A conceptual model of web service-based construction information system

Business patterns of construction require diverse collaborations among participants and systems. To improve communication and the use of information, construction companies have invested on building their own information system. However, the past construction information system has focused on a point-to-point system which has limitation in data exchange with distributed systems. As a result, construction information systems lack of business agility and bring low Return on Investment (ROI). To address this challenging issue, Web Services is used as an independent platform to integrate different system components. With Web Services standards, a conceptual model of Web Service-based construction information system is suggested to improve transfer and search of construction information, which has the purpose of providing a pertinent collaborative interface for communication with partners. This paper proposes a new possibility of adapting Web Services in the construction information systems.