Case handling in construction

Case handling is a new means for supporting flexible and knowledge intensive business processes. Unlike workflow management, which uses predefined process control structures to determine what should be done during a workflow process, case handling focuses on what can be done to achieve a business goal. In this paper, case handling is introduced as a new possibility for supporting construction processes. The construction of buildings and related facilities is a difficult and complex process, which requires both support and flexibility. This paper describes the application of the case-handling principles within Heijmans. Heijmans is one of the leading companies in the Dutch building industry and is interested in IT support for their construction processes. We have used the case-handling system FLOWer to provide automated support for preparing the construction of complex installations. In this paper, we report our experiences.