An ontology-based web service framework for construction supply chain collaboration and management

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a framework for integrating construction supply chain in order to resolve the data heterogeneity and data sharing problems in the construction industry. Design/methodology/approach – Standardized web service technology is used in the proposed framework for data specification, transfer, and integration. Open standard SAWSDL is used to annotate web service descriptions with pointers to concepts defined in ontologies. NoSQL database Cassandra is used for distributed data storage among construction supply chain stakeholders. Findings – Ontology can be used to support heterogeneous data transfer and integration through web services. Distributed data storage facilitates data sharing and enhances data control. Practical implications – This paper presents examples of two ontologies for expressing construction supply chain information – ontology for material and ontology for purchase order. An example scenario is presented to demonstrate the proposed web service framework for material procurement process involving three parties, namely, project manager, contractor, and material supplier. Originality/value – The use of web services is not new to construction supply chains (CSCs). However, it still faces problems in channelizing information along CSCs due to data heterogeneity. Trust issue is also a barrier to information sharing for integrating supply chains in a centralized collaboration system. In this paper, the authors present a web service framework, which facilitates storage and sharing of information on a distributed manner mediated through ontology-based web services. Security is enhanced with access control. A data model for the distributed databases is also presented for data storage and retrieval.