Product information management at the large-scale project called arena "Auf Schalke"

This paper focuses on the process of controlling product information during the design and construction phase of the multi functional large-scale project called Arena "Auf Schalke" (construction time 1998-2001). The arena project is a next generation football and soccer stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The stadium is not only suitable for football and soccer matches but it can also host other (large) events like pop concerts and theatre productions.
The Dutch contractor Hollandse Beton Group (HBG) was responsible for both the design and construction of the arena. In order to control the design process as well as the construction process, the project was decomposed into several smaller components. Decomposition requires coordination. The coordination turned out to be very difficult because an adequate information management system was lacking. For example, it was very difficult to get up-to-date information during the design and construction process. To solve this, a pilot project for information management improvements was initiated within one of the subsystems of the Arena "Auf Schalke" project: the Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) engineering department.
This paper is divided into two parts. On part describes the need for information management in this particular project and the other part describes a new information management system, which has been developed, implemented and tested at the M&E department.