Computer data exchange using national and international standards

There is a need within the construction industry to electronically transmit standard documents between designers, owners, contractors, and material suppliers. Ideally, the transmission should be structured to eliminate or reduce the rekeying of transmitted data. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is an innovative technology that has been used effectively in the aerospace, automotive, and manufacturing industries for the direct computer-to-computer exchange of standard business documents. Documents that are routinely transmitted using EDI include purchase orders, purchase order acknowledgements, material releases, requests for quotations, supplier bids, and fund transfers. The basic concepts of electronic data interchange are presented and the status of the development of both national and international EDI standards is discussed. Two pilot EDI projects examined as part of a CII research project executed by the authors are presented as case studies.