A linked data system framework for sharing construction defect information

Defect data contains experiential knowledge about specific work conditions. And the number of projects performed by a company is too limited for an individual to experience the various defects under the current complex construction environment. Therefore, in order to manage and prevent a reoccurrence of defects, a proper data feedback mechanism is required. However, most defect data are stored in unstructured ways, resulting in the fundamental problem of data utilization. In this paper, a new framework is proposed by using linked data technologies to improve defect data utilization. The target of this framework is to convert defect data to the ontology-based linked data format for sharing defect data from different data sources. To demonstrate it, some technical solutions are implemented by using real cases. The proposed approach can reduce data search time and improve the accuracy of search results as well. Moreover, the proposed approach can be applied to other domains that need to refer to external sources such as safety, specification, product, and regulation.