by: Prof Reiner Anderl, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.

15.15 Process Plant Engineering - an Integrated Approach
N Raman, Satish Kumar, (Engineers India Ltd, India)
This paper deals with the concepts evolved for an integrated approach in the total engineering design and projects execution of Process Plants. This is being achieved through transfer of information flow from basic and detailed engineering to Procurement Process, Construction Management and Project services, using various IT tools, application software packages, LANs/WANs, and Enteprise Intranet. Automation of piping material procurement process starting from P&ID stage to construction phase is a typical case. Extending Activity Modelling in STEP Development
Ming Liang Lu, (Aigis Systems, USA), Tetsuya Wada, (Japan Energy Corporation, Japan)
To make STEP APs easier to be implemented in industrial applications, first, it is suggested to carry out an entire system modeling in which informaiton modelling should be carried out interactively with activity modelling.Then, several aspects of activity modelling have been analyzed and an activtity modelling guidelines has been presented. Finally, to extend IDEF0, we propose a hypermedia based modelling tool.

15.45 Information Exchange Between Electric Power Systems: Achievements within the ELECTRO-NET Project
Dr Thomas Dreyer, Prof. Dr. Rainer Bacher, Dirk Lambrecht, Dave Brown, Dr Ali Azarian, (Ger., UK, & France)
The Electro-Net project is aiming to improve information exchange between high voltage electrical power systems used for planning studies and operational analysis. As a first step, existing standards have been reviewed and one of them, the German DVG standard, has successfully been mapped to existing structures of STEP AP212, namely the UOFs allocation, classification, function, installation, item designation and properties. Product Classification and Breakdown Structure versus Data Modelling: A Ship Mechanical System's Perspective
Dr Zabi Bazari, Dr D Radosavljevic, (Lloyds Register, UK)
Data modellers are faced with a significant diversity of breakdown structures and classifications of physical assets due to variant experts' viewpoints, obscure physical boundaries and lack of sound principles on development of breakdown structures. This paper elucidates the subject and identify the principles which could help to reduce the above problems, and suggests how to reduce the complexity of product data models.

16.15 An Activity Model for Process Plant Operations
Tetsuya Wada, (Japan Energy Corporation, Japan), Ming Liang Lu, H. S. Li, (Aigis Systems, USA)
The ultimate goal of STEP effort is to organise an efficient operating team and configure a suite of integrated tools. To support this, a novel activity model for process plant operation has been developed. The top level distinguishes normal and abnormal situation handling through a constant monitoring, which are then further decomposed into operational decision making and action executions. RISESTEP: A User Driven Project to Develop a Platform for Product Data Sharing in a Concurrent Engineering Context
Nicolas Figay, (Aerospatiale, France)
RISESTEP is one of the AIT projects dealing with the Integration platform. The main objective of this user-driven project is to test the feasibility of the sharing of distributed digital mock up units in an heterogeneaous environment using CORBA (distributed environments) and STEP (product data exchange AP214). The paper will present the final results of the project.

16.45 The world's first operational POSC/Caesar data warehouse
Ewan Botterill, Anne-Marie Walters, Steve Wilson, (Intergraph, UK)
This paper covers the first successful implementation of a data warehouse using the POSC/Caesar Product Data Model and Reference Data Library. The project integrates technical product data held in a POSC/Caesar data warehouse with commercial and operational data held in SAP. The paper will include a demonstration of the warehouse and the integrated data, and will show the practical use and benefits achievable by engineers, plant maintenance and operational people alike in the oil and process industries. An overview of CIREP methodology
Donald Radley, Wolfgang Wilkes, Michael Balzer, Jens Broeking, (University of Hagen, Germany)
CIREP was set up to develop standardised procedures for describing electronic components in forms which could be integrated into corporate information systems. The CIREP project uses the standards ISO13584 and IEC61360 to establish direct information chains from component manufacturers to component users. CIREP has extended the standards by introducing CDILs (Component Class Item Lists).

17.20 Closing comments and finish Closing comments and finish

Conference Programme Thursday 26^th March

Day 2, Morning Main Theatre, Bldg. 17

08.30 Arrival, with refreshments (in exhibition area).

08.50 Welcome to Day 2
Alain Bezos, (Association Goset, France, & ESCN Project

Plenary Session 7 Main Theatre, Bldg. 17

Session 7: Product Data Technology in Manufacturing (2)
Chaired by: Dr Ip-Shing Fan, The CIM Institute, Cranfield University, UK.

09.00 Resource Information Management in Autonomous Production Cells and Virtual Enterprises
Prof Walter Eversheim, Carlos Brerner, Andreas Haufe, Frank Spennemann, (WZL, TU Aachen, Germany)
Decentralized production units require new solutions in data mangement. An entire information management concept for both company-internal, e.g. Autonomous Production Cells, and enterprise-integrating, e.g. Virtual Enterprises, decentralization has been developed. The concept consists of two major elements. First a resource information model to describe all kinds of production ressources has been elaborated. Second a platform-neutral and location-independent data access is realized.

09.30 The OPAL Project: Integrated Information and Process Management in Manufacturing Engineering.
Rikardo Bueno, (Fatronik System,Spain)
The 'OPAL' objective is to organise and integrate engineering information and to provide methods for defining and operating workflows. Main results include open architecture for the management of engineering information and processes; and hyper media data access which provides users with the ability to navigate easily across the company's engineering information workflow management facilities, which are integrated within the open architecture.

10.00 Using Parameterised Templates for Reusable Documentation
Brian Matthews, David Johnston , (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK)
This paper suggests a method of defining parameterised resuable product documentation given in SGML, and a method of instantiating the documents with data from an STEP-EXPRESS database. This has been realised in the ToDES system which uses a simple EXPRESS library onto a standard database, and provides an interface across the World-Wide Web.

10.30 Building, Executing, and Managing a Process for Multi-disciplinary Design and Optimisation (MDO)
Dick Laan, K Eftekhari Shahroudi, J B R M Spee, (MIS, Woodward Governer, & NLR, The Netherlands)
Multidisciplinary Design and Optimisation (MDO) is an emerging new engineering discipline. The paper will present how an MDO-process can be effectively constructed, executed and managed. Furthermore requirements are stated for an MDO design platform of the future. The role of supporting Product Data Technology like STEP/EXPRESS and CORBA will be discussed.

11.00 Refreshment break (in exhibition area)

Parallel Session 8
Main Theatre, Bldg. 17 Parallel Session 9
Environmental Theatre, Bldg. 16

Session 8: Product Data Technology and Manufacturing Concepts
Chaired by: Dr Therese Lawlor-Wright, University of Salford, UK. Session 9: New Concepts in Product Data Technology (1)
Chaired by: Eoin Banahan, RoundRose Associates, Belgium.

11.15 Market Driven Process and Structure Innovations
D Spath, Dominik Matt, S Riedmiller, G Selinger, (University of Karlsruhe, Germany)
An integral concept will be presented which helps companies to define their individual market-driven strategy for production. It also provides methods and tools for the optimization of business processes and the creation of the necessary structures and rules for their stabilization and continuous improvement. The Development of a Generic Design and Construction Process
Prof Rachel Cooper, Michail Kagioglou, Ghassan Aouad, John Hinks, Martin Sexton, Darryl Sheath, (University of Salford, UK)
Cross-industry learning between Construction and Manufacturing could produce a number of significant improvements for the Construction Industry. The Process Protocol presented in this paper introduces a number of concepts that are new to a traditionally fragmented and litigation driven construction industry, but which have been proven in the Manufacturing industry, and could improve 'client' satisfaction in the construction industry.

11.35 PDM in a Systems Engineering Environment
Cheryl Atkinson, Dick Mandemaker, (ADSE, & MIS Organisatie-ingenieurs, The Netherlands)
The anatomical analogy for Product Data Management (PDM) systems could be considered the backbone of the enterprise, but perhaps it is more like the nervous system. It represents an evolutionary step from the document-centric life we have led, into a product-centric one. A better, more systematic work method provides a double edged benefit: better PDM implementation, and a more systematic engineering process.

11.45 Concepts for Modelling Configurable Products
Hannu Peltonen, Tomi Männistö, Timo Soininen, Juha Tiihonen, Asko Martio, Reijo Sulonen, (HUT, Finland)
The paper defines concepts for configurable products, which are constructed individually for each customer order from pre-defined components according to a pre-defined configuration model. The concepts, which are mainly defined in terms of decisions to be made during a configuration process, include abstract and concrete component types, and the distinction between the completeness and validity of a configuration.

11.55 EPSYLON: A Enhanced Process Model to Support Lean and Green Manufacturing
Flavio Bonfatti, Paola Daniela Monari, Bruno Mussini, (University of Modena, SATA, & Democenter, Italy)
The EPSYLON project is aimed at defining, implementing and validating a new software to manage process knowledge and support documentation, planning and monitoring of manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities, the latter concerning product recycling and resource maintenance. The proposed model shows the possibility of representing shop-floor activities independently of the resources, defining alternative resource configurations and obtaining actual shop-floor behaviour by mapping abstract activities onto scenarios.

12.15 Integrated Development of Conceptual Models for Product and Environmental Information
R Anderl, B Daum, H John, Ch Pütter, (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany)
Effective development of environmentally friendly products requires integration of product data models with environmental, technical and economical knowledge. A suitable information modelling technique with tool support has been developed that includes distributed modelling, model transformation and integration of static, functional and dynamic aspects. The resulting information model enables wholistic product assessment and context-sensitive information support, implemented into a design system. MaKe-IT SME: Management of Knowledge Using Integrated Tools for SMEs
Dr Joachim Niemeir, (Multimedia Software, Germany)
The objective of MaKe-IT SME is to develop holistic methods and tools for securing, sharing, and further development of engineering and manufacturing knowledge. MaKe-IT SME will provide methods and an IT solution suitable to the specific needs of SMEs, to flexibly manage the knowledge in-house as well as with co-operating partners, and make available business-relevant knowledge whenever and wherever it is needed.

12.35 Discussion session

12.45 Lunchbreak (in exhibition area, Bldg. 17)

Parallel Session 8
Main Theatre, Bldg. 17 Parallel Session 9
Environmental Theatre, Bldg. 16

Session 10: Product Data Technology in the Construction Industry (2)
Chaired by: Dr Robert Amor, Building Research Establishment, UK. Session 11: In Consideration of Standards
Chaired by: Dr Jon Owen, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

13.45 An Open Flexible Distributed Architecture for Large Scale Engineering
Alain Zarli, Olivier Richaud, Virginie Amar, (CSTB, France)
New information and advanced computer technologies today provide relevant powerful and reliable tools for PDM, enhancing companies business processes. Nevertheless, their deployment in Inter/Intranet environments becomes increasingly complex. This paper investigates these technologies together with their possible interworking, and suggests an open and scalable 3-Tier architecture, business objects, and generalised plug-ins. Macro Expression for EXPRESS Constraints of STEP Application Protocols
Hiroyuki Hiraoka, (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
Macro expression for EXPRESS, the formal specification language for STEP, is proposed to help writing constraints, which is one of the difficulties in developing STEP Application Protocols. The macro expression is designed based on the dominant patterns identified from the investigation of constraints in the current STEP APs. A prototype program is developed which converts the macro into EXPRESS constraint.

14.05 An Application of STEP Technology to Support BPI
Alison McKay, Jim Baxter, Susan Bloor, (University of Leeds, UK)
This paper will explain how the STEP application protocol development methodology, when used in conjunction with resource models that support the description of process rather than product, can facilitate the provision of information support for 'Business Process Reengineering' processes. Experiences from the development of an early prototype that supports 'Business Process Improvement' activities will be reported.

14.15 Business Factors Affecting Information Modelling of Shared Data for Large Scale Engineering Projects in Construction
Dragana Mitrovic, Steve Male, (University of Leeds, UK), Ian Hunter, (Taylor Woodrow, UK)
The paper describes the key characteristics of a typical LSE project information flow, highlighting business related and project related factors which affect information modelling of shared data. It also presents evaluation of the project and product models investigated in a series of case studies and the implications for the information modelling in order to achieve electronic data shearing on LSE projects.

14.25 New Approaches for Tool Integration in the Development Process
Mathias Grasmann, Winfrid Schneider, Prof. Jürgen Gausemeier, Lars Seifert, (Heinx Nixdorf Institute, University of Paderborn, Germany)
Accelerating product development while increasing product quality forces companies to join in virtual enterprises. User oriented integration of CAE-systems is the key element for realising the required infrastructure to support a continuous information flow. This paper presents a concept to reach the goal of integrated engineering systems as a basis for a successful competing in the world of virtual enterprises.

14.45 A Mapping Study
Wille Nordqvist, Robert Noack, (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden)
A method for exchange of information, between CAD and an indoor climate and energy simulation system is presented. The method is based on STEP technology using EXPRESS schemata to represent the conceptual models, and STEP files for data storage. Finally, the mapping is processed by means of EXPRESS-C code, an upward compatible extension of ISO is EXPRESS. Proof Planning: Methodology for Product Configuration
Michal Pechoucek, (Czech Technical University, Czech Republic)
The paper discusses possible utilization of distributed artificial intelligence in the area of project oriented production modelling. A multi-agent system of a three-level architecture (planning, managing, and production) has been proposed. We advocate using proof planning, the theorem proving methodology, to address the problem of complexity explosiveness of the project design and configuration at the planning level.

15.05 Discussion session

15.15 Refreshment break (in exhibition area, Bldg. 17)

Plenary Session 12 Main Theatre, Bldg. 17

Session 12: New Concepts in Product Data Technology (2)
Chaired by: Hans Teijgeler, Fluor Daniel BV, The Netherlands.

15.30 The funSTEP Project - Objectives, Developments, and Results Achieved
Ricardo Gonçalves, (UNINOVA, Center for Intelligent Robotics, Portugal)
FunSTEP is a European ESPRIT IV project with the aim to develop an integrated STEP based environment for the manufacturer-customer integration, and for the support of the information flows management in the factory. This paper will present the industrial objectives, developments and results achieved so far, describing the industrial impact on the furniture manufacturers, customers, and systems suppliers.

16.00 The Development of a Standard for Product Knowledge Reuse and Sharing within KBE Systems
P Sainter, Dr S Kneebone, Dr K Oldham, (Knowledge Based Engineering Centre, Coventry University, UK)
In recent years, there has been a movement from product information to product knowledge systems. At the moment there is no inexpensive way to reuse or share this product knowledge. This is due to the fact that there is no standard for the reuse and sharing of product knowledge. This paper discusses the proposed development and reasons for the development of a standard.

16.30 Implementing Concurrent Engineering in the Tendering Process of Building & Construction
Graham Storer (Taylor Woodrow, UK), Pekka Valikangas (IVO Power Engineering, Finland) and Lennart Klintmalm (Skanska, Sweden)
An industry perspective on the Brite-EuRam project CONCUR in which Product and Process Data Technology is used to integrate information created and shared in the construction tendering process. First year project progress and plans for future work prior to deployment trials in 2000 are reported. Anticipated industry benefits are assessed and quantified.

17.00 Closing comments
Hans Teijgeler, (Senior Manager Information Systems, Fluor Daniel BV, The Netherlands)

17.10 Conference ends

Social Event 25^th March

An informal social event is planned for the evening of Wednesday 25th March. Details are not confirmed at time of printing this Programme, but cost will be Ł35 per person and will include meal, drinks, and transport. All delegates are encouraged to attend as this event will provide a good opportunity for informal networking. Partners and friends are welcome.
Delegates wishing to attend this event should tick the appropriate box, and indicate number of people, on the attached booking form. Payment should be included with delegate payment.

Venue Facilities

Located 21km north-west of London, 25km from Heathrow Airport, the Building Research Establishment is the UK centre for building and construction research. On receipt of booking form, all delegates will be sent details of local hotels and how to get to BRE. Coaches will be provided to transport delegates between BRE and nearest mainline rail station (Watford Junction, which is easily accessible from Heathrow Airport), and also between BRE, hotels and the social event. A communications room will be available for delegates to use, for Emails, faxes, and phone calls. All BRE facilities cater for the requirements of disabled delegates. Lunches include vegetarian options.

PDT Days 1998 Organisation

Continuing the work of
PDTAG-AM
Product Data Technology
Advisory Group
ESPRIT 9049 To further the work of PDTAG, the Programme Committee for PDT Days 1998 includes many active members of the former PDTAG-AM project, which was led by Prof. Horst Nowacki (TU Berlin), and to whom an unqualified acknowledgement is readily given.

Programme Committee:
Erastos Filos	European Commission, Brussels, Belgium
John Gillis	DTI, London, UK
Günther Zintl	Siemens AG, Germany
Alain Bézos	Association GOSET, France
Reiner Anderl	TH Darmstadt, Germany
Tor Dokken	SINTEF, Norway
Fikry Garas	Taylor Woodrow, UK
Stuart Lord	ICI Engineering, UK
Jon Owen	University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Tony Rowe	Shell Information Services, UK
Dietmar Trippner	ProSTEP, Germany
Johan Vesterager	TU Denmark, Denmark
Patrice Poyet	CSTB, France
Anne-Marie Walters	Intergraph, UK
Paco Sastrón	DISAM, Univ. Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
Robert Amor	BRE, UK
Vince Osgood	EPSRC, UK

Conference Manager:
Bill Mesley	Quality Marketing Services, UK (Organisers of PDT Days 1996 and co-organisers of PDT Days 1997)

	Session 1: Setting the Scene Chaired by: Johan Vesterager, Technical University of Denmark.
09.45	Authentication of Product Data Structures Prof Reiner Anderl, Martin Momberg, (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany) The demand for a replacement of the approved technical drawing as the legal document for production, long term archiving, and guarantee issues by a digitally represented product model couldn't come true by now because the authenticity of the product model could not be proved as easy as of the approved drawing. The integration of cryptographical components in the product model offers a promising way to solve this problem.
10.15	MOKA: A User Driven Project to Develop Methodology and Tools Oriented to Knowledge Based Engineering Applications Martine Callot, (Aerospatiale, France). Industrial companies need to reduce lead times and costs. Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) allows to fulfill this goal but still represents a significant investment risk due to the lack of methodology and support for the full KBE life cycle. MOKA project will provide: - A methodology for capturing and representing product and process knowledge; and: - A software tool supporting this methodology
10.45	Refreshment break (in exhibition area).
	Session 2: STEP in the Process Industry Chaired by: John Gillis, DTI, London, UK.
11.00	STEP into the Real World Dr. Matthew West, (Shell Information Services, London) This paper looks at what happens when you take the STEP standard and try to apply it in the "real" world of the Process Industries. In order to conduct a successful project (from a business perspective) it is important to understand the experimental nature of what you are doing, and of being prepared to apply STEP principles, tools, and techniques in a flexible way.
11.25	The PIPPIN Project Alan Thomson, (BP International, UK) The ESPIRT Project "PIPPIN" aims to develop a data warehouse for use in the process industries to support lifecycle engineering information. It is based on EPISTLE and STEP (ISO 10303) AP221 principles. However, its novel meta-model approach in not restricted to AP221 or indeed the process industries. This paper will provide an update on the PIPPIN implementation and provide some lessons learnt from the development.
11.55	An interactive discussion: "Is STEP working?" Seeding presentations from Norman Swindells, (Ferroday, UK); Bob Fisher (Intergraph UK); Robin La Fontaine (Monsell EDM, UK, and Project Manager, STEPWISE project); followed by open discussion to address the shortcomings of current processes and methodologies. Discussion chaired by Patrice Poyet, (CSTB, France)
12.30	Lunch break (in exhibition area). Note: Today's afternoon programme comprises two parallel sessions: Sessions 3 and 5 will be in the Main Theatre (Building 17), Sessions 4 and 6 will be in the Environmental Theatre (Building 16). Tomorrow's programme also includes four parallel sessions which will be held in the same two locations.

	Parallel Sessions 3 & 5 Main Theatre, Bldg. 17	Parallel Sessions 4 & 6 Environmental Theatre, Bldg. 16
	Session 3: Product Data Technology in the Construction Industry (1) Chaired by: Dr Fikry Garas, Taylor Woodrow Construction, UK.	Session 4: Product Data Technology in Manufacturing (1) Chaired by: Alain Bezos, Association Goset, France.
13.30	Obtaining Quality Manufactured Product Information Through ARROW Dr Robert Amor, (Building Research Establishment, UK) ARROW is a UK initiative which can provide access to any construction manufacturers product information through virtual warehouses. This enables designers and specifiers to correctly identify products which match the parameters of their particular design. Benefits of this approach will be reduced abortive design work and reworking, designs that can be constructed quicker, greater use of off-the-shelf components, savings in cost, etc.	The Concept of View in Parts Library - an Integrative Feature for the Design Process? Andreas Ort, Peter Dietz, (Technical University Clausthal, Germany) The paper is an analysis of the feature of views in the ISO 13584 "Parts Library" standard. It investigates the possibilities to use this feature in the design process with respect to design support methods. The paper shows also documentation and feedback strategies in the design process using the power of parts library.
14.00	The GENIAL Project: the Common Semantic Model - a Critical Gateway Towards Intelligent Data Access Philippe Debras, Dirk Hagemann, Zsolt Pocsai, Dirk Stumpf, Lars Seifert, Jin-Kang Gui, (Fra., Ger., & Finland) The project aims at elaborating a software infrastructure that will comply with the new trends of manufacturer-supplier relationships, allowing component information and services to be rapidly and cost effectively brought to the designers desk. Within this infrastructure, the Common Semantic Model assesses an homogeneous publishing and retrieval of information whether it relates to classifications, users, products or services.	Analysis of Human Perception of the Real World - APEX Ben Marx, (TU Darmstadt, Germany), Dr Francisco Sastrón, (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain) The APEX project aims at the underlying mental processes of conceptual modeling with EXPRESS. It develops an evaluation tool that collects empirical data about reaction and modeling times, the creation process, and the congruence of the actually created models. The tool is embedded in an EXPRESS tutorial system written in Java and accessible via web.
14.30	Concurrent Engineering Support with an Advanced DMS (with live demonstration) Mike Clift, Dr Robert Amor, (Building Research Establishment, UK) This paper reports on the DMS development in the ToCEE project (Towards a Concurrent Engineering Environment) in the context of its support for concurrent engineering. The story-board described in this paper highlights how a DMS could be used within the life-cycle of a project to engender concurrent work practices. This includes not just parallel working, but the DMS's support for co-operative and collaborative working practices.	Standardisation of Industrial Manufacturing Management Data: The MANDATE (ISO 15531) Approach A F Cutting-Decelle,(UdS, France), J Deuse, (WZL, RWTH, Germany), Jean-Jacques Michel, (CETIM, France) This paper describes the work undertaken within the international standardization ISO TC 184/SC4 committee, on the modelling of manufacturing management (ISO 15531 MANDATE) and the results already achieved. It will also examine the benefits expected from the use of this type of standard (alone, and in relation with other standards) for the management and exchange of manufacturing information.
15.00	Refreshment break (in exhibition area, Bldg. 17)
	Session 5: Product Data Technology in the Process Industries Chaired by: Stuart Lord, ICI Technology, UK.	Session 6: Data and Activity Modelling Chaired by: Prof Reiner Anderl, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany.
15.15	Process Plant Engineering - an Integrated Approach N Raman, Satish Kumar, (Engineers India Ltd, India) This paper deals with the concepts evolved for an integrated approach in the total engineering design and projects execution of Process Plants. This is being achieved through transfer of information flow from basic and detailed engineering to Procurement Process, Construction Management and Project services, using various IT tools, application software packages, LANs/WANs, and Enteprise Intranet. Automation of piping material procurement process starting from P&ID stage to construction phase is a typical case.	Extending Activity Modelling in STEP Development Ming Liang Lu, (Aigis Systems, USA), Tetsuya Wada, (Japan Energy Corporation, Japan) To make STEP APs easier to be implemented in industrial applications, first, it is suggested to carry out an entire system modeling in which informaiton modelling should be carried out interactively with activity modelling.Then, several aspects of activity modelling have been analyzed and an activtity modelling guidelines has been presented. Finally, to extend IDEF0, we propose a hypermedia based modelling tool.
15.45	Information Exchange Between Electric Power Systems: Achievements within the ELECTRO-NET Project Dr Thomas Dreyer, Prof. Dr. Rainer Bacher, Dirk Lambrecht, Dave Brown, Dr Ali Azarian, (Ger., UK, & France) The Electro-Net project is aiming to improve information exchange between high voltage electrical power systems used for planning studies and operational analysis. As a first step, existing standards have been reviewed and one of them, the German DVG standard, has successfully been mapped to existing structures of STEP AP212, namely the UOFs allocation, classification, function, installation, item designation and properties.	Product Classification and Breakdown Structure versus Data Modelling: A Ship Mechanical System's Perspective Dr Zabi Bazari, Dr D Radosavljevic, (Lloyds Register, UK) Data modellers are faced with a significant diversity of breakdown structures and classifications of physical assets due to variant experts' viewpoints, obscure physical boundaries and lack of sound principles on development of breakdown structures. This paper elucidates the subject and identify the principles which could help to reduce the above problems, and suggests how to reduce the complexity of product data models.
16.15	An Activity Model for Process Plant Operations Tetsuya Wada, (Japan Energy Corporation, Japan), Ming Liang Lu, H. S. Li, (Aigis Systems, USA) The ultimate goal of STEP effort is to organise an efficient operating team and configure a suite of integrated tools. To support this, a novel activity model for process plant operation has been developed. The top level distinguishes normal and abnormal situation handling through a constant monitoring, which are then further decomposed into operational decision making and action executions.	RISESTEP: A User Driven Project to Develop a Platform for Product Data Sharing in a Concurrent Engineering Context Nicolas Figay, (Aerospatiale, France) RISESTEP is one of the AIT projects dealing with the Integration platform. The main objective of this user-driven project is to test the feasibility of the sharing of distributed digital mock up units in an heterogeneaous environment using CORBA (distributed environments) and STEP (product data exchange AP214). The paper will present the final results of the project.
16.45	The world's first operational POSC/Caesar data warehouse Ewan Botterill, Anne-Marie Walters, Steve Wilson, (Intergraph, UK) This paper covers the first successful implementation of a data warehouse using the POSC/Caesar Product Data Model and Reference Data Library. The project integrates technical product data held in a POSC/Caesar data warehouse with commercial and operational data held in SAP. The paper will include a demonstration of the warehouse and the integrated data, and will show the practical use and benefits achievable by engineers, plant maintenance and operational people alike in the oil and process industries.	An overview of CIREP methodology Donald Radley, Wolfgang Wilkes, Michael Balzer, Jens Broeking, (University of Hagen, Germany) CIREP was set up to develop standardised procedures for describing electronic components in forms which could be integrated into corporate information systems. The CIREP project uses the standards ISO13584 and IEC61360 to establish direct information chains from component manufacturers to component users. CIREP has extended the standards by introducing CDILs (Component Class Item Lists).
17.20	Closing comments and finish	Closing comments and finish

08.30	Arrival, with refreshments (in exhibition area).
08.50	Welcome to Day 2 Alain Bezos, (Association Goset, France, & ESCN Project

	Session 7: Product Data Technology in Manufacturing (2) Chaired by: Dr Ip-Shing Fan, The CIM Institute, Cranfield University, UK.
09.00	Resource Information Management in Autonomous Production Cells and Virtual Enterprises Prof Walter Eversheim, Carlos Brerner, Andreas Haufe, Frank Spennemann, (WZL, TU Aachen, Germany) Decentralized production units require new solutions in data mangement. An entire information management concept for both company-internal, e.g. Autonomous Production Cells, and enterprise-integrating, e.g. Virtual Enterprises, decentralization has been developed. The concept consists of two major elements. First a resource information model to describe all kinds of production ressources has been elaborated. Second a platform-neutral and location-independent data access is realized.
09.30	The OPAL Project: Integrated Information and Process Management in Manufacturing Engineering. Rikardo Bueno, (Fatronik System,Spain) The 'OPAL' objective is to organise and integrate engineering information and to provide methods for defining and operating workflows. Main results include open architecture for the management of engineering information and processes; and hyper media data access which provides users with the ability to navigate easily across the company's engineering information workflow management facilities, which are integrated within the open architecture.
10.00	Using Parameterised Templates for Reusable Documentation Brian Matthews, David Johnston , (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK) This paper suggests a method of defining parameterised resuable product documentation given in SGML, and a method of instantiating the documents with data from an STEP-EXPRESS database. This has been realised in the ToDES system which uses a simple EXPRESS library onto a standard database, and provides an interface across the World-Wide Web.
10.30	Building, Executing, and Managing a Process for Multi-disciplinary Design and Optimisation (MDO) Dick Laan, K Eftekhari Shahroudi, J B R M Spee, (MIS, Woodward Governer, & NLR, The Netherlands) Multidisciplinary Design and Optimisation (MDO) is an emerging new engineering discipline. The paper will present how an MDO-process can be effectively constructed, executed and managed. Furthermore requirements are stated for an MDO design platform of the future. The role of supporting Product Data Technology like STEP/EXPRESS and CORBA will be discussed.
11.00	Refreshment break (in exhibition area)

	Parallel Session 8 Main Theatre, Bldg. 17	Parallel Session 9 Environmental Theatre, Bldg. 16
	Session 8: Product Data Technology and Manufacturing Concepts Chaired by: Dr Therese Lawlor-Wright, University of Salford, UK.	Session 9: New Concepts in Product Data Technology (1) Chaired by: Eoin Banahan, RoundRose Associates, Belgium.
11.15	Market Driven Process and Structure Innovations D Spath, Dominik Matt, S Riedmiller, G Selinger, (University of Karlsruhe, Germany) An integral concept will be presented which helps companies to define their individual market-driven strategy for production. It also provides methods and tools for the optimization of business processes and the creation of the necessary structures and rules for their stabilization and continuous improvement.	The Development of a Generic Design and Construction Process Prof Rachel Cooper, Michail Kagioglou, Ghassan Aouad, John Hinks, Martin Sexton, Darryl Sheath, (University of Salford, UK) Cross-industry learning between Construction and Manufacturing could produce a number of significant improvements for the Construction Industry. The Process Protocol presented in this paper introduces a number of concepts that are new to a traditionally fragmented and litigation driven construction industry, but which have been proven in the Manufacturing industry, and could improve 'client' satisfaction in the construction industry.
11.35		PDM in a Systems Engineering Environment Cheryl Atkinson, Dick Mandemaker, (ADSE, & MIS Organisatie-ingenieurs, The Netherlands) The anatomical analogy for Product Data Management (PDM) systems could be considered the backbone of the enterprise, but perhaps it is more like the nervous system. It represents an evolutionary step from the document-centric life we have led, into a product-centric one. A better, more systematic work method provides a double edged benefit: better PDM implementation, and a more systematic engineering process.
11.45	Concepts for Modelling Configurable Products Hannu Peltonen, Tomi Männistö, Timo Soininen, Juha Tiihonen, Asko Martio, Reijo Sulonen, (HUT, Finland) The paper defines concepts for configurable products, which are constructed individually for each customer order from pre-defined components according to a pre-defined configuration model. The concepts, which are mainly defined in terms of decisions to be made during a configuration process, include abstract and concrete component types, and the distinction between the completeness and validity of a configuration.
11.55		EPSYLON: A Enhanced Process Model to Support Lean and Green Manufacturing Flavio Bonfatti, Paola Daniela Monari, Bruno Mussini, (University of Modena, SATA, & Democenter, Italy) The EPSYLON project is aimed at defining, implementing and validating a new software to manage process knowledge and support documentation, planning and monitoring of manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities, the latter concerning product recycling and resource maintenance. The proposed model shows the possibility of representing shop-floor activities independently of the resources, defining alternative resource configurations and obtaining actual shop-floor behaviour by mapping abstract activities onto scenarios.
12.15	Integrated Development of Conceptual Models for Product and Environmental Information R Anderl, B Daum, H John, Ch Pütter, (Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany) Effective development of environmentally friendly products requires integration of product data models with environmental, technical and economical knowledge. A suitable information modelling technique with tool support has been developed that includes distributed modelling, model transformation and integration of static, functional and dynamic aspects. The resulting information model enables wholistic product assessment and context-sensitive information support, implemented into a design system.	MaKe-IT SME: Management of Knowledge Using Integrated Tools for SMEs Dr Joachim Niemeir, (Multimedia Software, Germany) The objective of MaKe-IT SME is to develop holistic methods and tools for securing, sharing, and further development of engineering and manufacturing knowledge. MaKe-IT SME will provide methods and an IT solution suitable to the specific needs of SMEs, to flexibly manage the knowledge in-house as well as with co-operating partners, and make available business-relevant knowledge whenever and wherever it is needed.
12.35		Discussion session
12.45	Lunchbreak (in exhibition area, Bldg. 17)

	Parallel Session 8 Main Theatre, Bldg. 17	Parallel Session 9 Environmental Theatre, Bldg. 16
	Session 10: Product Data Technology in the Construction Industry (2) Chaired by: Dr Robert Amor, Building Research Establishment, UK.	Session 11: In Consideration of Standards Chaired by: Dr Jon Owen, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
13.45	An Open Flexible Distributed Architecture for Large Scale Engineering Alain Zarli, Olivier Richaud, Virginie Amar, (CSTB, France) New information and advanced computer technologies today provide relevant powerful and reliable tools for PDM, enhancing companies business processes. Nevertheless, their deployment in Inter/Intranet environments becomes increasingly complex. This paper investigates these technologies together with their possible interworking, and suggests an open and scalable 3-Tier architecture, business objects, and generalised plug-ins.	Macro Expression for EXPRESS Constraints of STEP Application Protocols Hiroyuki Hiraoka, (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) Macro expression for EXPRESS, the formal specification language for STEP, is proposed to help writing constraints, which is one of the difficulties in developing STEP Application Protocols. The macro expression is designed based on the dominant patterns identified from the investigation of constraints in the current STEP APs. A prototype program is developed which converts the macro into EXPRESS constraint.
14.05		An Application of STEP Technology to Support BPI Alison McKay, Jim Baxter, Susan Bloor, (University of Leeds, UK) This paper will explain how the STEP application protocol development methodology, when used in conjunction with resource models that support the description of process rather than product, can facilitate the provision of information support for 'Business Process Reengineering' processes. Experiences from the development of an early prototype that supports 'Business Process Improvement' activities will be reported.
14.15	Business Factors Affecting Information Modelling of Shared Data for Large Scale Engineering Projects in Construction Dragana Mitrovic, Steve Male, (University of Leeds, UK), Ian Hunter, (Taylor Woodrow, UK) The paper describes the key characteristics of a typical LSE project information flow, highlighting business related and project related factors which affect information modelling of shared data. It also presents evaluation of the project and product models investigated in a series of case studies and the implications for the information modelling in order to achieve electronic data shearing on LSE projects.
14.25		New Approaches for Tool Integration in the Development Process Mathias Grasmann, Winfrid Schneider, Prof. Jürgen Gausemeier, Lars Seifert, (Heinx Nixdorf Institute, University of Paderborn, Germany) Accelerating product development while increasing product quality forces companies to join in virtual enterprises. User oriented integration of CAE-systems is the key element for realising the required infrastructure to support a continuous information flow. This paper presents a concept to reach the goal of integrated engineering systems as a basis for a successful competing in the world of virtual enterprises.
14.45	A Mapping Study Wille Nordqvist, Robert Noack, (Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden) A method for exchange of information, between CAD and an indoor climate and energy simulation system is presented. The method is based on STEP technology using EXPRESS schemata to represent the conceptual models, and STEP files for data storage. Finally, the mapping is processed by means of EXPRESS-C code, an upward compatible extension of ISO is EXPRESS.	Proof Planning: Methodology for Product Configuration Michal Pechoucek, (Czech Technical University, Czech Republic) The paper discusses possible utilization of distributed artificial intelligence in the area of project oriented production modelling. A multi-agent system of a three-level architecture (planning, managing, and production) has been proposed. We advocate using proof planning, the theorem proving methodology, to address the problem of complexity explosiveness of the project design and configuration at the planning level.
15.05		Discussion session
15.15	Refreshment break (in exhibition area, Bldg. 17)

	Session 12: New Concepts in Product Data Technology (2) Chaired by: Hans Teijgeler, Fluor Daniel BV, The Netherlands.
15.30	The funSTEP Project - Objectives, Developments, and Results Achieved Ricardo Gonçalves, (UNINOVA, Center for Intelligent Robotics, Portugal) FunSTEP is a European ESPRIT IV project with the aim to develop an integrated STEP based environment for the manufacturer-customer integration, and for the support of the information flows management in the factory. This paper will present the industrial objectives, developments and results achieved so far, describing the industrial impact on the furniture manufacturers, customers, and systems suppliers.
16.00	The Development of a Standard for Product Knowledge Reuse and Sharing within KBE Systems P Sainter, Dr S Kneebone, Dr K Oldham, (Knowledge Based Engineering Centre, Coventry University, UK) In recent years, there has been a movement from product information to product knowledge systems. At the moment there is no inexpensive way to reuse or share this product knowledge. This is due to the fact that there is no standard for the reuse and sharing of product knowledge. This paper discusses the proposed development and reasons for the development of a standard.
16.30	Implementing Concurrent Engineering in the Tendering Process of Building & Construction Graham Storer (Taylor Woodrow, UK), Pekka Valikangas (IVO Power Engineering, Finland) and Lennart Klintmalm (Skanska, Sweden) An industry perspective on the Brite-EuRam project CONCUR in which Product and Process Data Technology is used to integrate information created and shared in the construction tendering process. First year project progress and plans for future work prior to deployment trials in 2000 are reported. Anticipated industry benefits are assessed and quantified.
17.00	Closing comments Hans Teijgeler, (Senior Manager Information Systems, Fluor Daniel BV, The Netherlands)
17.10	Conference ends