Concurrent Engineering in Construction Projects

Concurrent Engineering (CE) is a systematic approach to the integrated and concurrent design of products and related processes, including aspects as diverse as manufacture and support. It is only now being carefully applied to the construction sector and offers considerable potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness. It enables developers to consider all elements of a building or structure's life cycle from the conception stage right through to disposal, and to include issues of quality, cost, schedule, and user requirements.

Drawing together papers that reflect various research efforts on the implementation of CE in construction projects, Concurrent Engineering in Construction presents construction professionals and academics with the key issues and technologies important for CE's adoption, starting with fundamental concepts and then going on to the role of organisational enablers and advanced information and communication technologies, then providing conclusions and suggestions of future directions.

Chimay J. Anumba is Professor of Construction Engineering and Informatics, and Director of the Centre for Innovative and Collaborative Engineering (CICE) at Loughborough University, UK. He is a leading expert on Concurrent Engineering adoption in the construction sector.

John M. Kamara is Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. He is the Coordinator of the CIB Task Group (TG33) on Collaborative Engineering.

Anne-Francoise Cutting-Decelle currently holds the Chair in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies at the IUT-Department of Organisation and Production Engineering, University of Evry, France and is the Academic Visitor at the Loughborough University, UK