Construction Industry Trading Electronically (CITE)
CITE is a collaborative electronic business initiative for the UK construction industry where data exchange specifications are developed by the industry for the industry, enabling the industry to move forward together.
It was launched in 1995 and formally marked the start of a major collaborative undertaking with active participants from the professions, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers.
Aim and Objectives
The overriding aim of CITE is to extend the operational use of electronic business across the construction industry in the widest context and by so doing, create an open trading environment for all. Where extending services or standards apply CITE seeks to adopt these and build on best practice.
Mission Statement
“To develop and promote the adoption of e-business standards in the construction and facilities management industries”.
Key Activities (including outputs produced to date)
COMIT core business is projects. This includes:
- Tendering: to provide industry guidelines and electronic tendering standards which, when applied, will improve the tendering process and reduce operating costs.
- Trading: to bring together contractors, subcontractors, manufacturers, suppliers and merchants to build and implement a comprehensive set of trading document standards for electronic data exchange. It covers activities related to the use of purchase cards.
- Legal and security: to define a framework for legal conditions and contracts, regarding the use of electronic exchange of information in project business. The result ensures that all parties involved in a project will be confident that there is an accepted legal framework regulating the new ways of working, leading to more trust and hence, improved business relationships. The eLegal project ahs developed a framework of seven work packages.
- Product data standard: to achieve operational benefits from the implementation of electronic exchange for product related information. The goal is to specify, design and implement functionality in order to exchange product and materials information.
- EDMS: to enable the effective sharing of information among project partners, where those partners may not always be located on the same site or even on the same country.
- CITE standards: defines three types of standard based on the international EDIFACT standards, XML Schema and ASCII flat files.
Programme of work for 07/08
- Continue to develop the above in particular in the area of tendering.
- Get closer relations with Building Information Model (BIM) which is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. It is used as a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life cycle from inception onwards.
- Merger of CITE with the IAI UK under the buildingSmart banner.
- CITE is to become a member of EdiBuild Europe which will be a group of European standards organisations working in the construction industry to offer a single point of contact for the European construction industry in the field of electronic Data Exchange.
The Business Model
- Business Operational Model: CITE is a non-profit making company limited by guarantee that was set up to administer the community and the standards developed by the community. The CITE community is managed by the CITE Management Council (CMC) which is supported by a Community Manager meets regularly to direct the operations and administration of the community. The CMC comprises legal directors who are elected at the annual general meeting from the membership. The community comprises corporate members from all sectors from the construction industry. The membership is structured into seven categories.
- Funding Mechanisms: funding is provided through corporate membership subscription fees as well as R&D projects.
Principal Contact(s)
Community Manager: Jeff Stephens
Technology Centre, Stanbridge Road, Leighton Buzzard Bedbordshire LU7 4QH
Tel: +44 (0) 1525 859000
Fax: +44 (0) 1525 859001
Email: Jeff.Stephens@uk.taylorwoodrow.com
