Process Map for Accessing Automatization of Life Cycle Assessment Utilizing Building Information Modeling

Abstract

Despite the importance of life cycle assessment (LCA) in inspecting environmental impacts, its execution through manual methods affects the quality of the results, besides consuming the time and effort of decision-makers in the construction industry, such as designers, implementers, facility managers, and consultants. When LCA relies on building information modeling (BIM), it encounters many difficulties and obstacles, such as human intervention, conflicts among platforms and environmental databases, and no coordination to integrate or manage information. Thus, the research aims to support LCA through automatized integration with BIM depending on BIM’s role in information management, promoting decisions, and activating BIM implementation success factors to make the BIM model qualified for the LCA. Then, the BIM and LCA overlap methods were analyzed and exemplified. Also, the requirements of their integration strategies were identified for LCA to become automated from now. Accordingly, the process map that supports and coordinates the automatized integration of LCA and BIM, overcomes integration difficulties, and conducts LCA through automated methods was deduced and structured. The analytical hierarchy process was applied through the survey using questionnaires and interviews to validate this map. The survey affirmed that the BIM model acquired new characteristics and will play an essential role in the LCA’s accuracy, reliability, and comprehensiveness. This map supports the standardization and alternative strategies of the workflow. Furthermore, the interconnected stages of this map as a scenario can conduct an LCA within any project’s life stage and guarantee its quality.