Digital collaboration in the wood-based construction industry: deployment of Building Information Modeling

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is intended to promote efficiency in building design and serves as a design space where multiple actors engage in collaborative work. BIM is both a new technology and a new way of working, providing a common environment for all information defining a building, facility, or asset, together with its common parts and activities (Pittard, 2013). This thesis explores the deployment of BIM technology in the Norwegian wood-based building industry and contributes to understanding how BIM can be applied to improve collaborative work in this sector. The dissertation is interdisciplinary in nature, and offers contributions to the fields of information systems (IS), construction informatics (CI), and construction management. It builds on and extends the discourse on BIM deployment in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. The motivation for undertaking this study is that BIM systems provide the opportunity for increased effectiveness in the process of construction. BIM systems promise to deliver integration across the people, groups, and organizations working in the construction supply chain. The anticipated benefits of BIM include performance gains, increased clarity in information sharing, and a reduction in errors during construction design. BIM systems open up a number of possibilities for the wood-based building industry, such as increasing automation and prefabrication. Higher levels of automation will become possible once project teams have succeeded in collaboratively creating digital BIM models that are sophisticated enough to be turned into machine-readable files

A Research Review on Building Information Modeling in Construction―An Area Ripe for IS Research

This article presents a review of the research on Building Information Modeling (BIM) in construction, with the aim of identifying areas in this domain where IS research can contribute. The concept of BIM comprises an infrastructure of IT tools supporting collaborative and integrated design, assembly, and operation of buildings. This integrated construction approach, with all stakeholders editing or retrieving information from commonly shared models, requires major changes to well-established processes, organizational roles, contractual practices, and collaborative arrangements in the construction industry. Through a review of 264 research articles on BIM, we found that this research spans a wide area of technological and organizational topics, of which many have a clear resonance to focal areas in IS research. Our analysis shows that IS, to some extent, serves as a reference discipline and that theories used in IS research are also informing contemporary BIM research. The following areas in need of further IS research were identified: studies on the relationship between BIM’s functional affordance and human agency, adoption and use of BIM for inter-organizational collaboration, the influence of organizational culture on BIM practices, the capabilities of BIM for transforming industry practice, and identifying the business value of BIM. Considering that a well-established knowledge base in IS research can be drawn upon for studying these issues, combined with the exciting potential of BIM for transforming a major industry such as building construction, we conclude that BIM is an area ripe for IS research

Integrating BIM and gaming to support building operation: the case of a new hospital

Moving into a new hospital requires healthcare professionals to adapt to a new work environment. Workflows, processes, and competencies become obsolete and need to be tailored for the new hospital. This paper explores a role-play serious game developed for the purpose of familiarizing professionals with their new work environment. A three-dimensional virtual prototype of the new hospital building created from Building Information Modeling technology, served as the graphical environment in which the game was staged. The game, namely the “Ward”, is intended to provide healthcare professionals with a virtual training ground for exercising new work processes. We conducted a series of interviews with the client, healthcare experts, and the software developers involved in developing the games. Our intention of doing so was twofold: attaining an understanding of how Building Information Modeling data has been integrated into the game and exploring how the game’s functionalities had been fitted to best support the healthcare professionals in their learning. By exploring the process of the game’s development we were able to point out shortcomings in current practice and to suggest areas for improvement. These are (1) use of crossover modules, (2) increased collaboration, (3) clear communication of information needs, and (4) better contractual agreements. The gameplay could be further improved by increasing the amount of non-player characters. Moreover, we just begin to understand how pedagogical concepts for games conveying architectural designs can be built. This indicates that developing such concepts is an intriguing avenue for further research. We argue that the findings are useful for practitioners and researchers interested in integrating BIM and gaming technology

An Institutional Perspective on BIM Implementation – a Case Study of an Intercity Railway Project in Norway

Architecture and engineering offices around the world increasingly replace their dated Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) solutions with Building Information Modelling (BIM) solutions. There is a profound IT-enabled change in the way in which commercial and residential buildings are designed and produced. However, parts of the industry remain largely excluded from this trend, as roads and railroads continue to be designed based on two-dimensional CAD systems. This paper reports from a case study of BIM implementation in a Norwegian railroad project Based on institutional theory, we identified how institutional pressures affected the BIM implementation of the project team in the InterCity railway project. The cases study highlights the important role of the client’s BIM manager in enforcing these pressures in practice. Furthermore, the paper provides useful insights not only for construction project teams seeking to implement BIM in infrastructure projects but also for other organizations adopting new technologies

A Review of Building Information Modelling for Construction in Developing Countries

Paid Open Acces

Serious games as a virtual training ground for relocation to a new healthcare facility

Author's accepted manuscript

Institutional foundations of construction ICT: A view from the West Midlands of England

Construction industry is of strategic importance to economic development and growth within any region and nation. However, the industry is confronted by many challenges including poor labour productivity. Part of the explanation frequently provided in literature is that the industry has been slow to adopt and institutionalize useful information and communication technologies (ICT). The research questions asked in this article are: What are the institutional foundations for West-Midlands construction firms to deliver their projects based on ICT and how can these be strengthened? These questions are asked for two reasons. The first is to understand the reasons behind slow ICT adoption and second, to inquire into what can be done about it. The article provides an overview of projects using advanced ICT in the region and presents the results of a focus group discussion undertaken with six industry experts. Scott's pillars of institutions were used for understanding how the foundations for ICT adaption in the region can be strengthened. Findings are that present regulations, incentives and perceptions of ICT can be further strengthened. While ICT adoption appears to accelerate in large projects, many practitioners remain sceptical as to whether the excessive costs associated with ICT adoptions are justified. The regulative pressures exerted by government in support of ICT adoption do not seem to have fully materialised in industrial practice. However, it is apparent that the normative and cultural cognitive pressures are rendered weak in the region with using advanced ICT being viewed as extraordinary rather than standard industrial practice

Lean production construction : prospects for the Icelandic construction industry

The emerging concept of lean construction is concerned with the application of the lean paradigm to the construction industry. Purpose – This research paper seeks to identify the prospects and applicability of lean construction techniques at site level construction processes in the Icelandic construction industry. Design/methodology/approach – Firstly, the basis of current project management and tools to control construction in the Icelandic construction industry was identified through field observation at Iceland’s biggest contractor Ístak. Secondly, a project controls template aligned to the ‘Lean paradigm’ that could be used by the Icelandic construction industry was identified. This template was based on lean construction practice examples used by contractors outside of Iceland. Lastly, the likely acceptance amongst Icelandic construction companies of the project controls’ template and the appreciation of lean construction within the Icelandic construction industry were assessed. To get acquaintance of the aforementioned points, structured interviews featuring questionnaires as means for structured data collection were undertaken. These interviews were directed at a select number of senior project managers within the Icelandic construction industry. Findings – What became clear after having assessed what lean construction has to offer at site level is that construction controls aligned to the Lean paradigm seek to enhance production efficiency in the sense of a faster, more productive execution of single production tasks. It became also evident that these techniques require a significantly higher amount of planning work to prepare and ready the tasks. It became obvious that lean construction is not applicable to every construction setting and that JIT efficiency considerations can, especially in construction projects with significant variations and disruptive influences, cause difficulties with regards to project delivery. It became evident that some of the presently used project management practices are logically and useful, even though they were identified as ‘wasteful’ or ‘unnecessary’ in terms of lean production construction. The results, therefore, show that both construction management philosophies need to be integrated to achieve real effective project management. Furthermore, it is concluded that a more customized approach to the integration of lean construction ideas has to be taken to fit each construction sites specific management situation. The author expects, assumed a more integrated and customized approach to implementation of Lean construction techniques is taken, that a faster production process and improved profitability in delivery of a construction project can be achieved.Nýtt hugtak, “Lean Construction”, snýst um að beita hugmyndafræði hugmynda um sparneytni í byggingaiðnaði. Tilgangur−Í þessari rannsóknarskýrslu er leitast við að bera kennsl á möguleika og notagildi aðferða sem tengjast “Lean Construction”, við framkvæmdaferla á byggingastað í íslenskum byggingaiðnaði. Hönnun/aðferðafræði/nálgun − Í fyrsta lagi voru borin kennsl á grunn núverandi verkefnastjórnunar og stjórntækja í íslenskum byggingaiðnaði með athugunum á verkstað hjá stærsta verktakafyrirtæki á Íslandi, Ístaki. Í öðru lagi var gerð grein fyrir líkani að stýringu verkefna í samræmi við sparneytnihugsun í íslenskum byggingaiðnaði. Þetta líkan byggðist á verklagi sparneytinnar framkvæmdar eins og er notað af verktökum utan Íslands. Í síðasta lagi var lagt mat á hversu líklegt væri að þessu líkani að verkefnastjórntækjum yrði vel tekið, og hvernig hugsuninni um sparneytni í framkvæmdum yrði tekið meðal íslenskra verktaka. Til þess að kynnast framantöldum atriðum voru tekin skipuleg viðtöl sem fólu í sér þar til gerða spurningalista sem aðferð við að ná fram skipulegri söfnun upplýsinga. Í þessum viðtölum var rætt við valinn hóp hærra settra stjórnenda í íslenskum byggingaiðnaði. Niðurstöður − Það sem varð ljóst eftir að hafa lagt mat á hvað “Lean Construction” hefur upp á að bjóða á verkstað er að stjórntæki framkvæmdar sem aðlöguð eru sparneytnihugsunarhætti eru líkleg til að bæta skilvirkni framleiðslu í þeim skilningi að hraði og framleiðni eykst í einstökum verkum. Það varð einnig ljóst að beiting þessara aðferða krefst umtalsvert meiri skipulagningarvinnu við að undirbúa og klára verkin. Það varð einnig augljóst að “Lean Construction” er ekki unnt að beita í öllum byggingaframkvæmdum og að JIT nýtnisjónarmið geta, einkum í verkum þar sem verulegs breytileika og truflandi áhrifa gætir, valdið vandkvæðum í því að skila verkinu af sér. Það varð ljóst að sumar núverandi stjórnunarvenja eru rökréttar og gagnlegar, jafnvel þær sem taldar eru eyðsluvaldandi eða ónauðsynlegar í skilningi “Lean Construction”. Niðurstöðurnar sýna samt sem áður að sameina þarf hvora hugmyndafræðina hinni til að ná fram raunverulega skilvirkri verkefnisstjórnun. Enn fremur er ályktað að sérhönnuð nálgun við þennan samruna verður að koma til til þess að henta stjórnunarumhverfi hvers einstaks verkstaðar. Höfundur væntir þess, að því gefnu að heildstæðari og sérhönnuð nálgun við beitingu “Lean Construction” verði valin, að hraðara framleiðsluferli og bættir hagnaðarmöguleikar geti náðst fram