Building Information Modeling In Projects Research Articles

New built and refurbished railway tunnels: Data delivery from BIM Models to OEBB's asset management

AbstractDigitalisation in the construction industry has been progressing continuously and bringing major changes for everyone involved in virtually all areas. Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB has been pushing BIM (Building Information Modelling) for the construction and rehabilitation of their infrastructure. By means of various pilot projects, the basics and the processes required for design and construction are developed and applied with a strong focus on system operation. For Granitztal tunnel and a total length of ≈6.1 km, the as‐built design of the civil structures is done with an element‐based, open BIM model. As part of the handover to the maintenance and operation division, the data of civil structures relevant for operation are derived from the BIM model, validated by means of automatic methods and transferred to the facility management system (AVS, Anlagen‐Verzeichnis‐System). In the absence of an IFC (Industry Foundation Class) structure tunnel, a semantic and spatial data structure is developed. Furthermore, the model will be enriched with components of railway equipment. On the other hand, there is the over‐100‐year‐old Karawanks tunnel as part of the railway section between Villach and Jesenice. The line has been in operation since 1906 and includes the ≈8 km‐long, single‐tube Karawanks tunnel. The current situation of the tunnel including the superstructure and technical equipment no longer meets performance, safety and durability requirements and is being rehabilitated within an international cooperation project between Austria and Slovenia. The focus in this BIM project is set on the as‐built design and merging data of the existing historic tunnel structure with information of new components implemented during refurbishment. A core task is the structured transfer of data contained in the BIM model to the facility/asset management system of ÖBB (AVS) and the Slovenian infrastructure operator. The case histories of Granitztal tunnel and Karawanks tunnel are used to describe the implementation of BIM, including the development of required data structures, validation mechanisms and data delivery to the asset management.

Analysis of BIM-Based Digitising of Green Building Index (GBI): Assessment Method

There is currently an increasing demand for Building Information Modelling (BIM) to be integrated into green projects. BIM is able to evaluate green building assessment tools by digitising and assessing buildings during their development stage. In Malaysia, the Green Building Index (GBI) promotes sustainability in the built environment. Six categories of criteria will be assessed in three of the certification stages. This study focuses on how BIM applications can digitise the GBI criteria for GBI processes. It examines BIM uses and tools of each GBI credit and defines the responsibility and role of construction stakeholders in using BIM to examine the assessment methods used for new non-residential building construction based on GBI. The primary method for data collection is the focus group interview which involves the groups of stakeholders involved in a BIM and GBI project. The result of the BIM–GBI assessment method showed that BIM could digitise and assess 25 credits in Design Assessment (DA), which can achieve 55 points of the total 100 points. This study helps stakeholders define the design team and facility manager’s roles to obtain GBI certification and maintain the certification during the building’s operation stage.

A framework for architecture and structural engineering collaboration in BIM projects through structural optimization

There has been an increasingly global tendency in the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) paradigm in Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) projects. At the same time, Structural Optimization (SO) has received a lot of attention in the construction industry to reduce material and to enhance structural performance. However, the lack of communication between structural engineer and architect is a well-known problem discussed in the literature. This can lead to inefficient projects, thus increasing cost and time. The purpose of this work, thus, is to understand how SO can be inserted in a BIM project, specifically analysing the information exchanges between architects and structural engineers, to mitigate the problem related to lack of communication. The investigation included a systematic literature review to comprehend the current scientific scenario in these areas. It identified that there is still a research gap related to the adoption of SO to facilitate the communication between architects and structural engineers in a BIM environment. To help answer this question, an Information Delivery Manual (IDM) structure was developed which maps the information flow to connect architects and engineers through SO in a BIM environment, aiming to optimize the information exchanges. By applying the methodology to three experiments of increasing complexity, the proposed framework proved to improve the collaboration issue beyond other project benefits, such as reduction of material consumption, improvement of sustainability indexes, and structural performance. Thus, the main finding of this study is that the connection between BIM and SO can improve the collaboration between these two players in the early design stages and, thus, it can potentially lead to a more efficient design process. More studies are still necessary to solve technological barriers related to software interoperability.

Liability in BIM projects—Preliminary review results

Building Information Modelling (BIM) fosters a collaborative working environment. With the industry moving toward this change, most practitioners believe that, compared to traditional methods, there will be a change in project liabilities and risk assignment. Design integration through BIM leads to ambiguity in determining the party responsible for the design. Therefore, BIM parties need to understand not only BIM but also the change in their responsibilities and think of solutions to liability and risk assignment. Based on the information gathered from three resources, this study aims at reviewing solutions to design liability assignment. These three resources are as follows: the existing research studies in the field of BIM adoption challenges, the existing contractual standards such as AIA G202, and contract conditions of 10 BIM projects. Findings indicate that there has been a lack of attention to design liability in BIM. The results provide significant insights into the status of BIM liability issue, the existing gaps in the knowledge, and potential future research.

Clash Detection Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) Technology in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Research on the digital built environment in the context of identifying and minimizing clashes is a critical area to investigate owing to the significant influence of clashes on the construction process. This research aims to identify the current state of building information modeling (BIM) enabled clash detection in the architecture, engineering, and construction and operation (AECO) industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It further identifies the main reasons for clash occurrence, methods, and practices used to decrease the workload on BIM project teams. It also recognizes the existence of BIM departments (their type and functionalities). It aims to answer whether the transition from clash detection to clash avoidance is possible in a country where BIM technology has just penetrated. This research conducted a literature review and review of current regulatory documents regarding BIM technology, interviews with industry professionals, and a survey among construction companies and design organizations. Although the AECO industry of Kazakhstan has just entered the BIM environment, this research has shown that BIM-enabled clash detection and resolution processes are trying to evolve in parallel. It was concluded that the transition is difficult in a country where document assistance with clash detection and resolution is not well developed.

Mapping Unmanned Aerial System Data onto Building Information Modeling Parameters for Highway Construction Progress Monitoring

The transportation infrastructure management sector lacks automated procedures that can help it find and resolve the performance deviations. The objective of this research is to illustrate the mapping of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) collected photogrammetric data to building information modeling (BIM) parameters, and their application for automated construction progress monitoring and the generation of as-built models. The goal is to support project managers to estimate project progress during highway construction. As a part of ongoing work, this paper takes into account 4D (3D + time) data that is acquired from 3D surface digital elevation models, point clouds, LiDAR data, and orthographic photos. It maps these 4D data onto BIM parameters to create as-built models of the project at different intervals. A comparison between as-planned and as-built models using the earned value management method is employed to develop metrics that can be used for indicating cost and schedule deviations during construction. The mapping methodology introduced in this paper is illustrated using an ongoing highway construction project case study. The main contribution of this paper is the organization, processing, and integration of UAS data with BIM data structures and project management workflows. The research outcomes will assist project managers in an easy and quick identification of potential performance problems and support the project management decision-making process.

Making Sense of Multi-Actor Social Collaboration in Building Information Modelling Level 2 Projects: A Case in Malaysia

Despite the diversity of thinking among the scholars on building information modelling (BIM) collaboration, there is a paucity of studies that capture the dimension of social collaboration in BIM projects. This study attempts to develop a comprehensive understanding on the key attributes of multi-actor social collaboration in BIM projects through the experience of practitioners in BIM-Level 2 construction project. The success of multi-actor social collaboration has been investigated through structured interviews with 22 BIM practitioners in a BIM-Level 2 project based on an established theoretical framework of social collaboration. The findings indicted that relationship-oriented attributes; relational contracts BIM execution plan; guideline, standard and work process manual approaches; employer information requirement (EIR); understanding roles and leadership; commitment from top management; resources; training, team building workshop and awareness program; coordination; and understanding on the theoretical knowledge of BIM are of importance towards multi-actor social BIM collaboration. This study acknowledges that the success of multi-actor social collaboration was influenced by the consolidation of many attributes, and it extends the dominant relationship between related attributes for multi-actor social collaboration based on the "best practice approach", which includes dominant-centric attributes (i.e., behaviour formation, procurement model and support principles). This research contributes to the body of BIM knowledge in the construction domain by focusing on what it takes to achieve greater social collaboration in BIM Level 2 projects.

Investigating Significant Issues of BIM Implementation in Industrialised Building System Design and Production Process

Industrialised Building System (IBS) has been considered a construction method to accelerate the development of the construction industry in attempt to boost the economic growth of Malaysia. With the slow uptake of IBS method in Malaysian construction industry, Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology was introduced as an IBS catalyst to improve IBSprocess in term of its productivity and efficacy. However, the advantages of BIM implementation are not fully acquired in IBS industry. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the issues encountered when BIM is implemented in IBS design and production process in Malaysia. The preliminary study adopted the concurrent triangulation mixed method approach where both semi-structured interview and qualitative survey are used as research technique. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted as qualitative survey with the industry experts who have more than 5 years of experience in both IBS and BIM fields to gain insight into the issues of BIM implementation in both IBS design and production process. The quantitative survey Likert scale of agreed level was indicated by the respondents simultaneously while investigating the issues of BIM implementation in IBS design and production process during the interview. The interview data was collected and analysed by measuring mean agreed level to issues of BIM implementation in IBS design and production process and identifying the most significant issues of BIM implementation in IBS process across responses from interview using excel tool and content analysis. The results showed that the most significant issues are encountered when BIM is implemented in IBS design process rather than in IBS production process. The most significant issue is the lack of early collaboration among IBS players in the beginning of IBS design stage in a BIM project. In addition, the lack of knowledge and understanding on IBS design and installation among the project stakeholder, especially consultants in the BIM integrated projects leads to the increase of IBS design time and causes the late confirmation of informed decision of the IBS component design. It can further affect the productivity of IBS production process. Therefore, the issues of BIM implementation in IBS design process should be tackled early to improve the BIM implementation in IBS industry in Malaysia.

An overview of BIM adoption barriers in the Middle East and North Africa developing countries

PurposeIn an attempt to attain a better understanding of the research work on building information modeling (BIM) adoption, this study aims to examine the criticality of BIM adoption barriers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) developing countries from the lens of the sociotechnical theory. Further, the study investigates the differences in the perceptions of various constructions players (owners, contractors and designers) to BIM barriers, as well as possible discrepancies in the perception of BIM users and non-BIM users to the significance of the perceived constraints.Design/methodology/approachTo reach this aim, the study starts with a systematic evaluation and a critical review of the literature on BIM barriers. A set of 22 BIM adoption limitations was drawn from the literature which was used to design the survey. To capture a broad perception, a mixed approach was used, and data were collected through an interview study and a survey involving Architecture, Engineering and Construction professionals in the MENA construction sector. The collected data were analyzed using the mean score, standard deviation and nonparametric tests. The further principal component analysis (PCA) grouped the barriers to uncover the latent factors of BIM barriers.FindingsThe actors ranked the barriers as follows: lack of knowledge and BIM awareness, commercial issues and investment cost, lack of skills and BIM specialist, interoperability and lack of client demand. The examination of the PCA resulted in four underlying BIM limitation factors namely: human, technological, structural and financial. The analysis of the ranking indicated that 16 of the 22 barriers are considered critical in the MENA area. The results of the Mann–Whitney test indicated that there is a statistically significant difference in perceptions of BIM users and nonuser for seven barriers, pointing out that users care most about the financial barriers; however, nonusers are mostly concerned with structural and technological barriers. However, the results of the Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that there is no statistically significant difference in the perceptions of the three categories of stakeholders in ranking all BIM barriers.Practical implicationsThe outcomes will back policymakers and construction participants with the knowledge to develop policy propositions that can positively affect BIM adoption in the construction industry. The significance of this study lies in being one of the very first explorative investigations that comparatively and empirically explored BIM adoption barriers across the whole MENA developing countries.Originality/valueWhile several research studies have examined BIM adoption barriers in various countries, none to the best of the authors' knowledge have attempted to study the whole MENA region as one entity, and none highlighted the impact of user's roles on their perception of adoption barriers within their community. The results contribute to the discussion of the relationship among practitioners' level of involvement in BIM projects and their perception of adoption barriers which is underrepresented in extant studies. The above can assist with prioritizing the barriers that are considered to be more significant given the characteristics of the community under study. The result revealed the value of the structural and human attributes in prioritizing BIM adoption barriers within the MENA construction industry.

Analysis of the Current State of Automation of Hazard Detection Processes in BIM in Slovakia

Building information modeling (BIM) brings several benefits to design and construction companies, especially in higher efficiency and quality of work. Several companies also use common data environment (CDE) systems, which speed up communication and collaboration between project participants. These can be used for occupational health and safety (HS) purposes and to increase the level of HS on construction sites. The first part of the article presents the state-of-the-art possibilities and approaches to implementing BIM in automatic or semi-automatic health and safety hazard detection. The following parts analyze the interviews with experts in BIM coordination, project management and health and safety in Slovakia and their answers to a survey, that covers the topic of safety hazard detection in BIM. The analysis shows that BIM is a suitable tool for increasing safety on construction sites, but there are several obstacles to achieving its full potential. The survey brings readers closer to the current state of the topic and the possibilities offered by BIM and CDE software in Slovakia. This paper, through the requirements and opinions of experts in BIM, project management and HS management, points out areas for further research and development of BIM software.

A relational framework for smart information delivery manual (IDM) specifications

This study proposes a relational framework for standardized machine-applicable, readable, and transferable (smart) information delivery manual (IDM) specifications. As the demand for projects using building information modeling (BIM) increases, there is a more acute awareness and need for clearly defined information requirements to support the BIM projects. The ISO 29481-1 IDM standard defines how to specify exchange requirements (ERs) and their use cases (UCs) using a process map (PM). However, IDM specifications are currently not easily sharable or reusable due to the lack of a commonly accepted standard data schema. This study overcomes this problem by identifying definitions and relationships of IDM components to develop the relational framework for an IDM data schema. An extensive review of existing IDM-related documents and standards, and iterative international meetings, were conducted by 46 international IDM experts from 16 countries. A consensus on the relational framework was then reached through three Delphi survey rounds. The formalized relational IDM framework lays a foundation for further developing an IDM data schema as an international standard.

Preliminary Study of Changes in Work Practices of Quantity Surveyors in Building Information Modelling (BIM) Projects

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been a game changer for the construction industry in transforming how design and construction is delivered. While its introduction aims to increase efficiency in construction, it is unclear what practical changes are affected in the individual work practices of construction players. Many studies have explored the changes in design related work practices, but limited studies have explored the practical changes for quantity surveying (QS) work practices when working in BIM projects. This paper aims to examine the changes in QS work practices according to the RIBA plan of work. The objectives of this paper include i) to identify the positive changes in QS work practices and, ii) to identify the negative changes in QS work practices. Qualitative data were analyzed from the interviews of five Quantity Surveyors with BIM work experience. The analysis revealed that there are six positive changes and four negative changes in QS work practices when involved in BIM projects. The findings from this research can be used to understand the implications of BIM on QS work practices at a practical level and to elucidate the adjustments needed to cope with BIM-related changes.

Implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Social Heritage Buildings in Kuala Lumpur

Heritage buildings offer a sense of identity in every country. Preserving heritage buildings is important to ensure that bona fide aesthetic values are well maintained. However, the conservation and preservation of heritage buildings during operation and maintenance (O&M) has been taken lightly which can cause buildings to be abandoned due to the tedious work involved for the Facility Managers. Therefore, a need for advanced technology, such as Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM), is important to enhance the efficiency of O&M for heritage buildings in Malaysia. Even though BIM has many benefits, yet it is not widely adopted in Malaysia especially for heritage buildings. Therefore, this research highlights the awareness of BIM for social heritage buildings in Kuala Lumpur. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various construction professionals that have experience in BIM projects and managing heritage buildings. These interviews prove that the current facility management practices for heritage buildings do not use advanced technology for upkeep and maintenance, particularly when producing dilapidation reports and measured drawings. Findings also show the challenges that restrict the implementation of BIM in heritage buildings and how to overcome the problems which have been categorized into three (3) elements: people, process, and technology. This research is expected to fill the gap in the implementation of BIM by supporting the initiatives by the Malaysian government for increasing productivity in construction projects through the adoption of new technology, like BIM, especially for heritage buildings.

Building Information Modelling (BIM): Contractual Issues of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in Construction Projects

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an emerging technology that provides a platform for a comprehensive digital representation of a facility to be created by integrating data from design conception until demolition. In seeking the optimum use of BIM, a large degree of cooperation and collaboration among multi-disciplinary contributors are required for the digital data exchange and sharing process to be deployed. This situation, however, brings up new issues in delineating liabilities and limitations of contributors as the demarcation line of each contributor becomes unclear. In Malaysia, there is no known BIM-enabled standard form of contract that preserves the intellectual property rights (IPR) of the BIM projects’ contributors. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate the issues pertaining to IPR in the context of BIM adoption in the construction project. Qualitative methodology involving literature review, analysis of existing IPR provisions and semi-structured interviews with the experts were conducted. The research identified two major issues related to IPR in BIM projects: copyright ownership of the BIM model and data infringement. This paper is substantial to deliver knowledge to the construction industry practitioners regarding the legal and contractual considerations in the adoption of BIM.

BIM-Based Description of Intelligent Transportation Systems for Roads

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provide safer, greener, and more convenient mobility, while reducing the impact on the environment. In recent years, simulation platforms have been employed to study ITS applications, mostly focusing on traffic-related simulations. Despite several research studies on ITS applications and simulation platforms, formal semantic descriptions of intelligent transportation systems have not been addressed yet. In this paper, a semantic model describing intelligent transportation systems for roads is proposed. The semantic model is devised to provide a basis for designing ITS simulation platforms. Building upon the semantic model, an extension to an open building information modeling (BIM) standard, i.e., the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) schema, is presented. The IFC schema extension is verified and validated using a BIM-based simulation scenario of ITS for roads. It is shown that the proposed IFC-compliant description of ITS for roads provides a formal basis for generating BIM-based simulations and hence facilitates ITS infrastructure modeling in BIM projects. It is concluded that the present work represents a cornerstone for designing BIM-based ITS simulation platforms. In future endeavors, potential standardization and formalization efforts may be discussed.

Exploring the Influence of Risks in BIM Implementation: A Review Exploring BIM Critical Success Factors and BIM Implementation Phases

The adoption of building information modeling (BIM) has a strong potential to influence project performance positively. However, the implementation and use of BIM also involve challenges and risks that must be considered for its practice's success. This study aims to identify gaps and future research direction within the field of BIM and risk management. Besides, it explores the relationship between risks related to BIM implementation and project success dimensions. For this, a literature review is applied, merging bibliometric and content analysis. The results show that the three most frequently mentioned risks are technological interface among programs, followed by interoperability issues, and inadequate knowledge or expertise. Besides, insights pinpoint the positive relation between the BIM critical success factors and the risks associated with BIM, particularly in the design phase.

Information management roles in real estate development lifecycle: literature review on BIM and IPD framework

PurposeIntegrated project delivery (IPD) and building information modeling (BIM) has begun to be used in real estate development projects over the past decade to improve collaboration, communication and efficiency. However, the use of BIM and IPD in projects does not always imply that the information is well used and managed. This study aims to explain how information management should be carried out in BIM and IPD projects, what activities should be managed by the information manager and which stakeholder should play this role and why?Design/methodology/approachThis study provides a framework on the subject by conducting a comprehensive systematic review in the field of real estate development, BIM, IPD and information management. In this context, the Web of Science and Scopus databases have been systematically reviewed, n = 45 out of a total of n = 1,356 articles and additionally, the BIM documents and standards prepared by public institutions and organizations and industry reports have been examined in detail.FindingsThe framework for information management roles was established by reviewing the literature. According to this framework, information management activities of information managers are listed in the table that covers all phases of real estate development. The owner should undertake this role as it is the entity that oversees the built asset from planning to the management of that facility.Originality/valueIn terms of acquiring information management roles, there is no research on BIM and IPD projects and who will take over this role. This study desired to close this gap in the literature.

Project cost control using five dimensions building information modelling

Correctness level of data is the key of the construction industry success. Today, there is a novel widespread tool in construction sector which is building information modelling (BIM). BIM assists as a collective intelligence supply for data about a service and improves closeness among distinct stakeholder concerned in a project. The usual problems confronted by construction sector are cost increasing and schedule delays. BIM will certainly assist to reduce these circumstances. This article used a case study to show how the applying of BIM systems on a full construction project life cycle cost can decrease project budgets and enhance project time. Moreover, it is going to focus on integrating the traditional 4D BIM (project schedule) and the cost of every project item to form 5D BIM. This will simplify several cost associated actions such as controlling the construction project cost. At the end of this study, it is found out that the variance between planned costs and actual costs decreased from 12% to 5% when 5D BIM is used instead of traditional methods. Therefore, accurate cost estimates and clash finding are the useful outcomes of 5D BIM.

ANALYSIS OF THE BIM-M DATA MODEL APPLICATION

The article analyses implementation of BIM-M (Building Information Modeling for Masonry) into the BIM (Building Information Modeling) project to ensure the preparation of the masonry project. The BIM-M model consists of a masonry database, a masonry unit model, a masonry unit database model, and masonry unit model definition and BIM masonry wall definition model. The case study proposes a BIM-M model for cavity wall, masonry structures involving project stakeholders and ensuring the exchange of information at the design stage CAD (Computer Aided Design) with the ability to transfer information to other life cycles CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) and CAE (Computer Aided Engineering).

Adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the Development of Smart Buildings: A Review of Enabling Applications and Challenges

The construction industry is undergoing a digital revolution due to the emergence of new technologies. A significant trend is that construction projects have been transformed and upgraded to the digital and smart mode in the whole life cycle. As a critical technology for the construction industry’s innovative development, building information modeling (BIM) is widely adopted in building design, construction, and operation. BIM has gained much interest in the research field of smart buildings in recent years. However, the dimensions of BIM and smart building applications have not been explored thoroughly so far. With an in‐depth review of related journal articles published from 1996 to July 2020 on the BIM applications for smart buildings, this paper provides a comprehensive understanding and critical thinking about the nexus of BIM and smart buildings. This paper proposes a framework with three dimensions for the nexus of BIM application in smart buildings, including BIM attributes, project phases, and smart attributes. According to the three dimensions, this paper elaborates on (1) the advantages of BIM for achieving various smartness; (2) applications of BIM in multiple phases of smart buildings; and (3) smart building functions that be achieved with BIM. Based on the analysis of the literature in three dimensions, this paper presents the cross‐analysis of the nexus of BIM and smart buildings. Lastly, this paper proposes the critical insights and implications about the research gaps and research trends: (1) enhancing the interoperability of BIM software; (2) further exploring the role of BIM in the operation and refurbishment phase of smart buildings; (3) paying attention to BIM technology in the field of transportation infrastructure; (4) clarifying the economic benefits of BIM projects; and (5) integrating BIM and other technologies.