Automated constructability rating framework for concrete formwork systems using building information modeling

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to develop an automated constructability rating framework for different concrete formwork systems that are commonly used for the construction of reinforced concrete residential buildings. Initially, various constructability criteria (cost, time, quality, safety and environmental sustainability) that are analogous to the concrete formwork construction are rationally characterized through an intriguing data acquisition mechanism (a complete process involving the collection, recording and processing of data) known as constructability survey. Withal, an unified 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) Model (i.e., 3D Structural BIM Model and 3D BIM Formwork Family or Module) is developed to providence CONSTaFORM, an automated constructability assessment framework for concrete formwork systems. The CONSTaFORM is a supplementary Add-in for Autodesk Revit developed by a process called API-fication, i.e., customizing Revit API to provide additional functionalities and hence enhancing the capabilities of existing framework invariably. The optimal constructability scores of various concrete formwork systems obtained from the constructability survey are initially fed into their respective 3D BIM formwork families as shared parameters, which are later used for the computation of the overall constructability rating of the formwork systems involved in the entire project, using BIM via CONSTaFORM Add-in. To reinforce the profundity and advocacy of CONSTaFORM Add-in, a suitable case study is reported.