Open Information Environment for Knowledge-Based Collaborative Processes throughout the Lifecycle of a Building

InPro Overview

InPro | A brief overview

With 18 partners from 7 European countries and a budget of 13 million euro over four years, InPro is one of Europe’s largest collaborative projects in construction-related research and development. The project is lead by five large European construction contractors in close cooperation with other stakeholders of the construction and IT industries, plus renowned research organisations and specialised consultants. InPro is co-funded by the European Commission’s 6th Framework Programme for Research and Development.

The main objective of InPro is to “develop and establish a model-based and collaborative way of working in the early design phase, considering the whole life-cycle of a building.”

The construction industry is standing before a major technology shift - from the traditional 2-dimensional drawings to 3-dimensional Building Information Models. Advanced design, communication and simulation tools give us an opportunity to change the way we work in the industry, including open collaboration between stakeholders, design for increased energy efficiency, flexibility, constructability, comfort, etc.

However, to achieve real change we need to address issues at all innovation levels (see picture).

We need good IT Tools and Methods to use them. We need Processes that these tools and methods can support and Organizational Structures that create incentives for new ways of working in different contractual models. This is what InPro aims to provide.

The change starts in the Early Design phase of a building. At this phase, which represents only a minimal fraction of a building’s lifecycle cost, 70% of the total lifecycle cost is determined. Furthermore, this is a phase where decision-making is flexible and where alternative ideas can be visualized and tested at low cost.

InPro’s main output is the “InPro Open Information Environment”, an advanced system that supports and integrates different aspects of Early Design:

	Open and flexible collaboration between all stakeholders of the building value chain,
	Design from a lifecycle perspective, based on 3-dimensional Building Information Models,
	Decision support to make “informed choices” based on knowledge of each decision’s consequences on the building lifecycle,
	Early planning of build and operation processes based on computer enabled simulation of smart digital prototypes.

We want InPro to have a significant impact on the European construction and IT industries. Therefore, results will be supported by training material, publications, conferences, and other activities. Material will also be published on the project website.

We also set up the InPro Cluster, inviting the industry and research community to involve in our work. The Cluster can be described as a network of approximately 75 clients, contractors, consultants, architects, material suppliers, providers of IT solutions, research organizations, etc. Cluster members will be invited to participate in interactive workshops, deliverable reviews, virtual discussions, and much more. Membership is obtained through recommendation by one of our partners, or via direct application to the InPro management team.