Using BIM to integrate and achieve holistic future-proofing objectives in healthcare projects

Future proofing (FP) as a proactive initiative for Asset Management is an urgent need against uncertainty, particularly in healthcare due to unforeseeable demographic shifts and rapid advances in medical technology. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is another initiative with profound impacts, but a rigorous analysis between them will indicate that a synergy exists. The aim of this study is to develop a classification ontology of the interactions between FP and BIM by considering the perceptions of healthcare construction experts. Interviews with 13 senior managers were conducted adopting the method of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and an interaction matrix of BIM capabilities for implementing holistic FP objectives has been developed. The outcome is a taxonomy analysis of 30 interactions with supporting empirical evidence which were further measured quantitatively. For benefits realisation in the context of BIM and FP, the industry experts recognise FP as a strategy that supports organisational and building performance. BIM drives towards lifecycle operation information and data maintainability via communicating the FP strategy from a whole-life perspective and ensuring knowledge transfer across all stages. Healthcare Operators and construction experts should be able to benefit from this taxonomy analysis as an aid to planning for FP throughout their BIM processes

Design of flexible and adaptable healthcare buildings of the future: a BIM approach

The UK's Government Construction adviser announced that all the public construction will be implemented with BIM in the coming years. This decision affects dramatically the design phase of healthcare facilities as by 2016, BIM is mandatory in the implementation of the design process. Moreover, The UK Construction Strategy plan does not offer for investigating the multidisciplinary design space of possible solutions. The uncertainty that impacts on healthcare (demographic trends, changing patterns of disease, technological advances and clinical knowledge) has led healthcare policy makers to take action to manage demand for healthcare services and the supply enabled by healthcare infrastructure. A state of the art review of literature identified that healthcare facilities are not designed to be change-ready and that owners of such facilities have dynamic requirements. To future-proof healthcare facilities a design process is required to offer a collaborative, parametric lean construction practice that enables the design team to generate and analyse flexible healthcare building design spaces based on multi-stakeholder requirements. BIM and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) offer dynamic decisions early in the design process. Here, IPD, the RIBA Outline Plan of Work 2012 and the BIM Guide from the Computer Integrated Construction Research Program were used to define the exact information exchange between the parties in a BIM-based construction process for change-ready healthcare facilities. A generic process map is derived from the literature for future testing and is presented in respect to the principles and philosophies of process protocol

Supporting future-proof healthcare design by narrowing the design space of solutions using building information modelling

BIM has been characterized by the UK Government’s chief construction adviser as unstoppable regarding its rise in construction and he further positioned BIM as mandatory for public projects in the UK by 2016. Moreover, large scale public projects such as healthcare facilities must be seen as a process, being able to meet the constantly changing demands imposed on healthcare infrastructure. Facilities should be designed as change-ready rather than to meet fixed requirements, therefore, the designer should accommodate as large section of design space potential solutions instead of mistakenly narrowing the response of the project to only one solution. Scenario based design was employed as research and design method for the proposed software modules which would extend the Activity Database (ADB). Two modules are proposed that will enable designers to improve their spatial design decisions for both new and refurbishment projects through partially automated knowledge extraction. Additionally, the integration of flexibility and standardisation concepts has been addressed. The proposed design approach is intended to provide rich knowledge representation at the early stages of the design process in less time and effor

Using Building Information Modelling (BIM) to design flexible spaces with design standards in healthcare facilities

This paper explored key factors that can enhance the designer's role when designing space for flexibility with the focal use of building information modelling (BIM) and design standardisation. An exploratory study was conducted using a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was piloted to a Web-based Group (48 responses) and then it was distributed to the top 100 UK architectural firms (10 responses) based on the Building Magazine, (2010). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The questionnaire survey included both open ended and close ended questions. The paper provides empirical insights about how design standardisation and flexibility can be applied with BIM. It suggests that embedding flexibility can be enhanced with BIM by supporting the generation of different design options and scheduling design tasks with different information attached. The results also showed that strategies such as “adapting,” “contracting” and “expanding” are more beneficial than other flexible strategies. Regarding standardisation and flexibility, the results showed that although standardisation is not the panacea of providing flexible solutions, it is indeed applied and applicable in construction projects that require flexibility. The chosen research approach measures, records and reports the perceptions and worldviews of the respondents. Therefore, the research findings are based on how reality is formed by the participants and their experiences. With that in mind, the information identified was used to draw some noteworthy findings that provide detailed information on embedding flexibility in healthcare buildings