Codification challenges for data science in construction

New forms of data science, including machine learning and data analytics, are enabled by machine-readable informationbut are not widely deployed in construction. Aqualitative study of information flow in three projects usingBuilding Information Modelling (BIM) in the late designand construction phaseis used to identify the challenges of codification whichlimit the application of data science.Despite substantial efforts to codify information with ‘Common Data Environment(CDE)’ platforms to structure and transfer digital information within and between teams, participants work across multiple media in both structured and unstructured ways. Challenges of codification identified in this paper relate to software usage (interoperability, translation, modelling, and file-based sharing), information sharing (unstructured information, document control, workarounds, process change,and multiple CDEs), and construction process information(loss of constraints and low level of detail). This paper contributes to the current understanding of data science in construction by articulating the codification challenges and their implications for data quality dimensions,such as accuracy, completeness, accessibility, consistency, timeliness, and provenance.It concludes with practical implications for developingand using machine-readable information and directions for research to extract insight from data and support future automation

Digital Facilities: A Bim Capturing Reality Framework And Integration With Building Management System

Qatar University (QU) had been sharing the vision of the country in developing various technological aspects and approaches in order to achieve global standard qualities and accomplishments. In this research, from the construction management perspective, referring to QU digitalization initiative objectives and considering global market processes, computerized capturing framework of campus existing building will be executed, discussed and analyzed in-depth, through Building Information Modeling (BIM). Current worldwide capturing techniques, such as as-built drawings, laser scanning and UAV will be implemented and illustrated along with their cost, time and quality analysis. The study will also discuss the novel approach of integrating BIM Model with present Building Management System (BMS) of QU; and its contribution towards Facility Management (FM). This integrative activity between BMS real-time values readings and BIM data representation will add-value to Facility Management (FM) workflow efficiency and performance of the university or any other applicable party with the same environment. Concluding the best practice of reality digital capturing towards a successful integration prior to achieving study objectives, with diverse recommendations, discussions and future work

The coevolution of AEC professional work practices with technology: collaborative delivery framework modelling for BIM projects

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Johannesburg, 2018Despite BIM’s potential to alleviate persistent construction industry challenges, its use does not guarantee results. Therefore, it was argued and established from a theoretical and practical standpoint that the implementation of BIM, an evolving technology, within pre-BIM organisational and project team work practices (as activity systems), induces their evolution through dysfunctions created in the systems and their resolution. A multi-stage\multi-method research design involving a study of BIM implementation cases, documents analysis, swimlane modelling and multi-domain-mapping (MDM) of pre-BIM and BIM-enabled project delivery processes was employed. This was to develop an understanding of how construction professional work practices evolve with the implementation of BIM. The findings show that evolutionary change of work practices within organisations precedes that of project teams. The findings further suggest a link between organisational attitude towards BIM as a method of working and success at implementing it. Using activity theory, a novel conceptual analysis of BIM induced change in professional work practices aided a theoretical understanding of the implications of implementing BIM on construction professional work practices. The theory provided a basis for analysing historical and future change patterns in professional work practices with BIM and indeed similar work mediating tools. An in-depth conceptualisation and new theoretical insight were developed on the phenomenon of new role legitimation, establishing that new BIM role takers are legitimated to exercise authority within project teams and organisations mainly because they leverage knowledge as a strategic resource. By implication, they will remain legitimate only as long as the constraint or dysfunction prompting their creation subsists. Furthermore, using swimlane and MDM modelling methods in complement, the BIM change impact on pre-BIM workflows was modelled. An objective evaluation of the BIM change impact at the pre-construction phase showed that the BIM-enabled project delivery workflows structure, compared to the pre-BIM is more connected and integrated.MT 201

BIM-based cost estimation at early stages based on historical data

Dissertação de mestrado em European Master in Building Information ModellingThe BIM methodology is revolutionising the way the construction market works, leading to the desired digitalisation and automatization throughout the whole life cycle of a project. It consists of the combination of three fields: technologies, policies and processes. Together, they work as a shared knowledge resource for information, allowing to manage it, forming a trustful source of data for decision making and also making it possible for all the stakeholders to collaborate along all the processes beginning from the very first step of the project. Besides, BIM also covers which data is managed in terms of creation, use, reuse and application into digital models aiming the development and improvement of the design, construction and operation of one or several projects. Among all the possible uses for the BIM methodology, there is support for cost management linking the cost information with the 3D Model. This use is commonly known as the 5D BIM. Project cost management is the process involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, financing, funding, managing and controlling costs, seeking to finish a specific project within the approved and desired budget from the client or sponsor. The cost estimation is among the most critical preliminary processes in any construction project. A high initial cost estimate can lead to a discouraging process for the client to proceed with the project. Alternatively, a too low-cost estimation could lead to financial problems during the subsequent stage. The floor area method is the most used method for preliminary cost estimates. However, it is a prediction and should not be considered as the final cost. During the early stages of the project, the quality and amount of data made available regarding the project are frequently low or not defined, leading to several assumptions. The use of historical data could fill the gap left by the lack of information. However, the traditional detailed cost estimation approach is a high demanding workload and time-consuming task. This dissertation proposes a BIM-based cost estimation for early stages of the project based on historical cost data provided by prior projects and its subsequent storage into a cost database. Through research in academic articles, master dissertation, PhD thesis, cost and BIM books and guidelines, challenges for cost management during the early stages of the project lifecycle were identified. Among the objectives were the easily updatable cost estimation according to layout changes and to provide the possibility of updating the cost estimate as the BIM model evolved. Therefore, a workflow was developed using an adaptation of the floor plan area method, dividing the total cost value in a classification system and classifying the areas according to their use. A hypothetical project was used for the initial demonstration. Afterwards, a real case study was also performed in collaboration with a construction company from Portugal. As a result, it was possible to generate a cost estimation within a BIM environment for early stages using a cost historical database as a source of cost information. Considerations were made regarding the modelling choices of the previous project and the wide possible use and benefits arising from the application of the proposed work.A metodologia BIM está revolucionando a forma de trabalho do mercado de construção, levando à desejada digitalização e automatização ao longo de todo o ciclo de vida de um projeto. Ela consiste na combinação de três campos: tecnologias, políticas e processos. Juntos, funcionam como um recurso de conhecimento compartilhado para a informação, permitindo gerenciá-la, formando uma fonte confiável de dados para a tomada de decisões e possibilitando a todos os stakeholders colaborarem em todos os processos desde a primeira etapa do projeto. Além disso, o BIM também engloba quais dados são gerenciados em termos de criação, uso, reutilização e aplicação em modelos digitais visando o desenvolvimento e aprimoramento do projeto, construção e operação de um ou vários projetos. Dentre todos os usos possíveis para a metodologia BIM, está o suporte para a gestão de custos, vinculando as informações de custos ao modelo 3D. Esse uso é comumente conhecido como 5D BIM. Gerenciamento de custos de projetos são os processos envolvidos no planejamento, estimativa, orçamento, financiamento, gerenciamento e controle de custos, buscando finalizar o projeto dentro do orçamento aprovado e desejado do cliente ou investidor. A estimativa de custo está entre os processos preliminares mais críticos em qualquer projeto de construção. Uma estimativa de custo inicial elevada pode levar a um processo desestimulante para o cliente prosseguir com o projeto. Alternativamente, uma estimativa de custo muito baixa pode levar a problemas financeiros durante o estágio subsequente. O método da área superficial é o método mais usado para estimativas preliminares de custos. No entanto, é uma previsão e não deve ser considerada como o custo final. Durante as fases iniciais do projeto, a qualidade e a quantidade de dados disponibilizados sobre o projeto são frequentemente baixas ou não definidas, levando a várias suposições. O uso de dados históricos pode preencher a lacuna deixada pela falta de informação. No entanto, a abordagem de estimativa de custo detalhada tradicional demanda uma alta carga de trabalho. Esta dissertação propõe uma estimativa de custo baseada em BIM para os estágios iniciais do projeto com base em dados de custo históricos fornecidos por projetos anteriores e seu subsequente armazenamento em um banco de dados de custos. Por meio de pesquisas em artigos acadêmicos, dissertação de mestrado, teses de PhD, livros e diretrizes de custos e BIM, foram identificados desafios para o gerenciamento de custos durante os estágios iniciais do ciclo de vida do projeto. Entre os objetivos estavam a estimativa de custo facilmente atualizada de acordo com as mudanças de layout e possibilitar a atualização da estimativa de custo conforme o modelo BIM evolui. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um workflow utilizando uma adaptação do método de área superficial, dividindo o valor do custo total em um sistema de classificação e classificando as áreas conforme seu uso. Um projeto hipotético foi usado para a demonstração inicial. Posteriormente, foi realizado um estudo de caso real em colaboração com uma construtora portuguesa. Como resultado, foi possível gerar uma estimativa de custo dentro de um ambiente BIM para os estágios iniciais utilizando banco de dados histórico de custos como fonte de informaçõe. Foram feitas considerações sobre as escolhas de modelagem do projeto anterior e do amplo uso e benefícios possíveis decorrentes da aplicação do trabalho proposto

Application of TLS method in digitization of bridge infrastructures : a path to BrIM development

Over the past years, bridge inspection practices and condition assessments were predi-cated upon long-established manual and paper-based data collection methods which were generally unsafe, time-consuming, imprecise, and labor-intensive, influenced by the experience of the trained inspectors involved. In recent years, the ability to turn an actual civil infrastructure asset into a detailed and precise digital model using state-of-the-art emerging technologies such as laser scanners has become in demand among structural engineers and managers, especially bridge asset managers. Although advanced remote technologies such as Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) are recently established to overcome these challenges, the research on this subject is still lacking a comprehensive methodology for a reliable TLS-based bridge inspection and a well-detailed Bridge Information Model (BrIM) development. In this regard, the application of BrIM as a shared platform including a geometrical 3D CAD model connected to non-geometrical data can benefit asset managers, and significantly improve bridge management systems. Therefore, this research aims not only to provide a practical methodology for TLS-derived BrIM but also to serve a novel sliced-based approach for bridge geometric Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model extraction. This methodology was further verified and demonstrated via a case study on a cable-stayed bridge called Werrington Bridge, located in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. In this case, the process of extracting a precise 3D CAD model from TLS data using the sliced-based method and a workflow to connect non-geomet-rical information and develop a BrIM are elaborated. The findings of this research confirm the reliability of using TLS and the sliced-based method, as approaches with millimeter-level geometric accuracy, for bridge inspection subjected to precise 3D model extraction, as well as bridge asset management and BrIM development

BIM and GIS applications in bridge projects : a critical review

In recent years, interest in BIM and GIS applications in civil engineering has been growing. For bridge engineering, BIM/GIS applications such as simulation, visualization, and secondary development have been used to assist practitioners in managing bridge construction and decision-making, including selection of bridge location maintenance decisions. In situ 3D modelling of existing bridges with detailed images from UAV camera has allowed engineers to conduct remote condition assessments of bridges and decide on required maintenance actions. Several studies have investigated the applications of BIM/GIS technology on bridge projects. However, there has been limited focus on reviewing the outcomes of these studies to identify the limitations of BIM and GIS applications on bridge projects. Therefore, the aim of this study was to review the research on BIM/GIS technology applications in bridge projects over the last decade. Using a systematic review process, a total of 90 publications that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed in this study. The review identified the state-of-the-art methods of BIM and GIS applications, respectively, at the planning and design, construction, and operation and maintenance phases of bridge projects. However, the findings point to segregated application of BIM and GIS at all phases of bridge projects. The findings of this study will contribute to guiding practitioners in selecting appropriate BIM and GIS technologies for different aspects of bridge projects