Computer applications in construction
By: Boyd C. Paulson, Jr.
Series: McGraw-Hill series in construction engineering and project management
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Published: 1995
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 610
Subjects: Engineering -- Management -- Data processing.; Contractors' operations -- Data processing.; Construction industry -- Management -- Data processing.
Description: For people interested in using computers in construction, this book is the perfect starting point - providing an unsurpassed introduction to computer hardware, software, and communications technology. Giving the reader a basic idea of what the pieces do and how they work together, the book's 16 in-depth chapters offer coverage of topics so important for construction engineers and managers.

Through the material, readers are given the ability to analyze systematically a potential area of need - such as a function in a department - to determine whether a computer application might help to assess the costs and benefits of alternative proposals and to proceed from that analysis to a clear specification for what the proposed solution should accomplish. There is also coverage of how computer professionals evaluate hardware and design the software and systems that will implement a given application.

Furthermore, readers will learn how to manage the people, resources, time, and money required in the development process for creating a given application program or for adapting a package application to the needs specified in the design.

Other topics found in the book include: common tools used to develop application software for today's business computers; systems and applications available in the marketplace to perform specific functions, such as estimating, scheduling, cost control, and simulation; emergent technologies and how an individual, group, or company might plan ahead and take advantage of the trends.

In addition, the book provides twenty-two construction engineering and management application examples - most developed using modern computer software - and provides additional problems, guidelines, and data for the reader to use in implementing his or her own applications on a personal computer.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.