Tunnel design

Designers of several disciplines need to coordinate their work to design a tunnel. This post describes a scientific case study of how to produce an integral design more efficiently.

Sector: Private

Industry: Construction

Domain: Tunnels

Tunnel design 1

Preparation

Situation

Organization. The design and construction of a tunnel involves designers from seven different disciplines. In a tunnel engineering project, they produce seven partial designs of a tunnel, one for each discipline, together forming an integral design. When they find conflicts between the partial designs, they resolve them and modify their partial designs.

Environmental factors. A tunnel engineering project is a tender project. In the preparation phase, the availability of information needed for design is limited. During execution, time and money are limited.

Issues. The more conflicts between partial designs, the more effort, time, and money it takes to resolve them.

Ambition

Goal. Increase performance.

Objective. Minimise the number of conflicts between partial designs.

Benefits. Less design costs.

Assessment of tunnel design

Identify

Critical capabilities to minimise the number of conflicts between partial designs:

  • (Deliver a design service)
    • Develop conflict-free partial designs [implicit].
    • Develop an integral design [implicit].

Compare

Expected contributions of critical capabilities:

  • Reputation:
    • Develop conflict-free partial designs.
    • Develop an integral design.

Appraise

Presence of critical capabilities in the design team:

  • Absence:
    • Develop conflict-free partial designs.
  • Organizational presence:
    • Develop an integral design.

Advice for tunnel design

Refine

Critical capabilities:

  • Modify:
    • Develop conflict-free partial designs.
    • Develop an integral design.

Unite

Refined capabilities:

  • Connect:
    • Develop conflict-free partial designs.
    • Develop an integral design.

Secure

Unique capabilities:

  • System. Define a formal meta-model of integral designs as follows:
    • (Manage a design service)
      1. Define an ontology of integral designs.
      2. Transform the ontology of integral designs into a formal meta-model.
  • System. Create a digital repository of integral designs as follows:
    • (Manage a design service)
      1. Create a digital repository.
      2. Implement the formal meta-model of integral designs in the digital repository.
  • System. Create standard operating procedures for the following activities:
    • (Manage a design service)
      • Manage the formal meta-model of integral designs.
      • Manage the digital repository of integral designs.
    • (Deliver a design service)
      • Develop a conflict-free part of an integral design.
  • Skills. Train designers in the following activities:
    • (Manage a design service)
      • Manage the formal meta-model of integral designs.
      • Manage the digital repository of integral designs.
    • (Deliver a design service)
      • Develop a conflict-free part of an integral design.