Product Data Management (PDM) systems are well established in the manufacturing industry. Here, 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 CAD models, including sophisticated versioning techniques and access rights management as well as the integrated workflow management are attractive features for using PDM systems also 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.

Product data management (PDM) systems are well established in the mechanical engineering industry. Here, they form the standard solution for the central storage of all data concerning a product and the processes involved in its fabrication. Especially the consistent management of CAD models including sophisticated versioning techniques and access rights management as well as the integrated workflow management are attractive features for using PDM systems also for civil engineering projects. The paper investigates the technical concepts behind PDM systems and discusses in detail the potentials and obstacles for using them in civil engineering projects.

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