With the technology development, and using it in several areas, it was necessary that this development to be reflected in architecture and construction, especially with the increase of projects complexity in general. Therefore, most offices began moving to the Building Information Modeling (BIM) system, which represents a digital simulation of building's physical and functional features, as well as integrating different information about all projects components and elements, which provide more control of construction cost and efficiency. It is also possible to simulate the building, understand its behavior before construction and support the project during its phases, including the post-construction maintenance or dismantling and demolition. This article addresses the BIM role in the construction process, starting with design and estimation, through scheduling, and finally project management.
With the technology development, and using it in several areas, it was necessary that this development to be reflected in architecture and construction, especially with the increase of projects complexity in general. Therefore, most offices began moving to the Building Information Modeling (BIM) system, which represents a digital simulation of building's physical and functional features, as well as integrating different information about all projects components and elements, which provide more control of construction cost and efficiency. It is also possible to simulate the building, understand its behavior before construction and support the project during its phases, including the post-construction maintenance or dismantling and demolition. This article addresses the BIM role in the construction process, starting with design and estimation, through scheduling, and finally project management.
Design:
When making a design and modifying it, the designer often forgets to modify the rest of facades, sections or plans, such as modifying an opening on the ground floor while forgetting to modify the rest of floors and sections. At the same time, the Building Information Modeling overcomes this problem, as the modification don in the building not in a specific panel. In addition, employer doesn't have to wait the construction phase to see or imagine the building, but the Building Information Modeling allows him to see and walk through the building during design. It also can make modification during meeting for consulting and studying facades and horizontal plans, which reduce modification cost, as the cost increases as the project gets older. When the building model is completed with employer, designer and constructor collaborative efforts, it leads to more robust design with minimum risk of changes at construction time. This must be done in accordance with the project's change management plan. Any change can be done and approved during design phase, before offering the project as a bid or tinder, it will be less costly and less risky than if the change was made after the project was offered as tender and starting working on the executive plans, which increases risks and costs and exposes the project to delay in general. It is also preferable to study the impact of any change at any stage of the project's working plan, as well as the project's time and cost management plan until the completion of the design phase.
In addition, the Building Information Modeling acts as a single source of information in construction projects, which enables all stakeholders to access the information easily. Hence, it is benefited from setting a good communication plan for the optimal correct utilization of information access to cover how to communicate information, its destination, objectives and resources. For example, if the project manager needs to know the fire rating of a door, he can easily get this information from the Building Information Modeling, rather than having to contact the fire safety engineer. Therefore, everyone must know who has the right to access the Building Information Model, who has the right to modify and who has the right to approve or reject. One of the most important problems that facing the information issue in the traditional method is the large time wasted in the process of searching for the required file, which the Building Information Modeling addresses in its own way. BIM enables organizing work and documents and reducing the time wasted in searching for the latest files by adopting Common Data Environment (CDE) as a single source of information that collects, manages and publishes approved relevant project documents for multidisciplinary teams in the managed process.
The Common Data Environment (CDE) is usually provided by the document management system that facilitates the process of sharing data or information among the project participants. The information within the CDE is subject to one of the four regional assessments (work progress area, participation area, publication area and archive area).
Estimation
Assuming that there is a standard set of construction documents, one of the next steps of the traditional construction project will be that the construction manager is to prepare a detailed estimate. But combining a reliable estimate is usually involves a person with skills and experience to draw reasonably accurate estimates in a reasonable time. It is not expected to calculate all "bricks" or screws in the building. Therefore, cost is estimated with the skills necessary for achieving balance between these aspects of estimating task in the construction and building industry.
The Building Information Modeling overcomes this dilemma, as when the designer draws walls in the system environment, it doesn't made by drawing a line and indicates it as a wall, but he draws a real wall, not only width and high, but it is drawn with its actual characteristics. Therefore estimating cost in the BIM environment is simpler, easier and more accurate. Using actual data of the building model is a very different approach than estimating with the old methods.
In addition to the above, the Building Information Modeling helps in bridge the gap between designer and executor, where it provides information within the model instead of the time-wasting paper packages, which gives the best opportunities for the practitioner and the executor to provide and accurate quotation through scientific study of procurement management plan, to achieve the following:
Reducing the number of questions about the lack of clarity of a part as materials or as a rating.
Shortening the duration of meeting that discuss some ambiguous works in the regular two-dimensional diagrams, due to which a pre-tender meeting is held and prices are obtained, and whose questions are formulated based on the ambiguity extent and lack of coordination between diagrams and systems.
Discussing the clear contradictions between the systems, such as studying the conflict between the architectural and construction diagrams, and coordinating among (health, electrical, air condition) services on the one hand and the architect, especially false ceilings and their heights on the another hand.
Accurate knowledge of the project cost before starting it, and adjusting according to the employer's desire, without real cost in term of changing materials and their quality or replacing with cheaper and less specifications items.
Scheduling:
After planning, a project schedule begins and determine tasks at any time and in any order by using a project time management plan, which include the traditional scheduling methods, which depend on few number of people familiar with tasks that need to be done to make the schedule realistic to the highest extent, and to estimate the duration of each activity, as well as the required materials for undertaking that activity. The project team members define the duration required for each task to be completed, in the common logical and practical order needed to be achieved. It also must include the correct geometry and positional relationships among tasks.
As technology has developed over time, the modeling process has shifted from a completely theoretical and paper-based process to a process that includes scheduling software, not unlike other forms of documents previously mentioned. However, schedule is usually no longer vitally related to the building design. It depends on those who created the schedule, through analyzing of the building design, to make any changes or updates to the schedule, how and when the design changed. Perhaps this is one of the most important gaps in the traditional process bridged by using of the BIM.
Traditionally the engineering model and scheduling software were two separate databases. But now there is a connection between them, which is the fourth dimension (4D).
The fourth dimension in the Building Information Modeling system is the time, where it links between the model, with its all elements, and the schedule. The BIM enables us to link its components with the schedule, where the CAD cannot. Therefore, one of the most impressive imagination tools offered by many BIM software is the ability to view an animation model of construction process in progress, while the timeline runs through the bottoms of the screen and comparing the planned with the actual.
Managing the Project
Once the construction process begins, the management of this project is a process that consists of monitoring the progress achieved and comparing it with the schedule through the performance data, where all execution information is collected on the ground from the site and compared with the planned and required to be implemented for the same period, and the performance report is prepared based on it, and achieving the earned value to know whether or not the project is achieving progress. The project activities are directed to still on the time. Several challenges to this process have traditionally been presented.
The most common of these challenges come as changes resulted from undiscovered or unsolved problems, such as changing in the project design or scope by the employer or occurring of unexpected circumstances or unplanned emergency risks. Claims and disputes are a fairly acceptable part of construction process. But it is generally agreed that these changes lead to wasting time and money of project employer and stakeholders. It is certain that everyone bears the time cost. It seems that all of these issues are resulted from the difference between expectation and reality. The BIM provides the project team with the ability to reduce these issues. Where, the BIM environment helps to ensure that the most conflicts are detected and reconciled at an early phase of the project. Accordingly, the possibility of unanswered expectations is greatly reduced, and this has a direct impact on reducing the number of claims, disputes and associates wastes.
In addition to the above, the success of the project is largely depends on the satisfaction of stakeholder. Therefore, it is important to study the stakeholder's requirements, especially Employer Information requirements (EIR). Stakeholder management is also one of the most critical success factors of the project, as exploration is mainly done through correspondence review and primary data collection. The second source of exploration relates to direct meetings with stockholders, such as project managers, architects, BIM experts, software vendors, developers and innovation managers.
To achieve the max interest of the above, it must be pursued in managing the scope of project from the beginning as an idea, where requirements are collected from stakeholders, including the employer or his representative, by many ways and focusing on minimizing changes by obtaining accurate and complete requirements from the employer and stakeholders.
Conclusion:
The Building Information Modeling Interests cannot be fully achieved without well-defined and well-managed identification process, which requires the participants to compliance with throughout the project. Without such process, the use of the BIM in a project may lead to unnecessary costs and delays. For helping project managers in undertaking their role in the information management field, here are five basic questions must be constantly asked in each meeting as follows:
Are all participants aware of the requirements related to the BIM project information production, management and exchange?
Is all project information generated, managed and exchanged using the appropriate forms of the BIM?
Is the standard form used and shared for design coordination and stakeholders meeting?
Is the information content within forms regularly checked for compliance with employer information requirements?
References:
Understanding BIM in a project management environment https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/understanding-bim-in-a-project-management-environment
CIOB Project Managers' Guide Updated for BIM Era http://www.bimplus.co.uk/news/ciob-project-managers-guide-updated-bim-era7654323/
The Design Manager's Handbook http://amzn.to/2zdRAef