a practice-oriented bim framework and workflows · a practice oriented bim framework and workflows...
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A Practice oriented BIM framework and workflows
M. Kassem1 , N. Iqbal2 and N. Dawood1
1Technology Futures Institute, School of Science and Engineering, Teesside University, TS1 3BA, Middleborough, Borough Road; PH (44) 0164 234 2494; email: [email protected]
2BIM Academy, School of the Built and Natural Environment, Northumbria University, NE1 8ST, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland Road;
PH (44) 0191 227 4533; email: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Various Building Information Modelling (BIM) frameworks and workflows have been developed over the last few years. A BIM framework is a theoretical structure explaining or simplifying complex aspects of the BIM domain by identifying meaningful concepts and their interrelationship. BIM workflows are structured information (e.g. process maps) intended for operational applications of BIM concepts and tools. The majority of BIM frameworks and workflows, developed in the past years, were either intended to build broad understanding and adoption at industry level or specific for BIM usage in large enterprises. This study will illustrate the development and application of a practice-oriented BIM framework that can be used at project level.
INTRODUCTION
BIM is receiving an ever-increasing acceptance in the building industry as organisations understand its potential in improving efficiency throughout the building lifecycle. The key emphasis of BIM has been on interoperability and visualisation, whereby consistent and accurate information can be communicated across the lifecycle process (Eastman et al, 2011). However, BIM have been attributed transformative capabilities within the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operations (AECO) industry (Succar, 2009) triggering the need for BIM frameworks. Indeed, there have been a number of BIM frameworks and workflows over the last few years. Theoretical BIM frameworks, such as the ones developed by Succar (Succar, 2009), aim to defining the general BIM requirements and domains of knowledge in different fields (i.e. technology, process and policy). While these theoretical frameworks cannot be utilized for practical implementation of BIM in building projects, their domains of knowledge could be exploited to develop practice-oriented BIM frameworks and workflows. Existing BIM workflows and protocols (e.g USACE, 2010; GSA, 2010, Penn State, 2010; NIST, 2007; NY DDC, 2012; BCA Singapore, 2012; AGCA, 2007) are intended to facilitate BIM implementation at either a broad industrial level or in specific enterprises and their supply chains. As a result, there is still a need for the development of practice-oriented BIM frameworks that could be applied at project level.
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The overarching aim of this paper is to present a BIM framework and BIM workflows that can be used in building projects to increase the efficiency of processes and enhance the quality of information to all stakeholders involved in the project lifecycle. This work was undertaken as a collaborative effort between the industry and academia within a ‘Knowledge Transfer Partnership’ (KTP) scheme. A KTP is British government-supported scheme, which facilitates the interactions between a company base and an academic base, enabling businesses to use the research skills and qualities of academic institutions to address important business challenges. In a KTP scheme, both the strategic challenges affecting the company and a roadmap for addressing them are established at the outset of the project which typically lasts between one and four years. The remaining sections will: briefly introduce the UK BIM initiatives and design processes; explain the methodology used to develop the practice-oriented BIM framework; illustrate the main elements of the BIM framework, and demonstrate the testing of the framework in a 48 hour design competition challenge. BIM INITIATIVES AND DESIGN PROCESSES IN THE UK
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has released ‘BS 1192’ standard that provides guidelines to support collaboration and BIM implementation. The BS 1192 establishes the methodology for managing the production, distribution and quality of construction information using a disciplined process for collaboration and a specified naming policy. The UK government has recently established a BIM task group who has established, in collaboration with the Construction Industry Council (CIC), 11 regional hubs to raise awareness of BIM and its benefits and facilitate the adoption of BIM processes and working methods in the UK construction industry. The Government’s BIM Task Group in collaboration with the BSI has just published the third draft of ‘PAS 1192-2:2012’ which identifies the information requirements for the capital delivery phase of construction projects (BSI, 2012).
The process for organizing and managing the design phase of building projects in the UK is specified by The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and called RIBA ‘Oultine Plan of Work’ (figure 1). It is important to emphasize that although the RIBA Outline Plan is commonly illustrated as a start to end process, in reality it is of an iterative nature, whereby information at various stages is reviewed and modified depending on project requirements. Any BIM framework and workflow, including the processes for the different BIM workstreams at the different stages of the project lifecycle and the interoperability requirements, must consider this Outline Plan of Work. In turn, the description of the different work stages of the Outline Plan of Work has to be modified with changes that consider the BIM overlay. Indeed, these changes were just recently released by the RIBA in a document called ‘BIM Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work’ (RIBA, 2012) As part of the framework developed in this research, an alignment model between: ‘BIM workstreams, technologies and interoperability’ and the RIBA Outline Plan of Work, is produced.
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Figure 1. RIBA Outline Plan of Work.
PRACTICE ORIENTED BIM FRAMEWORK AND WORKFLOWS
This research conducted in collaboration between industry and academia aimed at developing a practice-oriented BIM framework and workflows that consider BIM processes and methodologies alongside technologies throughout the lifecycle of a building project (e.g. design, construction and operation). The core concepts underpinning the methodology adopted consists of the following:
• Exploit the domains of knowledge and concepts identified in BIM theoretical frameworks as a point of departure;
• Use those concepts to elicit knowledge and understanding from stakeholders, involved in building projects, to create a BIM framework and workflow;
• Consider BIM workstreams of all project lifecycle phases and the corresponding BIM technologies and their interoperability;
• Align the BIM framework and workflow with the standard design processes adopted in the UK (i.e. RIBA Outline Plan of Work).
For each of the element of the above methodology, the project utilized a specific research method. The literature review was utilized to review previous BIM frameworks and workflows. Interviews were utilized to elicit knowledge from industry professional. Case studies aimed to test the effectiveness of the BIM framework and workflow developed.
From the literature review, it was concluded that there is still a gap in terms of BIM frameworks and workflows that can be implemented by organizations in the building industry at project level. However, there are some theoretical frameworks (i.e. Bilal Succar, 2009) that defines in a concise manner the concepts and domains of knowledge required for BIM implementation in the industry and could be used as a theoretical point of departure.
In the interviews, the BIM fields (i.e. technology, process, policy) identified in an established theoretical framework – presented by Bilal Succar (2008), were used to elicit knowledge and understanding from major stakeholders in the building industry.
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The knowledge and understanding obtained from these stakeholders was used to define the system specifications for the BIM framework and workflows. A total of 16 semi-structured interviews with individuals from major consultant, client and contractor organizations were conducted. Interviewed members represented nine large consultants and architects, two major city councils representing the client, and four large and multinational contractors. Members were included in the sample only if they are considered “experts” in both BIM concepts and business processes.
Table 1. Common Themes of the System Specification.
Information Technological Framework Contractual Agreements
BIM protocols Interoperability Responsibilities
Lifecycle Integration Standardised Content BIM Champions
Project Execution plans BIM Services Best Practice Guidance
Implementation in projects Sustainability BIM Awareness
Table 2. Elements Related to each Theme. Themes Elements Information - Communication - Structuring - System - Interoperability - Security Lifecycle Integration
- RIBA stages - BIM workstreams
Project Execution Plan
- Roles and responsibilities - Model use workflows - Deliverables - Levels of details - Software selection - Model access - Technology assessment
Technological Framework
- Design - Analyse - Manage - Review - Case studies - Infrastructure - Software specific manuals
BIM Protocols - Templates - Style Guide - Libraries - Best practices BIM Champions/Coordinators
- Role and Responsibilities
Contractual Agreement - Integrated Project Delivery - Agreements
Implementation in projects - BIM workshop - BIM execution plans - BIM process approval
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The initial stage of requirement capture consisted in posing broad trigger questions about the requirements of BIM frameworks and workflows (i.e. processes, technologies, policies). The qualitative analysis of the answers given involved the organization, classification and coding of answers, and have led to the identification of common themes (Table 1) mentioned by more than 90% of the interviewees. These themes were then discussed with an additional round of interviews to identify their elements and understand the interrelations between the elements. Table 2 shows the elements which are pertinent to each of the themes. The elements of these themes were further developed into a full set of specifications which also involved defining the interactions between elements from the different themes. An example of the interactions between BIM technology, BIM workstreams, interoperability and the RIBA Outline Plan of Work is mapped in figure 2. It was also recognized by interviewees that there is a need to develop a process that organizes and tailor the steps for the deployment of the BIM framework and workflows at individual project level. This process was also mapped and agreed by all the stakeholders (figure 3). It is composed of four phases that aim to assess feasibility of the execution of the BIM framework and workflows and tailor it to specific project needs.
Figure 2. An example of interactions between elements of the BIM framework and their alignment with RIBA process.
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Figure 3. Process for the implementation of the BIM framework at project level
CASE STUDY The developed BIM framework and workflows were tested in two international live design competitions called “Build London Live 2009” and “Build Qatar Live 2012” respectively. In these competitions, a number of teams composed of architects, engineering consultants (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Structural) and contractors compete in a 48-hour to deliver a project design which is released just before the competitions starts. The winner is judged by experts from the AEC industry, major software vendors and organisations such BuildingSMART on the basis of the following criteria: compliance to the brief; design impact and clarity; Multi-disciplinary BIM and use of Interoperability, and use of BIM for technical assessment. In Build London Live 2009, the context of the brief was based on a hypothetical manmade island, whereby teams were required to design a mixed use scheme; including hotel, office, retail and residential space. The BIM framework explained earlier was followed and the project started with a workshop where a technology review (figure 4) was established followed by an analysis of the model use workflow and technological compatibility analysis (figure 5). Once the team agreed on the BIM feasibility assessment, the project execution started. The main deliverables were mono-disciplinary models; the integrated and coordinated multi-disciplinary model; an environmental assessment of design options, and a construction simulation model. Our team followed the presented BIM framework and workflows and started with the Architect defining the model coordinates. Then, the grid and floor plates were established and communicated to the structural and MEP engineers. The completion of the multi-disciplinary models (figure 6) was completed in a timely fashion with teams using various technologies and exchanging models via a BIM server. The architectural model was then adapted in such a way that areas and spaces are correctly configured to support downstream activities such as environmental analysis, design coordination and 4D planning (figure 6). Within the
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competition time (i.e. 48 hours) all the BIM deliverables were produced by the team following the proposed BIM framework. The judges awarded our team the prize for the ‘Best Multi-disciplinary BIM and use of Interoperability’ in Build London Live in 2010 and the overall winner in a recent competition (Build Qatar Live 2012). Although the judgment is made only on the basis of general criteria assessed by expert judges, the two design competitions, where there is a high pressure to produce multidisciplinary designs in a very short time, showed that the proposed BIM framework and workflows help creating a shared vision about the implementation of BIM; facilitating communication and workflow, and increasing the efficiency of all stakeholders involved in the design process.
Figure 4. Technology framework
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Urban and design planning
Architectural Model
Architect
Architectural Model
Architectural modellerBIM Coordinator
Structural Model
Structural Engineer
MEP Model
MEP Engineer
Structural Model
Structural modellerBIM Coordinator
MEP Model
MEP modellerBIM Coordinator
Multi-disciplinary Model
BIM Coordinators
Trade off analysis
3D modelling
Environmental Analysis
Clash avoidance
4D/5D Planning
6D planning / Facility
management
1
2
2
2
3
4
5
4
5
5
6
7
8 9
Rvt / IFC
Rvt / IFC IFC
IFC
IFC
IFC IFC
Sequence
File formats
BIM workstream
gbXML
3
3
Outputs: 3D Architectural / Structural/ MEP models, Structural Analysis, Environmental Analysis, Material Selections, 4D/5D Solutions, Clash Avoidance, Drawings, Visualisations, Animations, Schedules, Report, FM Solutions
Figure 5. Model Use Workflow and Technological Compatibility
Figure 6. Architectural, Structural and Multi-disciplinary Models (left) and Design coordination and 4D planning model (right)
CONCLUSION
This paper presented a practice-oriented BIM framework and BIM workflows
developed in a joint effort between industry and academia. The BIM framework consisted of multi-dimensional BIM processes that are utilized alongside BIM technologies throughout the lifecycle of a building project and are aligned with the standard design processes adopted in the industry. The requirements of the BIM framework were captured from two rounds of sixteen interviews with stakeholders representing all the trades involved in the design phase of buildings. The BIM framework consisted of a number of themes (i.e. information, lifecycle integration, project execution plan, technological framework, BIM protocols, BIM
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champions/coordinators, and contractual agreement) with their detailed elements and interrelationships and a process for its implementation in projects. The developed BIM framework and workflows were tested in two time-constrained international design competitions and proved to be an effective tool in increasing the efficiency of the workflow of the design process between project stakeholders.
This BIM framework is currently implemented on many projects in the UK through consultancy delivered by a spin out company called ‘BIM Academy’ owned by Ryder Architecture who co-financed this research project.
Future studies will develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess the role of the BIM framework and workflows in homogenizing the BIM maturity levels among the different trades involved at the design stage. This need resulted from observing some trades in the design team, who had less maturity and knowledge in BIM than other trades, increasing their understanding of BIM processes and technologies as the project proceeds.
REFERENCES AGCA - The Associated General Contractor of America (2007) The Contractors’
Guide to BIM, Publication No. 2926, edition one, p. 3. BCA - Building and Construction Authority (2012) Singapore BIM Guide,
http://www.corenet.gov.sg [last accessed November 2011] BSI – Department of Business Skills and Innovation (2012) PAS 1192-2:2012
Building Information Management – Information requirements for the capital delivery phase of construction projects, http://www.cic.org.uk [last accessed Jan 2011]
EASTMAN, C. et al. (2011) BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modelling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors, 2nd Edition, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
New York City Department of Design & Construction (2012) BIM Guidelines, Long Island City, NY.
NIST - National Institute of Building Sciences (2007) National Building Information Modeling Standard – part 1: Overview, Principles and Methodologies, Washington, DC, U.S.
Penn State (2010) BIM Project Execution Planning Guide and Templates – Version 2.0 BIM Project Execution Planning, CIC Research Group, Department of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University.
RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects (2012) BIM Overlay to the RIBA Outline, RIBA Publishing, London.
Succar, B. (2009) Building information modeling framework: a research and delivery foundation for industry stakeholders, Automation in Construction, 18 (3), pp. 357-75.
US General Services Administration (2008) 3D-4D Building Information Modelling, Series 04 - 4D Phasing, Washington DC, U.S.
USACE - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2010) USACE BIM Project Execution Plan, Version 1.0, Washington DC, U.S.
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