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Design
Review & Checking System (DrChecks)
The Need
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Given the high turnover of experienced personnel
throughout the Architect/ Engineer/ Contractor (A/E/C) community, exchange of personal
lessons learned and other important organizational experience occurs informally by word-of
mouth among colleagues. More often, however, experienced people do not have time or tools
to transfer their hard-earned knowledge to others. Turning an individual’s unique
project learning into corporate knowledge is essential and critical to providing a quality
product. Past experience has shown that proprietary, stand-alone systems to capture and
use lessons learned are too expensive to maintain over time. An integrated approach that
uses commercially available software is needed. The intersection of the process whereby
organizational knowledge can be captured and evaluated, and the process of design and
Biddability, Constructabilty, and Operability (BCO) reviews provides one of the best
points at which to develop an integrated method. |
The Technology
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The U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research
Laboratories (CERL) has developed a prototype computer system that supports the capture
and use of organizational experience in the context of the design review process. The
world wide web provides the communications backbone of the Design Review and Checking
System (DrChecks). Users access DrChecks using commercially developed, free web browser
software. The hardware and software to operate a local DrChecks server are also very
inexpensive, commercial products. The use of such simple and inexpensive commercial
software also means that personnel with limited software engineering knowledge can make
local modifications to the system as needed.  
DrChecks, is easily updated to support review of other
project related documents and also seamlessly integrates with the Corporate Lessons
Learned (CLL) system, which provides an integrated way to capture repetitive deficiencies
identified during the review process. Alternatively, users may access and enter potential
findings directly into the CLL from outside the DrChecks system. |
The Benefits
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Current unrealized costs from a simple design
review may reach 5% of the overall construction budget. The application of on-line
organizational
experience should double those customer savings. Customer satisfaction should also
increase as the criteria used by various customers are documented in success stories and
lessons learned. An even more important aspect of DrChecks is that the system can bring
project stakeholders together to produce the best possible design given the variety of
constraints that make each project unique. Finally, the overall cost of the design review
features of DrChecks could be significantly less than the cost of current technology.
- Provides the platform for the review and feedback of project
related documents.
- Provides a user-aware interface so that each user sees only
those functions and information appropriate for the job at hand.
- Provide a cost-effective, useful way to capture, manage, and
use corporate knowledge in the context of a fully functional design and BCO review tool.
- Can access using free internet browser software, therefore,
little or no training is required.
- Significantly less long term operations and maintenance costs
than traditional software
- Empowers project teams to improve design quality through an
integrated web-based business process.
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Status
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DrChecks is the latest in a series of CERL
products to enhance design quality. The detailed requirements for DrChecks were developed
by the Design Review Tools Steering Committee in 1996 and 1997. DrChecks was tested by
users from within and outside the Corps in FY97. Based on those tests the system is now
completing its final set of revisions. DrChecks/CLL are currently being used by nine Corps
of Engineer District Offices, the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Building Office, and
the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. A variety of state and local governmental bodies and
offices are also considering the use of
DrChecks at their offices. And also several commercial design firms use DrChecks. |
Barriers
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The only barrier to using DrChecks directly is
that users must have access to the internet. To assist users who may be unable or
unwilling to use the internet, a MS Word file has been created to capture review comments.
The output of this template can be imported directly into DrChecks. |
Points of Contact
- Mr. William East. Construction Engineering Research
Laboratory, P.O. Box 9005, Champaign, IL 61826-9005.Tel: (217)373-7235, toll-free
800-USA-CERL, Fax: (217)373-6732, e-mail: b-east@cecer.army.mil
- Builder's Net, Technical Support, Tel: 1-800-428-4357,
e-mail: jmoll@rcesupport.com
References
- Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), Factsheet
for Design review and Checking system (DrChecks),
<http://owww.cecer.army.mil/facts/sheets/cf-7.pdf>
- Builder's Net, Design Review and Checking
system,
Disclaimer Statement
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Neither the Construction
Industry Institute nor Purdue University in any way endorses this
technology or represents
that the information presented can be relied upon without further investigation. |
SL25 |
