BIM-Enabled Virtual and Collaborative Construction Engineering and Management

Abstract

Today's construction engineering and management (CEM) graduates must have strong communication and teamwork skills; they must have the ability to work efficiently within colocated teams; and finally, they must know how to apply fundamental engineering, man- agement, and computer skills in practice. However, the traditional CEM education does not equip future engineers and managers to deal successfully with such issues. The authors describe experiences from a course that focuses on modes of learning involving virtual collabo- ration, problem-oriented project-based learning, and role-based learning. The aim of this course is to combine experimental and experiential learning into a research driven experience. The course was codesigned and cotaught by two instructors from two universities. The learning outcomes and lessons learned during the introduction of this building information modeling (BIM)-enabled virtual and collaborative con- struction engineering and management course are discussed. Specifically, it is shown that the introduction of BIM in a virtual collaborative setting allows instructors to design a course that incorporates the use of more realistic scenarios that better simulate real-world challenges. Such experiences teach students how construction projects are executed in practice, how different disciplines rely on one other for infor- mation, what type of information is needed from relevant disciplines, and when and how this information could be exchanged/shared between tools and processes. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000098. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers. CE Database subject headings: Construction management; Scheduling; Teamwork; Communication; Information management. Author keywords: Multidisciplinary teamwork; Building information modeling (BIM); Construction engineering and management; Virtual collaboration; Estimate; Schedule; Quantity takeoff.