PC-Based product-selection systems to enhance fire safety in construction

Growing use of PCs in offices has been accompanied by increasing dependence on these systems to accomplish construction/specification and CAD‐based design tasks. The combination of product performance and characteristic data with PC‐based data storage and retrieval techniques is a newly developed example of this. Storage techniques utilized range from floppy disks on single systems through those loaded to hard disks or ROM systems, such as compact disks containing hundreds of megabytes of information. The combination of artificial intelligence techniques to aid the specifier are particularly useful where complex code‐mandated fire performance requirements exist. Using through penetration fire‐stopping technology as an example illustrates how such technology can assist architects, designers and specifiers. Computer workstations—both PCs and Macs—are increasingly finding their way into the design and specification work implicit in constructing buildings. Because of the growing complexity of requirements for fire performance of these structures, use of computer‐based systems to aid in choosing the right components to maintain fire safety levels makes good sense. Coupling artificial intelligence approaches—i.e. quasi‐expert systems—to selection of such products with viewing of drawings can reduce design professionals' work loads and provide increased advantages for designers, specifiers, enforcement officials and product manufacturers and marketers.