An Ontology Driven Building Construction (1)

Building construction is a critical development activity impacting national economies. In developing countries, the management of building projects often faces challenges due to inadequate estimation techniques and difficulties in labor cost predictions, undermining project potential. This study explores the application of ontology-based technology to enhance decision-making regarding labor costs in construction. It aims to achieve two primary objectives: first, to develop a domain ontology that encapsulates knowledge about labor costing practices specific to Cameroon and similar contexts; second, to create an ontology rule-based application that assists in labor cost computations and informed decision-making within construction projects. The methodology involves designing the ontology and testing its functionality through exemplary case scenarios, demonstrating how construction decision-makers can effectively query the labor cost ontology and access informative results. The findings indicate that integrating ontology-driven approaches can significantly improve efficiency in labor cost estimation, thereby facilitating better management of construction projects. This study offers insights into the potential of ontologies to streamline labor costing processes in the construction sector of developing nations.