Tweddle Litho also produces foreign language manuals, which involves basically the same process. Once we receive the SGML files, we can compare them with a previous file and identify changes. The changes are sent to in-country foreign language translators, the translated changes are integrated into the previous file, and then returned.

The automobile industry developed a set of standards for the electronic interchange of service and diagnostic information in response to the Clean Air Act of 1990 (J2000 standards). I think the T2008 standard for trucks is more applicable to the construction industry. It involves heavy trucks, which typically have more maintenance and are on the road for as long as 20 years. Maintenance is tracked and updates are made when different components are used for replacement or repairs. The parallel with the Operation and Maintenance Support Information (OMSI) system is to create a standard for all the operation maintenance and repair manuals. This ensures uniformity of delivery and consistent data output. Every book should have the same look and feel, so people can share that information from one building to the next. They also want to share that data from one book to another book to optimize the data.

What are some of the similarities between the two industries? The use of standards, uniformity of input format (SGML), the deliverables, the ease of use, trackability, and long-term data usage.

Where do these industries differ? At present, the construction industry is not as suited for a complete change in how information is provided. Not everybody currently has the resources to provide information in SGML. For the automobile industry, it is easier because it has the resources. The only challenge for automotive companies is to find a common format.

For buildings, the intervals at which information is updated might not be as frequent as with vehicles. Also, although the automobile or trucking industries supply technical service bulletins to their representatives in the field to show changes, there may not be a comparable application in the building industry. If building equipment manufacturers are not organized to provide updated information on building components, updating the information provides a challenge.

The publisher's challenge is to take every conceivable format in which the construction industry is going to provide that information (Pagemaker, SGML, Word, WordPerfect, Portable Document Format (PDF), hard copy, handwritten, etc.) and narrow it down into Document Type Definition (DTD)-compliant SGML for the creation of the manuals and CD output.

How do we bridge the gap? How do we create a solution? You have to think outside the box. The easiest way to create the solution, but which may not be cost effective, would be to give everybody an SGML monitor to provide that information just the right way from the data professional's perspective. We need to make it simple for everyone. We need to allow for a variety of formats, but at the same time reduce the possibilities. We can create data templates for non-SGML data using the lowest common data formats.

Another possibility is to give direct Internet access to allow anyone to enter data online, using a template. Once the information is typed into a template, it is invisibly tagged, and SGML makes it applicable to that DTD. Some of the recommended solutions are to develop a free or inexpensive forms-based authoring tool. That might be the template for the different Word or Pagemaker files. Another solution is to outline a limited set of alternative data formats, provide authoring templates, and develop conversion services.

Updates to the data can be made in SGML by the vendor. The vendor can create a database of manufactured products and can pull from that database any duplicate information. If one submits a suggestion, if they are using a common format from one building to the other, there is no need to recreate that data. Once data are converted, they can be used over and over again.

Here is a work flow vision: Receive the data in multiple formats, convert them to SGML as necessary, validate the SGML files against the DTD to make sure that the file is usable once it is

Front Matter (R1-R6)

1 Workshop Overview (1-5)

2 Purpose and a Vision for the Electronic Operation and Maintenance Manual Initiative (6-8)

3 Experience Publishing Electronic Operation and Maintenance Manuals for the Automotive Industry (9-13)

4 Prototype Practice for the Building Industry: Operation and Maintenance Support Information (14-19)

5 Emerging Technologies and a Vision for the Future (20-24)

Appendix A Participants (25-31)

Appendix B Agenda (32-33)

Appendix C Document Type Definition Document (34-45)

Appendix D Naval Facilities Engineering Command Guide Specification 01781 (46-59)