BIM-enabled Modular and Industrialized Construction in China

Abstract

Old-fashioned construction methods in China lead to many issues such as low field productivity, unreliable quality, high resource and energy consumption, frequent safety accidents, and significant environmental pollution. The concept of industrialization of construction has been recognized since the 1950's, but was not well developed until recently when the industry came under the pressure of increasing labour costs and the demand for sustainable development. There was a surge of Building Information Modeling (BIM) application in the last few years in China, and the industry has seen the many benefits of virtual design and construction. Integrating BIM technology into the industrialization of construction is seen as a promising opportunity to improve the performance of modular and industrialized construction. This paper first reviews the history of the industrialization of the Chinese construction industry, and then discusses the recent BIM adoption in China. The main focus of this paper is using BIM to support modular design and industrialized construction and installation in China. The use of some advanced hardware tools is also discussed, including the use of 3D laser scanners to collect as-built data and establish a point cloud model for better MEP system coordination, and the use of a robotic total station for fast installation.