Employing product data management systems in civil engineering projects: Functionality analysis and assessment

Product data management (PDM) systems are well-established in the manufacturing industry. They form the standard solution for the central storage of all data relating to a product and the processes involved in its manufacture. Particularly, the consistent management of computer-aided design (CAD) models, including sophisticated versioning techniques, access rights management, and the integrated workflow management, are attractive features for using PDM systems for civil engineering projects. This paper investigates the technical concepts behind PDM systems and compares their suitability as a data management solution in civil engineering projects with that of document management systems and product model servers. Alongside a comparative study of the major PDM systems available on the market, we also present a case study involving a PDM system that has been employed for a concrete civil engineering project.