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BIM Implementation in the Construction Industry: Innovation and Challenges

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 22205

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alcínia Zita Sampaio

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
2. CERIS - Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability, IST, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: virtual reality; technical drawing; building information modelling (BIM); maintenance; construction; education; heritage building information modelling (HBIM); structures; design coordination

Dr. Augusto Martins Gomes

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
2. CERIS - Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability, IST, Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: construction materials; mortars and concrete; materials for the repair and strengthening of concrete structures; conservations of traditional and modern materials on building heritage

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The building information modelling (BIM) methodology has been introduced in all sectors and activities of the construction industry. This requires a high collaboration level in the development of projects, a relevant technical capacity to allow the integration of processes and the finest overall coordination of all tasks necessary to elaborate throughout the life cycle of a building. The need to adopt BIM in the individual work of architects, engineers or managers leads to the design of specific applications developed to act over the BIM model database and to add challenges in the applicability range, establishing innovative tasks in a perspective to centralize information and to integrate steps. Contributions to this Special Issue should present innovative applications and add-ins, plug-ins or extensions developed to complement specific tasks.

Dr. Alcínia Zita Sampaio
Dr. Augusto Martins Gomes
Guest Editors

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Keywords

new applicability of BIM (control of human resources, regulation of the construction space, etc.)
construction simulation and monitoring real work (workout/benefits/limitations)
quantity take-off capacity of distinct materials/components/pieces
visual programming in Dynamo (specific scripts)
python programming language applied in novel extensions
use of recent add-ins or plug-ins
generation of novel parametric objects to model irregular buildings
establishment of novel parameters to support specific tasks

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1918 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Measurement and Analysis of Building Information Modeling (BIM) Applications in the Railway Infrastructure Construction Phase

by Min-Ho Shin, Hwan-Yong Kim and Jian-Feng Liao

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(2), 502; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14020502 - 5 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1071

Abstract

Building information modeling (BIM) is acknowledged for enhancing efficiency and collaboration in the construction industry. However, its application in the construction phase of railway projects faces challenges. This study, utilizing quantitative and qualitative analyses, explores the advantage of BIM consulting services in the railway infrastructure projects. A comparative analysis of similar-scale projects shows that BIM significantly boosts construction efficiency, yielding a 197.6% economic benefit in pilot projects. This study also delves into the BIM application environment in railway construction. Our findings provide valuable insights into BIM’s advantages and challenges, emphasizing the need for further research. The results will contribute to advancing railway infrastructure and promoting BIM’s application, aiding decision makers and practitioners in understanding its potential contributions to a more efficient and sustainable industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BIM Implementation in the Construction Industry: Innovation and Challenges)

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21 pages, 7945 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automated Reconstruction of Existing Building Interior Scene BIMs Using a Feature-Enhanced Point Transformer and an Octree

by Junwei Chen, Yangze Liang, Zheng Xie, Shaofeng Wang and Zhao Xu

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(24), 13239; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132413239 - 14 Dec 2023

Viewed by 857

Abstract

Building information models (BIMs) offer advantages, such as visualization and collaboration, making them widely used in the management of existing buildings. Currently, most BIMs for existing indoor spaces are manually created, consuming a significant amount of manpower and time, severely impacting the efficiency of building operations and maintenance management. To address this issue, this study proposes an automated reconstruction method for an indoor scene BIM based on a feature-enhanced point transformer and an octree. This method enhances the semantic segmentation performance of point clouds by using feature position encoding to strengthen the point transformer network. Subsequently, the data are partitioned into multiple segments using an octree, collecting the geometric and spatial information of individual objects in the indoor scene. Finally, the BIM is automatically reconstructed using Dynamo in Revit. The research results indicate that the proposed feature-enhanced point transformer algorithm achieves a high segmentation accuracy of 71.3% mIoU on the S3DIS dataset. The BIM automatically generated from the field point cloud data, when compared to the original data, has an average error of ±1.276 mm, demonstrating a good reconstruction quality. This method achieves the high-precision, automated reconstruction of the indoor BIM for existing buildings, avoiding extensive manual operations and promoting the application of BIMs for the maintenance processes of existing buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BIM Implementation in the Construction Industry: Innovation and Challenges)

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36 pages, 6022 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring BIM Implementation Challenges in Complex Renovation Projects: A Case Study of UBC’s BRDF Expansion

by Puyan A. Zadeh, Seungho Han and Sheryl Staub-French

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12563; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312563 - 21 Nov 2023

Viewed by 2149

Abstract

Renovation of existing buildings pose unique challenges to the projects, especially when facilities must remain operational during construction. Building Information Modeling (BIM) methods offer a potential solution by enhancing project management and coordination. Nevertheless, comprehensive case study research on BIM implementation challenges and benefits in renovation projects is lacking. This research addresses this gap through an ethnographic investigation of BIM implementation in a complex renovation project. The ethnographic methods involved direct observation of project meetings, active engagement in all project communications, and access to project data resources. Additionally, surveys and expert interviews with key decision-makers were conducted. The findings reveal how BIM implementation streamlined project management and improved communication, decision making, and output quality, despite limited prior BIM expertise among the major stakeholders. Challenges included a lack of BIM skills, absence of standardized practices, and unclear data management. Furthermore, valuable lessons were identified, including that the necessity of BIM requirements and proper procurement methods encompassing the entire project workflow, formalizing information exchange, preventing information fragmentation, facilitating model accessibility, and ensuring clarity in model detail and content are crucial for project success. This research sheds light on the potential of BIM in renovation projects and highlights key considerations for successful implementation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BIM Implementation in the Construction Industry: Innovation and Challenges)

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15 pages, 3794 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Proposal for Basic Formal Ontology for Knowledge Management in Building Information Modeling Domain

by Hyunsoung Park and Sangyun Shin

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4859; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084859 - 12 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2199

Abstract

The construction industry produces enormous amounts of information, relying on building information modeling (BIM). However, due to interoperability issues, valuable information is not being used properly. Ontology offers a solution to this interoperability. A complete knowledge base can be provided by reusing basic formal ontology (BFO). In previous studies, domain ontology was developed without BFO. Domain ontology requires loads of effort to reuse because domain ontology is too detailed. To increase the reuse rate and establish a complete knowledge base, it is necessary to develop BFO. This study has developed the BFO in the BIM domain to advance interoperability. First, unnecessary parts were omitted from the existing BFO development process, the process was simplified, and the base of hierarchy was created by extracting the most basic superclasses of the BFO model from Revit, the software of BIM. Based on that hierarchy, each child class was created, and the BFO model was completed by completing the relation of each class. After completion of the model, reliability, in addition to the completeness of the model, was evaluated through a query. Domain experts can reuse the BFO when defining relations between concepts and entities. The proposed BFO will be the foundation of future ontology developments in the BIM domain. This study facilitates future researchers to enhance interoperability in the BIM domain and make the ontology more complete to improve information sharing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BIM Implementation in the Construction Industry: Innovation and Challenges)

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24 pages, 1161 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Challenges to the Implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for Sustainable Construction Projects

by Ahmed Farouk Kineber, Idris Othman, Ibukun O. Famakin, Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke, Mohammed Magdy Hamed and Taiwo Matthew Olayemi

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(6), 3426; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13063426 - 8 Mar 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 10089

Abstract

Successful concepts are adopted throughout the phases of the building lifecycle to provide maximum comfort and benefits to occupiers without compromising the function of such a project. Although there is limited information on building information modeling (BIM) execution in developing countries, BIM drivers have received significant attention from different researchers, but with a limited investigation into the influence of BIM barriers on such building projects. Our goal with this research is to identify and remove any challenges that may stand in the way of using BIM in developing country construction projects. To this end, a comprehensive literature search uncovered impediments to BIM implementation. To assess the relative importance of the numerous challenges to BIM mentioned in the literature, a survey questionnaire was distributed to a sample of specialists in the construction industry. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to classify these challenges, and partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was created to bring attention to the most pressing ones in the context of BIM adoption. The results of this research will inform policymakers in underdeveloped nations interested in adopting BIM on the pitfalls they should avoid. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BIM Implementation in the Construction Industry: Innovation and Challenges)

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21 pages, 14451 KiB

Open AccessArticle

8D BIM Model in Urban Rehabilitation Projects: Enhanced Occupational Safety for Temporary Construction Works

by Alcínia Zita Sampaio, Gonçalo B. Constantino and Nuno M. Almeida

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(20), 10577; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122010577 - 20 Oct 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4965

Abstract

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a relevant booster to the modernization of construction. The adoption of digital technologies positively contributes to more agile and integrated processes in all phases of the building life-cycle, namely with regard to project management activities. The implementation of BIM has been predominant in new building projects, but the current market cycle of the rehabilitation or refurbishing of existing buildings offers new opportunities of application to be explored. This paper explores such opportunities, namely with regard to the temporary construction works involved in urban rehabilitation projects with the preservation of the façades of the original buildings. It specifically addresses the impacts of the modeling efforts of steel frames and structures needed to temporarily support façades, after the demolition of the old buildings, and until the original façade is reintegrated into the structural elements of the new building. In a BIM context, an 8D model is created to explore BIM capabilities in enabling more efficient occupation safety and health coordination and management activities in building rehabilitation projects, namely in improving and validating the demolitions and construction methods and sequencing, the scheduling of construction works, and the mandatory occupational risk prevention documents for the construction site. The development of the research was supported on the use of the available BIM software: Revit, to model the façade and the temporary steel structural system; Microsoft Project, to schedule the construction works; Navisworks, to perform clash detection analyses and enable visual simulations for occupational risk, and its identification and mitigation. The study intends to contribute to the dissemination of BIM capabilities to improve occupation safety and health in construction, namely in rehabilitation projects involving temporary structures while contributing with innovative perspectives toward higher maturity in BIM implementation and use in the construction sector. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue BIM Implementation in the Construction Industry: Innovation and Challenges)

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