Methodology for Development of Expert Systems: Quality Assurance in Construction

摘要

Within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) military construction program, alimited number of quality assurance (QA) personnel are responsible for a large and increasing work load involving many more complex practices than are found in traditional construction. To ensure the continued quality of military construction, several approaches are being considered, including automation. Expert systems technology in particular shows great promise in creating tools to assist quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) personnel. Developing expert systems for applications in facilities involves the task of diagnosing failures in existing facilities and equipment. However, developing expert systems for quality assurance in construction operations requires an approach different from that of failure diagnosis. By applying the concept of real-time process control to quality assurance in construction, a system can be developed that allows inspectors to obtain advice before, during, and after construction. This report describes a methodology to develop expert systems for quality assurance in construction. This methodology was used to create a prototype expert system for quality assurance in construction. (kr)