Construction project management

Expert systems have experienced tremendous growth and popularity since theircommercial introduction in the early 1980’s. Today, expert systems are used inbusiness, science, engineering, manufacturing, and many other fields; but despitethe special appeal they have to the constructions profession, there are currently fewoperational expert systems in the field.Underground construction is one area where experience plays a vital role andwhere the application of expert systems technology may offer valuable benefits.This study represents a pioneer trial for building knowledge based systems inthe field of construction engineering in Egypt. Two systems are prototyped throughthis study. One for primarily selecting the appropriate piling method and the other fordiagnosing and recommending suitable remedies for on-site piling problems. Thestudy introduces the methodology of building the two systems. That includes thebuilding process and contents of the knowledge bases, the methods of inferenceused, and output of each system.The study also discusses the major features and problems associated withbuilding knowledge based systems and represents suggestions for further extensionsof the two systems and for other suitable areas of applications.