Principles and recommendations for client information requirements for BIM enabled construction projects in Qatar

Employer's information requirements (EIR) is one of the key early documents in projects using building information modelling (BIM). EIR, introduced by the UK BIM Task Group, sets out information deliverables and the standards and processes to be adopted by the supply chain. It includes a set of requirements and guidelines in three areas namely technical, management and commercial. EIR, which are applicable to the construction industry in Qatar, are not clearly defined despite BIM is increasingly required on projects. This paper aims to develop a set of principles and recommendations for the three areas of the EIR which are applicable to Qatar's construction sector. Following an investigation of current BIM practices in Qatar, a set of general principles and recommendations were proposed and validated for the areas of the client information requirements (CIR) - an adaption of the term EIR as evidenced in the paper. Copyright 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.Scopu

Identifying Current BIM Practices in Qatar and Proposing a Framework for Whole Life Cycle BIM Processes

The research is part of a wider project aimed to develop a whole lifecycle information flow approach enabled by BIM protocols and technologies for Qatari construction industry. We consider the lifecycle information flow as enabler of a consistent and continuous use of building information from design, through construction, to the facility management stage. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is increasingly used by the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) professionals around the world. BIM has proven and potential benefits to facilitate Whole Life Cycle (WLC) information flow described above. It is generally accepted fact that AECO industry is fragmented in nature. Using BIM for WLC information flow is seen as one of the potential solutions to contribute towards a more cohesive AECO industry. Within the global construction sector, Qatar's construction market is one of the fastest growing in the world throughout the next decade in alignment with the Qatar National Vision 2030. Currently ongoing and planned construction projects exceed US$220 billion (Kilani, 2014), e.g. Lusail City projects, new Doha Port, new Hamad International Airport, Qatar Rail project, Qatar National Museum project as well as construction of stadiums and related infrastructure projects ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. This paper aims to identify current BIM related practices, existing procedures, technology and standards being used in Qatar using qualitative data collection and analysis technique and then proposes a framework for BIM processes across whole life cycle of the project to facilitate whole life cycle information flow. 28 semi-structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders (clients, contractors, consultants) involved mainly in design and construction project lifecycle stages in Qatar. Results of the conducted interview analyses are presented in relation to policy, people, process and technology (3P + T) pillars that have been proposed for use in Qatar. The following key findings were reported by majority of the interviewees (values in brackets indicate the agreement percentage): (Vukovic, Hafeez, Chahrour, Kassem, & Dawood, 2015) Usage of FIDIC contract template (67%) and BS 1192:2007 BIM standards (60%) is prevalent on projects in Qatar. However, specific BIM information/standards should be developed at a government level for the Qatari construction industry (86%), including standard project stages with clear process maps (82%). Also in comparison to the situation in other countries, based on the examined literature, Qatari government should do more to drive the construction industry transformation by undertaking BIM related initiatives. BIM competency is usually a criteria for prequalification and selection during the procurement process (71%). Organizations in Qatar mostly use in-house BIM trained staff (75%). BIM roles are specifically defined in the contract (86%), BIM standards are required by contracts (68%), and should be enforced by contracts (75%). There is no need to create more BIM specific roles/positions (64%), but there is a need to upgrade the skills of people on BIM specific positions (89%). There is also a need to educate other project participants how to collaborate using BIM (96%). Such identified needs are similar to the situation in other countries covered by the literature review. LOD 300 is mostly required in design/construction stages of ongoing projects in Qatar (64%), which is the owners' responsibility (71%). The owner usually also initiates design changes (68%). In alignment with the above findings this paper proposes a framework (Fig. 1) consisting of 'Project DNA', BIM Processes and Whole Life Cycle of the projects and their inter relationship. Future work will elaborate on the BIM processes and protocols and validate the proposed framework using case studies.qscienc

Investigating the potential of delivering Employer Information Requirements in BIM enabled Construction Projects in Qatar

Part 4: Building Information Modeling (BIM)International audienceEmployer’s Information Requirements (EIR) is a key document for the successful delivery of construction projects using Building Information Modeling (BIM). EIR sets out the information to be delivered and the standards and processes to be adopted by the suppliers as part of their project delivery approach. The concept of EIR has been developed by the UK BIM Task Group as a holistic framework for the UK construction industry to deliver the UK construction client requirements in projects using BIM. It includes a set of requirements and guidelines in three macro areas namely, technical, management and commercial. EIR, which are specific to the construction industry in Qatar, do not exist yet despite BIM is increasingly adopted across the Qatari construction industry. However, construction projects using BIM in Qatar adopts various aspects in technical, management and commercial areas. In this paper, we analyze the current BIM practice in Qatar and compare the findings against the items of the three EIR’s areas. The overarching aim is to assess the potential of delivering EIR in BIM based construction projects in Qatar. To accomplish this aim, major construction industry players (clients, consultants, contractors), representing a significant part of Qatar construction industry, were interviewed about the three EIR’s areas and their items. The results showed discrepancies in addressing EIR and varied levels of readiness in delivering the different EIR’s areas and items. The paper has proposed general guidelines for delivering EIR in Qatar which are informed by the survey and current international EIR standards

Communication Strategies

The goal of InPro is to transform the early design phase (ED) in construction by the developmentof an open information environment (OIE) for knowledge-based collaborative processes throughout the lifecycle of a building (LC), assuming the ED phase the cooperationfrom its start to its end of many actors with a common goal.The aim of Work Package 1 is to analyse thoroughly the traditional ways of working andtheir cultural, technical and economic reasons. This way we gather clues and means tochange attitudes and raise the stakeholder’s awareness for a need of change. The RTD work results in new customer-centred business concepts and key performance indicatorsthat allow companies and managers to monitor development and change.The aim of D11 “Communication strategies” (T1.4 "Strategies for take-up”) is to developstrategies for the quick take-up of an open and collaborative information environmentwith its model-based processes throughout the European construction sector. Main focusof this task is to influence the human behaviour and bias all stakeholders in a positiveway towards model-based working. This includes the development of use cases for winwin situations for distributed business processes and building project realisation in cooperation.This is developed into the “To-Be"-scenario for model-based working, includingjob descriptions, overview of technical infrastructure, and strategies for implementationand training.This deliverable is concerned with identifying what and which roles are those that need tobe changed or motivated to support the change in order to move towards a more desirablestate and improve organisational effectiveness. The first part of this document describesconcepts for the take-up necessary strategies, examining change. Change shouldhappen in three levels: project, company and industry level. Roles and responsibilitiesare described as they are in the present (the so called “As-Is” situation) as well as in thefuture InPro environment (the so called “To-Be” situation). The second part presents theresults which stakeholder can be an initiator or a driver of the change from demonstrationsof KPs and from the viewpoint of client. At the end of the second part, strategies toimplement in a short-term are determined.The findings of D11 “Communication strategies” consist of:Changes need to be implemented starting at project level and continued byspreading to company and industry levelMain changes required at project level: technology, staff and training, a commitmentamong project team members to collaboration Main changes required at company level: staffing needs, project organisationand company wide information use contained in the building model Main changes required at industry level: establishment of European boundaryconditions to an Open Information Environment (OIE) work The main affected roles are: client, project manager, architect and contractor New roles are: model manager and main actor Main beneficiaries of change from KPs demonstrations and several studies viewpoint input are: client, designers and contractorsMain initiators of change from client viewpoint input are: client and designers Main drivers of change from KPs demonstrations and client viewpoint input are: client, managers and consultant

Communication Strategies

The goal of InPro is to transform the early design phase (ED) in construction by the developmentof an open information environment (OIE) for knowledge-based collaborative processes throughout the lifecycle of a building (LC), assuming the ED phase the cooperationfrom its start to its end of many actors with a common goal.The aim of Work Package 1 is to analyse thoroughly the traditional ways of working andtheir cultural, technical and economic reasons. This way we gather clues and means tochange attitudes and raise the stakeholder’s awareness for a need of change. The RTD work results in new customer-centred business concepts and key performance indicatorsthat allow companies and managers to monitor development and change.The aim of D11 “Communication strategies” (T1.4 "Strategies for take-up”) is to developstrategies for the quick take-up of an open and collaborative information environmentwith its model-based processes throughout the European construction sector. Main focusof this task is to influence the human behaviour and bias all stakeholders in a positiveway towards model-based working. This includes the development of use cases for winwin situations for distributed business processes and building project realisation in cooperation.This is developed into the “To-Be"-scenario for model-based working, includingjob descriptions, overview of technical infrastructure, and strategies for implementationand training.This deliverable is concerned with identifying what and which roles are those that need tobe changed or motivated to support the change in order to move towards a more desirablestate and improve organisational effectiveness. The first part of this document describesconcepts for the take-up necessary strategies, examining change. Change shouldhappen in three levels: project, company and industry level. Roles and responsibilitiesare described as they are in the present (the so called “As-Is” situation) as well as in thefuture InPro environment (the so called “To-Be” situation). The second part presents theresults which stakeholder can be an initiator or a driver of the change from demonstrationsof KPs and from the viewpoint of client. At the end of the second part, strategies toimplement in a short-term are determined.The findings of D11 “Communication strategies” consist of:Changes need to be implemented starting at project level and continued byspreading to company and industry levelMain changes required at project level: technology, staff and training, a commitmentamong project team members to collaboration Main changes required at company level: staffing needs, project organisationand company wide information use contained in the building model Main changes required at industry level: establishment of European boundaryconditions to an Open Information Environment (OIE) work The main affected roles are: client, project manager, architect and contractor New roles are: model manager and main actor Main beneficiaries of change from KPs demonstrations and several studies viewpoint input are: client, designers and contractorsMain initiators of change from client viewpoint input are: client and designers Main drivers of change from KPs demonstrations and client viewpoint input are: client, managers and consultant