Bridging BIM and building: From a literature review to an integrated conceptual framework

Identification and Analysis of Key Barriers of BIM Application for Small- and Medium-Sized Fire Protection Enterprises

The application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in fire protection discipline has been sufficiently proved to be useful, but has encountered many barriers in China. Among which, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are considered sensitive to adoption costs and external funding support, play a critical role in the BIM adoption process in fire protection discipline. Therefore, identifying and analyzing the barriers of BIM application are essential to help small- and medium-sized fire protection enterprises to overcome these barriers. In this study, semantic analysis, which includes word frequency analysis and coword analysis, based on literature review was utilized to identify the main barriers. 20 main barriers, which were classified into software, people, organization, and environment group, were obtained. Then, Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach and Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification (MICMAC) analysis were utilized to hierarchically analyze and categorize the main barriers of BIM application in Chinese SMFEs. The findings revealed that the lack of external support and the lack of BIM laws and regulations applicable to fire protection discipline are the key barriers in general for the application of BIM in SMFEs. For the barriers at the enterprise level, through further analysis and discussion based on barriers in the people and organization clusters, the lack of funding support for proper BIM training and the lack of organization culture support were concluded as the key barriers of BIM application inside the scope of SMFEs. According to 80-20 principle, more effort should be focused on the key barriers to gain maximum management effect. The research result categorizes the barriers for easy intervention of fire protection enterprises' managers and policymakers. It contributes to the nascent studies of BIM application and provides guidance for the application of BIM in fire protection discipline.

Interface Management Performance Assessment Framework for Sustainable Prefabricated Construction

Prefabricated construction (PC) has been regarded as a sustainable construction method for its inherent advantages such as energy savings, emissions reductions, and cleaner and safer working environments. However, PC development has been hindered by its inherent weaknesses of fragmentation and discontinuity. Effective interface management (IM) is regarded as integral to PC project success for its appropriate management of numerous interfaces with high complexity and uncertainty among the organization, information, and logistics. Although some researchers mentioned the effectiveness of IM for PC projects, systematic assessment methods for IM performance are missing. This study aims to systematically develop a framework to assess the IM performance of PC projects to address this gap. Through a comprehensive literature review, nineteen indicators of IM performance were identified and grouped into four categories. By combining the objective weighting method of an ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator with the set pair analysis (SPA) method of uncertainty assessment, a nineteen-indicator assessment model was developed. Finally, a case study was constructed using the proposed framework, and the feasibility and applicability of the OWA-SPA model were proved. The assessment results provided by the assessment model could guide project managers for better IM and serve as a valuable reference for researchers in the construction industry.

Critical Factors Influencing Interface Management of Prefabricated Building Projects: Evidence from China

Recently, interface management has been regarded as the key to the success of prefabricated building projects (PBPs) due to its capabilities to manage numerous interfaces caused by PBPs’ inherent geographical and organizational fragmentation. However, the factors influencing the interface management of PBPs are largely unknown and poorly studied. To compensate for this gap, this study aimed to investigate the critical factors influencing interface management in PBPs with quantitative and qualitative methods. Twenty-seven critical factors influencing the interface management of PBPs were identified through a literature review, questionnaire survey, and face-to-face interviews with professionals in the construction industry. A questionnaire survey was sent out to developers, designers, manufacturers, contractors, and consultants in China, and 66 completed questionnaires were received. Results showed the top five critical factors influencing the interface management of PBPs were (1) accuracy of design, (2) timeliness of information communication, (3) timeliness of component production and supply, (4) standardization of design, and (5) definition of work content and scope. The 27 influencing factors of PBPs were further categorized into seven groups via exploratory factor analysis, namely: (1) information communication, (2) trust and cooperation, (3) technical and management capability, (4) organizational integration, (5) standardization, (6) technical environment, and (7) contractual management. Improving these issues will contribute to the successful implementation of PBPs. Finally, combined with relevant literature and expert interviews, the impact of these seven clusters on the interface management of PBPs was discussed. The findings may contribute to deepening the understanding of interface management, reducing unnecessary conflicts and difficulties, and promoting the sustainable development of prefabricated building (PB).

Competency framework to integrate lean construction and integrated project delivery on construction megaprojects: towards a future of work global initiatives in multinational engineering organisations

Purpose

Built environment organisations face global challenges between business units, especially since the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has profoundly disrupted the construction industry worldwide, including the management of construction megaprojects (CMPs). This research aims to develop a competency framework, for global integrated delivery (GID) transformative initiatives and future of work (FOW) global initiatives, to manage integration between lean construction (LC) practices and integrated project delivery (IPD) on CMPs in contemporary multinational engineering organisations.

Design/methodology/approach

“Mixed research methods” involves a two-stage quantitative and qualitative research approach. In the context of CMPs, stage one consisted of a qualitative research methodology comprising a literature review to examine competencies, COVID-19 impacts, responses and key drivers (KDs) to integrate LeanIPD&GID; stage one outcomes propose a conceptualisation of LeanIPD&GID, a competency framework and future of work (FOW) global initiatives. Stage two involved an empirical questionnaire survey for a set of 30 KDs arranged into five-factor clusters (FCs), 226 respondents from 23 countries with an extensive cosmopolitan experience; analysis adopted structural equation modelling (SEM), descriptive and inferential statistics, percentage scoring analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and eigenvalues.

Findings

In the context of CMPs, stage one outcomes delivered a conceptualisation of LeanIPD&GID, a proposed competency framework and FOW global initiatives. Stage two concluded that the most significant KDs are “collaboration in design, construction works and engineering management,” “coordination and planning of construction work,” “senior organisational management support,” “boosting implementation of LC, and integrating project delivery” and “earlier and precise 3D visualisation of designs”. building information modelling (BIM) adoption in the MENA region is higher than LC; the second is still taking its first steps, while IPD has little implementation. LeanBIM is slightly integrated, while LeanIPD integration is almost not present.

Originality/value

The research findings, conceptualised LeanIPD&GID principles, a proposed competency framework and FOW global initiatives, provided future research streams and directions; the study has provided a competency framework and FOW global initiatives for effective practical strategies for enhancing integration of LeanIPD&GID transformative initiatives on CMPs and will allow project key stakeholders to place emphasis on boosting LeanIPD&GID KDs.

A Systematic Review of Current Strategies and Methods for BIM Implementation in the Academic Field

Since the international governmental institutions required and/or recommended (according to the regulations of each country and continent) all public works to be certified in the BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology, public and private institutions and universities have sought to integrate BIM into their production and educational processes. This requires the university academic environment to focus its efforts on training students in this methodology, as they will need to apply it in any future work activities related to architecture and construction. This article seeks to analyze which methods are being used by higher education institutions around the world to integrate BIM implementation in AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) degrees and to determine if a set of regulatory guidelines exists that could serve as a common foundation for institutions to improve this integration process. To this end, a systematic literature review was carried out on WOS and SCOPUS by applying the PRISMA statement methodology. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected based on keywords, abstracts, and full content of the articles. In the end, 23 articles were thoroughly studied, the integration and evaluation methods analyzed, and results obtained. The analysis shows a consensus on the need to develop common academic guidelines across university centers that define a strategy for curriculum modifications and teaching and learning strategies. Finally, future lines of research are identified.

Digital Twin-Based Safety Risk Coupling of Prefabricated Building Hoisting

Safety management in hoisting is the key issue to determine the development of prefabricated building construction. However, the security management in the hoisting stage lacks a truly effective method of information physical fusion, and the safety risk analysis of hoisting does not consider the interaction of risk factors. In this paper, a hoisting safety risk management framework based on digital twin (DT) is presented. The digital twin hoisting safety risk coupling model is built. The proposed model integrates the Internet of Things (IoT), Building Information Modeling (BIM), and a security risk analysis method combining the Apriori algorithm and complex network. The real-time perception and virtual–real interaction of multi-source information in the hoisting process are realized, the association rules and coupling relationship among hoisting safety risk factors are mined, and the time-varying data information is visualized. Demonstration in the construction of a large-scale prefabricated building shows that with the proposed framework, it is possible to complete the information fusion between the hoisting site and the virtual model and realize the visual management. The correlative relationship among hoisting construction safety risk factors is analyzed, and the key control factors are found. Moreover, the efficiency of information integration and sharing is improved, the gap of coupling analysis of security risk factors is filled, and effective security management and decision-making are achieved with the proposed approach.

Barriers to integrating building information modelling (BIM) and lean construction practices on construction mega-projects: a Delphi study

Purpose

The construction industry encounters substantial challenges in its evolution towards sustainable development and in the adoption of building information modelling (BIM) technology and lean construction (LC) practices on construction mega-projects. This research aims to investigate the critical barriers encountered by key construction stakeholders in their efforts to integrate BIM and LC in the construction mega-projects.

Design/methodology/approach

A two-round Delphi survey shaped the foundation of aggregating consensus between an expert panel that examined a set of 28 barriers resulting from a detailed analysis of the extant literature. Descriptive and inferential statistical tests were exploited for data analysis, and interrater agreement analysis was used to elaborated and validate results.

Findings

The research concluded that the key barriers by descending order of significance are lack of mandatory BIM and LC industry standards and regulations by the government, resistance of the industry to change from traditional practices to LeanBIM, high cost of software licenses and training and running of BIM.

Originality/value

The research findings and the proposed mitigation strategy will enhance the application of BIM and LC practices in construction mega-projects and allow project key stakeholders to place emphasis on tackling the crucial challenges and barriers identified in this research.

Drift Invariant Metric Quality Control of Construction Sites Using BIM and Point Cloud Data

Construction site monitoring is currently performed through visual inspections and costly selective measurements. Due to the small overhead in construction projects, additional resources are scarce to frequently conduct a metric quality assessment of the constructed objects. However, contradictory, construction projects are characterised by high failure costs which are often caused by erroneously constructed structural objects. With the upcoming use of periodic remote sensing during the different phases of the building process, new possibilities arise to advance from a selective quality analysis to an in-depth assessment of the full construction site. In this work, a novel methodology is presented to rapidly evaluate a large number of built objects on a construction site. Given a point cloud and a set of as-design BIM elements, our method evaluates the deviations between both datasets and computes the positioning errors of each object. Unlike the current state of the art, our method computes the error vectors regardless of drift, noise, clutter and (geo)referencing errors, leading to a better detection rate. The main contributions are the efficient matching of both datasets, the drift invariant metric evaluation and the intuitive visualisation of the results. The proposed analysis facilitates the identification of construction errors early on in the process, hence significantly lowering the failure costs. The application is embedded in native BIM software and visualises the objects by a simple color code, providing an intuitive indicator for the positioning accuracy of the built objects.

Veränderungspotenziale durch die Digitalisierung der gewerkübergreifenden Kooperation von kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen im Baugewerbe in Richtung Building Information Modeling (BIM) – Eine Fallanalyse

In diesem Fallbeispiel der Zeitschrift „Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation (GIO)“ wird abgeleitet, wie sich die unternehmens- und gewerkübergreifende Kooperation im Baugewerbe durch die Einführung eines digitalen Tools zur 3D-Modellierung von Gebäuden verändern könnte. Die Digitalisierung durchdringt das Baugewerbe (Naegele et al. 2015) und soll im Fall von Building Information Modeling (BIM) Potenziale zur Optimierung der Planung, Fertigung und Wartung von Gebäuden bieten (z. B. Fischer et al. 2017). Im Fallbeispiel wird ein digitales Tool entwickelt, mit dem auch kleine und mittlere Unternehmen, die momentan über keine Kompetenzen und Ressourcen zur computerbasierten Modellierung von Gebäuden im mehrdimensionalen Raum verfügen, diesem Digitalisierungstrend folgen können. Zur erfolgreichen Integration eines digitalen Tools in die kooperativen Arbeitsprozesse bedarf es einer proaktiven, gemeinsamen und menschenzentrierten Betrachtung der Technologie und der Arbeitsgestaltung im Sinne des soziotechnischen Ansatzes (z. B. Parker und Grote 2020). Im Fokus des Beitrags steht die mögliche Veränderung der Arbeitsprozesse und der Arbeitsgestaltung der unternehmens- und gewerkübergreifenden Kooperation eines mittelgroßen Holzbauunternehmens in der Planungsphase des Gebäudebaus durch die Technologieeinführung. Der Ist- und Soll-Zustand sowie die möglichen Konsequenzen der Einführung des digitalen Tools werden diskutiert. Das digitale Tool verspricht eine Intensivierung der gemeinsamen Arbeit in der Planungsphase, durch die Probleme in der Ausführungsphase reduziert werden können. Neben erwünschten Veränderungen, wie den verbesserten Möglichkeiten zum Informationsaustausch und zur Abstimmung, sind vielfältige weitere Konsequenzen möglich, die durch eine frühzeitige Aufdeckung in der Entwicklungsphase eines digitalen Tools proaktiv gestaltbar werden.

Utilizing a Building Information Modelling Environment to Communicate the Legal Ownership of Internet of Things-Generated Data in Multi-Owned Buildings

In multi-owned buildings, a community of residents live in their private properties while they use and share communal spaces and facilities. Proper management of multi-owned buildings is underpinned by rules related to health, safety, and security of the residents and visitors. Utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) devices to collect information about the livable space has become a significant trend since the introduction of first smart home appliances back in 2000. The question about who owns the IoT generated data and under what terms it can be shared with others is still unclear. IoT devices, such as security camera and occupancy sensors, can provide safety for their owners, while these devices may capture private data from the neighborhood. In fact, the residents are sometimes not aware of regulations that can prevent them from installing and collecting data from shared spaces that could breach other individuals’ privacy. On the other hand, Building Information Modelling (BIM) provides a rich 3D digital data environment to manage the physical, functional, and ownership aspects of buildings over their entire lifecycle. This study aims to propose a methodology to utilize BIM for defining the legal ownership of the IoT generated data. A case study has been used to discuss key challenges related to the ownership of IoT data in a multi-owned building. This study confirmed that BIM environment can facilitate the understanding of legal ownership of IoT datasets and supports the interpretation of who has the entitlement to use the IoT datasets in multi-owned buildings.

Enabling sustainable built heritage revitalisation from a social and technical perspective

Purpose

This study aims to investigate built heritage revitalisation projects in Hong Kong through a case study.

Design/methodology/approach

For this study, a representative built heritage revitalisation project in Hong Kong is selected study revitalisation in practice in Hong Kong. The case study adopts content analysis as the main method of analysis. It involves counting keywords, comparing content, categorising content patterns and interpreting the content of documents.

Findings

The findings reveal that in the revitalisation process, there is significant fragmentation in collaboration among government sectors and in conservation documentation and that an effective knowledge sharing mechanism and valid public engagement is needed. A conceptual framework of social network-enabled building information modelling (BIM) platform is proposed to enhance knowledge sharing and cross-sector collaboration.

Practical implications

The conceptual framework developed based on the case study is expected to bring practical implications to urban regeneration policies in Hong Kong.

Originality/value

This study views built heritage revitalisation practice as different individual projects and provides a social and technical perspective to investigate built heritage revitalisation.

Contributing Project Characteristics and Realized Benefits of Successful BIM Implementation: A Comparison of Complex and Simple Buildings

Researchers have explored Building Information Modeling (BIM) utilization on complex buildings. However, limited research has been conducted investigating BIM implementation on simple projects. This study explored the perceptions of Architects, General Contractors and Owners regarding the project characteristics that impact successful BIM implementation, and the realized benefits thereof, on complex commercial buildings versus parking garages. A survey comprised of the project characteristics and realized benefits of BIM implementation identified by Dodge Data & Analytics was distributed. Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted to identify the empirical groupings of successful BIM implementation characteristics and realized benefits thereof. Factor means were calculated and compared using ANOVA and t-tests. Statistical comparisons revealed no significant differences by building type. For project stakeholders, a significant difference was only observed on owner’s mean perceptions of technology-related characteristics when compared to architects. Previous research indicates that Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) stakeholders believe BIM is beneficial for large and complex projects. With the exception of technology-related project characteristics, findings reveal no statistical differences for project characteristics impacting successful BIM utilization or the realized benefits of BIM implementation given building type. This finding provides empirical evidence that various stakeholder groups view BIM as a universal AEC process that provides benefits on both complex and simple projects.

Mapping Knowledge Domains of Integration in BIM-Based Construction Networks: A Systematic Mixed-Method Review

Building information modeling-based construction networks (BbCNs) are teams from several professional organizations working together to assume building information modeling- (BIM-) related assignments on BIM-enabled projects. With a view to achieving a better understanding of the knowledge domains on integration in BbCNs, a systematic mixed-method review of the relevant studies published from 2008 to 2018 is conducted in this study. An “integration pentagon” made up of context, process, organization, task, and actor is used as a theoretical lens to identify and construct knowledge maps describing the integration in BbCNs. The study conducts a comprehensive review upon a bibliometric analysis based on 1019 researches into BIM and a qualitative analysis of 42 carefully selected researches into integration in BbCNs. The findings confirm that the solutions provided by these researches to support integration in BbCNs are altogether technology oriented. The sociotechnical dimensions including context, organization, task, and actor show limitations. More importantly, the major academic contributions of the study lie in offering an objective and systematic analysis of previous researches, revealing the gaps on integration in BbCNs, and advising researchers in future studies regarding the integration pentagon as an all-inclusive analysis tool. These results highlight the status quo of BbCNs knowledge and serve as a dynamic platform to allow other scholars to perform further developments of integration in BbCNs.

Contractual issues for Building Information Modelling (BIM)-based construction projects: An exploratory case study

Building Information Modelling (BIM) enables close collaboration among project stakeholders to visualize what is to be built in a simulated environment by identifying any potential design, construction or operational issues. Despite the fact of its well-documented benefits, the extensive integration of BIM throughout the project lifecycle remains sporadic. The conventional contracts used in the Malaysian construction industry were established before the development of BIM. As BIM becoming ingrain in the delivery process, the inadequacies of these existing contracts have become visible. This paper presents the results of an exploratory case study using Qualitative Content Analysis dedicated to a BIM project and discusses a procurement approach of BIM to establish the contractual context by addressing the legal and contractual impediments namely; intellectual property, liability and process related risks-allocation in a Malaysian public construction. This paper also outlines the reasons why the implementation of BIM will foster the evolution of integrated contract delivery methods.

A Coordinated Approach for Supply-Chain Tracking in the Liquefied Natural Gas Industry

With the increased size and complexity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, supply-chain management has become a challenging process due to involvements of the remote location of the project site and the multiple stakeholders. The transparency and traceability of the supply-chain are critical as any surpluses or shortages of materials will put the project at risk. Currently, limited research has been conducted on LNG projects considering the total supply-chain perspective, which refers to all stages of materials tracking in off-site manufacturing, transportation, and site logistics. The purpose of this research is to propose a framework of a coordinated approach for supply-chain tracking in the LNG industry. Two focus group studies were organized to develop the proposed framework: One for LNG construction supply chain process development, and another for alternative tracking technologies selection. In addition, two experiments, namely off-site fabrication tracking and site logistics tracking, were conducted in a field to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed framework. Technology limitations were also discussed in terms of field implementation.

Lean-Agile FM-BIM: a demonstrated approach

Purpose

This paper aims to respond to the high cost of facility management-enabled building information model (FM-BIM) creation and maintenance, a significant and under-researched barrier to adoption for existing buildings. The resultant approach focuses on only value-adding content (“Lean”) developed flexibly and iteratively in collaboration with end-users (“Agile”).

Design/methodology/approach

Five case studies were developed for university and hospital buildings in collaboration with end-users, guided by the process presented. These informed the refinement of a robust and flexible approach to increase BIM functionality with minimal geometry, focusing instead on the development of specific parameters to map semantic information necessary for each desired FM use.

Findings

The resulting BIM provided a breadth of model functionality with minimal modeling effort: 15 hours average implementation time per supported FM use. This low level of effort was achieved by limiting geometry to where it is necessary for the FM use implementation. Instead, the model incorporated the majority of geometry by reference and focused on semantic and topological parameters to house FM information.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides the basis for a new ontology structure focused on defining the rules for hosting asset management data (host entity, parameter type and characteristics) to reduce the reliance on complex geometric model development.

Practical implications

By prioritizing highly beneficial applications, early investment is minimized, providing quick returns at low risk, demonstrating the value of FM-BIM to end-users.

Originality/value

The Lean-Agile approach addresses the known research gap of low-effort, flexible approaches to FM-BIM model creation and maintenance and its effectiveness is analyzed through five case studies.

Contractual challenges for BIM-based construction projects: a systematic review

Purpose

Building information modeling (BIM) has been proven to enable outstanding results in construction processes by enhancing knowledge sharing with regard to a building or facility throughout its life cycle from the conceptual design to facility management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which the use of BIM has impacted the legal and contractual implications of the existing construction contracts for aligning the three sets of relevant development domains: BIM functionality, contract procurement methods, and BIM legal and contractual issues to enhance the efficient use of valuable resources.

Design/methodology/approach

This exploratory study was undertaken by analyzing the literature using a novel approach involving a matrix that juxtaposes BIM functionalities for each project life cycle with contract procurement methods. As part of the study, 28 interactions of BIM legal and contractual issues have been identified, as representing positive and negative interactions.

Findings

The interaction matrix framework that juxtaposes BIM functionalities and procurement methods highlights the theoretical and practical relationships identified between the methods. It also simultaneously recognizes the constructive and destructive interactions between these development domains by means of critically identifying the possible interactions of the legal and contractual aspects of both the BIM project procurement and the practical aspects of BIM project delivery.

Originality/value

The present study contributes to the existing literature by extensively identifying the probable interactions of contractual issues within BIM functionality with contract procurement methods throughout the life cycle of a building construction project.

The Interplay Between Formal and Informal Institutions in Projects

In projects, various kinds of formal and informal institutions are crucial for imprinting and controlling behavior. The interplay and potential conflict between these two types of institutions have attracted increasing scholarly and managerial attention, but conventional institutional analyses are hampered by the lack of effective methodological instruments for understanding these institutions and examining their fit (or misfit). Underpinned by the theoretical argument that institutions governing projects are networks, this study employs the methodology of social network analysis (SNA) to capture and analyze institutional interplay. We use four construction projects to illustrate the interplay between formal and informal institutions in projects and to show how this interplay affects project performance. Our findings reveal that, in general, performance is better when there is a better fit—which indicates the extent of interplay—between a project’s formal and informal guiding institutions. We also show how project managers can use SNA to diagnose formal and informal institutions, enhancing their fit and thereby improving project performance. The results presented here have implications for the role of these two institutional types and for how the fit between them can be improved through conscious effort.