CONSTRUCTION SITE INFORMATION MODELLING APPLIED TO INFRABIM

Abstract

Construction industry lags in digitalization due to various factors, not least the complexity of implementing the BIM method in all production stages of the supply chain. This research focuses on CoSIM (Construction Site Information Modelling) design applied to the construction of new infrastructure and particularly addresses the issue of the Level-of-Information-Need structure based on the "model use" approach introduced by ISO 19650-1:2018 and the resulting IDS (Information Delivery Specification). To acquire useful information for the research aim, many site visits were conducted for over a year at a highway construction site in Italy to retrace the design process backward and highlight the available ergo-technical information assets and their shortcomings. As a result of the on-site monitoring, a database structure of ergo-technical information was graphically displayed through tabs. Specifically, the IDS made it possible to operationalize the structure theorized in the database through the Level-of-Information-Need in a machine-user dialogue. The IDS system was then interpreted as a combination of the IFC format, favoring the design process in an openBIM environment. This allowed the definition of specific infrastructure ergo-technics PropertySets and their related properties. The correct acquisition of ergo-technical information related to the project procedure is extremely useful regarding time, costs, and workers' Health & Safety planning. Therefore, the study aims to serve as a starting point for defining the contents of complex documents such as the EIR (Exchange Information Requirements) and/or the BEP (BIM Execution Plan) related to the activities of an infrastructure construction site, developed for the so-called "infraBIM" world.