Linking permissioned blockchain to Internet of Things (IoT)-BIM platform for off-site production management in modular construction

Abstract

Traditionally, construction managers were considered more experienced in project management than off-site production management, although the latter is gaining importance with the renaissance of modular construction worldwide. Various Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled Building Information Modelling (BIM) platforms have been developed to facilitate production management by providing better information visibility, traceability, and a more collaborative working environment. Nevertheless, by and large, existing platforms suffer from two shortcomings: (a) the ‘single point of failure’ problem of IoT networks and (b) how to guarantee the provenance of BIM modifications from multi-sources. This research aims to develop a blockchain-enabled IoT-BIM platform (BIBP) for off-site production management in modular construction (OPM-MC) that can overcome the shortcomings. A design science research method is adopted to develop a three-layer BIBP system architecture. The system architecture is implemented and then compared with the existing IoT-enabled BIM platform. It was found that BIBP can avoid a single point of failure in IoT networks and ensure the provenance of BIM modifications with reduced storage costs in OPM-MC. The system architecture developed in our study can help the industry advance beyond the rhetoric to develop practical blockchain-enabled IoT-BIM applications. Future works are recommended to fine-tune the platform and test and evaluate it in various scenarios.