Supporting the Engineering Lifecycle Using SEAS

A new kind of engineering database technology called SEAS™ and conforming methodology called the “Engineering Object Methodology” (EOM) are described. SEAS combines an interactive object-oriented language, an object-oriented database system, and the EOM to implement cooperative and concurrent engineering across the project lifecycle boundaries of design, analysis and synthesis, construction, and maintenance. The use of SEAS to perform interactive database queries, parametric analysis, object modeling, analysis and system operations, and design optimization will be described. Brief descriptions of how SEAS integrates pre-existing applications, legacy engineering data, and third-party CAD, CAE, and CAM products within a common data model will also be given. The proposed EOM approach enables engineering teams to implement lifecycle operations via an interactive object model of the designed system. An application of SEAS to part of the engineering lifecycle for a multi-story building project is described that illustrates the potential for SEAS to capture all the requirements and constraints of civil engineering projects and to perform design optimization across the lifecycle, thereby decreasing project costs and increasing their value.