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ProNIC integration in BIM environment
A model to work in collaborative environment
André Filipe Pereira Henriques
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
Supervisors: Prof. Luís António de Castro Valadares Tavares
Prof. António Morais Aguiar da Costa
October 2012
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1. Introduction
The construction industry in general is nomad, traditional and it is characterized by a high inertia
to the change, which production has a centralised nature. Therefore, the construction industry is
fragmented, heterogeneous and segmented (Afonso et al., 1998).
The Portuguese construction industry in particular, lacks of competitiveness in comparison with
the international construction industries. The lack of competitiveness is disclosed by the
deadlines extensions, cost slippages, insufficient safety, lack of quality. Understand the causes
for this lack of competitiveness is important for the industry decide to take the initiative and
looking for stave off this situation (Couto and Teixeira, 2005).
One of the main reasons is the lack of cooperation between the numerous stakeholders
throughout the life cycle of the projects (design, construction and facilities management), with
the combination of poor mechanisms of collaboration and contractual arrangements that don’t
help the creation of a collaborative environment, contribute for the appearance of the following
problems (Grilo and Tavares, 2008):
The existence of disconnected processes;
Communication errors;
Errors on the information exchanges;
Loss of relevant information;
Waste of recourses on the information re-entering and re-creation.
According to various authors (2008, AIPCC, 2011, Couto and Teixeira, 2005, Couto and
Teixeira, 2006), the following construction industry’s weaknesses and causes for the cost
slippages and deadlines extensions are worthy of mention:
Poor collaboration between stakeholders;
Numerous Requests for Information (RFIs);
Numerous changes made to design;
Contradiction on construction documents;
Conflicts between disciplines;
Bad planning and project management;
Lack of rigor and quality of tender documents;
Lack of information about construction materials (types, specifications, etc.);
Absence of technical documents about the construction works execution and the
materials associated with those;
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Hard distribution of standards and technical texts and specifications;
Absence of widespread use contents for the production of tender and construction
documents.
The construction industry needs to cope effectively with this situation. One of the more
important steps to this direction is the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM), as an
integrated approach to carry out construction projects. BIM has the potential to address many of
the referred weaknesses. However, currently exists a system to address others weaknesses of
the construction industry, the “Protocol for the Normalization of Information in Construction”
(ProNIC). This system have the potential to become a reference in the Portuguese construction
industry, however, it does not cover the use of BIM throughout the development of projects.
Therefore, it is important to find a way to integrate the ProNIC on the BIM process, taking into
account all implications of that integration.
1.1. BIM
According to Lee et al. (2006), BIM is “the process of generating and managing building
information in an interoperable and reusable way”. The use of BIM enables the users to
integrate and reuse building information and domain knowledge through the lifecycle of a
building. It is important to note that BIM is not a thing or a type of software but a human activity
that ultimately involves broad process changes in design, construction and facility management
(Eastman et al., 2011). Thus, the acronym BIM is made of three components demonstrating its
scope (Figure 1), as follows (buildingSMART, 2012):
Building Information Modeling
The business process for generating and leveraging building data to design, construct
and operate the building during its lifecycle BIM allows all stakeholders to have access
to the same information at the same time through interoperability between technology
platforms;
Building Information Model
The digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. As such
it serves as a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility, forming a
reliable basis for decisions during its life-cycle from inception onwards;
Building Information Management
The organization and control of the business process by utilizing the information in the
digital prototype to effect the sharing of information over the entire lifecycle of an asset.
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The benefits include centralised and visual communication, early exploration of options,
sustainability, eficient design, integration of disciplines, site control, as built
documentation – effectively developing an asset lifecycle process and model from
Conception to final retirement.
BIM promotes a collaborative environment (ease and need for communication between the
various stakeholders), mainly using the concept of Cloud Computing thus enabling collaboration
and information exchange among all stakeholders via the internet and attenuating the lack of
cooperation between them.
With BIM can significantly increase the level of detail of the projects which, coupled with the
collaborative environment that provides, will mitigate the shortage of details on projects and
requests for information.
Figure 1 – The three components of BIM
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Moreover, BIM can mitigate the impact of changes to projects and incompatibilities between
projects, as it allows viewing a priori, through the models, the final product, thus enabling the
project owner has a better perception of same. It also allows the clash detection and
coordination between projects.
The production of the drawings becomes more efficient due to the use of parametric modeling,
since changes in a given component model are automatically updated in all views thereof. This
feature combined with the aforementioned clash detection between specialties, increases the
accuracy of the drawings obtained directly from the models.
Some software allows, due to the possibility of simulating reality, examine the feasibility of
certain construction methods and create a bidirectional link between planning and model. This
improves the activity of planning and mitigation of conflicts at work.
1.2. ProNIC
This project is jointly developed by the Institute of Building, School of Engineering, University of
Porto (IC-FEUP), the Institute of Computer and Systems Engineering of Porto (INESC Porto)
and the National Laboratory of Civil Engineering (LNEC). The main goal is the development of a
integrated and systematized set of credible technical contents, supported by a modern
informatics application (2008).
The ProNIC structure for information organization (Work Breakdown Structure - WBS) is based
on work results, with 25 chapters adapted to the Portuguese construction industry. So, it is a
important tool for the information management.
The ProNIC allows the generation of items that will be part of works and Quantities maps and
furthermore, associate sheets on the execution of works, materials and costs. These sheets
intended, above all, provide technical information on good construction practices, regulations,
standards and costs. These features allow ProNIC increase the rigor in producing measurement
charts and specifications and to provide important information on materials used in the works
(composition, application, testing, standards) and execution of works (preparatory work,
implementation process, standards, testing, measurement criteria, safety rules).
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2. ProNIC integration on BIM process
2.1. Integration Perspectives
The ProNIC integration on BIM process must be taken according to three perspectives. The first
perspective is the creation of a collaboration environment on which all stakeholders cooperate.
A basic premise of BIM is collaboration by different stakeholders at different phases of the
lifecycle of a facility to insert, extract, update, or modify information in the BIM to support and
reflect the roles of that stakeholder (NIBS, 2007). A collaboration environment permits exactly
that, however, to make this a reality the following aspects should be borne in mind:
The use of Cloud Computing concept that, according to Mell and Grance (2011), is “a
model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool
of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and
services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort
or service provider interaction”. Cloud computing technology enables the rapid
development, deployment, and ongoing adaptation of proven, robust BIM processes. It
is the consistent, collaborative creation and ongoing use of facility life-cycle information
for both new and existing buildings, spanning design, procurement, construction,
renovation, repair, adaptation, and deconstruction that defines BIM (Cholakis, 2012);
Establishing contractual arrangements that encourage the collaboration between all
stakeholders, like the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). The IPD means bringing all of
the parties in a typical construction project — owner, architect, and builder — together
as early as possible in a more robust partnership than is traditionally seen in
construction (Ostanik, 2010);
Overtaking the cultural changes. Challenges with cultural changes typically far exceed
the task of creating new work (Fiatech, 2012).
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The second perspective is the information delivery processes, that is, describe common process
maps, definitions, and views to align and communicate information exchanges and workflow
management (Fiatech, 2012). The Industry Foundation Class (IFC) developed by the
buildingSMART is an important project to improve the interoperability1 in the construction
industry. However, it is a necessary but not sufficient condition for achieving full interoperability
between building information tools. Unless each information exchange within construction
project workflows has its specific contents and level of detail defined, the breadth and flexibility
of the IFC schema leaves room for errors (Eastman et al., 2010). Here, the Information Delivery
Manuals (IDM) has an important role, which “specifies when certain types of information are
required during the construction of a project or the operation of a built asset” (BuildingSMART,
2011). It also provides detailed specification of the information that a particular user (architect or
building services engineer, for example) needs to provide at a point in time and groups together
information that is needed in associated activities: cost estimating, volume of materials and job
scheduling are natural partners (BuildingSMART, 2011).
Finally, the third perspective is the information management, which not only include documents,
messages and data but all mechanisms in information processing (Vickers, 1985). So, the
information management is “a means by which a centre maximizes the efficiency with which it
plans, collects, processes, controls, dissemination and uses its information and through which it
ensure that the value of that information is identified and exploited to the fullest extent” (Rao,
1999). Here, the classification is an important subject. According to Jørgensen (2011), the
classification is “an abstraction mechanism by which component classes can be arranged in a
1 According to Eastman et al. (2011), interoperability is “the ability to exchange data between
applications, which smoothes workflows and sometimes facilitates their automation”.
Figure 2 – Collaborative environment (Thomassen, 2011)
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hierarchy, termed taxonomy”. To use this concept in the information management were created
classification systems for the construction industry like the Omniclass Construction
Classification System (Omniclass or OCCS) that utilize a type of classification named faceted.
That is, multiple hierarchies are used that can each describe an object from a different point of
view, and several may be applied to a single object to provide an enhanced classification. This
allows for user-directed exploration, where a large data set is progressively filtered through the
user’s various choices, until arriving at a manageable set that meet the user’s criteria (Davis
and Ceton, 2011). The Omniclass is made up of 15 tables and each one provides a different
point of view of the information. For example, the information can be classified by the element
into which it is inserted or by the type of product used on the construction.
In addition, the information in the construction industry is produced in a progressive fashion, so
it is necessary to take that in account. One example can be a simple wall in a building.
In the beginning, the information associated with that all can only be its function (belong to
exterior enclosure of a building, that is, an exterior wall). However, several informations need to
be produced and associated with that wall before we can assign and specify work results.
Throughout the development of the design, the material, typology and kind of properties will be
determinated and need to be integrated on the taxonomy of elements that will form the basis for
the information organization. When all necessary information are gathered, the work results can
be assigned and here the ProNIC have a important role.
Finally, most contracts require the handover of paper documents containing equipment lists,
product data sheets, warranties, spare part lists, preventive maintenance schedules, and other
information. This information is essential to support the operations, maintenance, and the
management of the facilities assets by the owner and/or property manager (East, 2012). The
information management needs to take this in account.
However, before all these perspectives can be implemented in the workflow according to the
methodology BIM, it is important to define a way to work in a collaborative environment. The
creation of that environment is an important step to provide numerous advantages to the
construction industry but is not enough. All stakeholders need to understand a fashion to work
on the same data.
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2.2. ProNIC role in collaborative environment
The solution for that can be the process defined on the BS1192:2007, which defines the
collaborative working process for project collaboration and efficient data sharing (AEC (UK),
2012). This process in combination in the Cloud Computing provide a platform in which the
stakeholders can produce all kinds of information regarding the projects. This concept is called
Common Data Environment (CDE) and permit that all stakeholders work on the same data. This
process is make up of four areas, as shown in the Figure 3.
An important task to ensure that this process is carried out correctly is the elaboration of a
Project BIM Execution Plan, there are some guides to elaborate a BIM Execution Plano like the
“BIM Project Execution Planning Guide” (Guide PxP) developed at the Pennsylvania State
University. According to this guide, the BIM Execution Plan identify high value BIM uses during
project planning, design, construction and operational phases; design the BIM execution
process by creating process maps; define the BIM deliverables in the form of information
exchanges and develop the infrastructure in the form of contracts, communication procedures,
technology and quality control to support the implementation (CIC, 2010). Thus, throughout the
development of this guide are set the information delivery processes.
Figure 3 – Common Data Environment (CDE) (Based on: AEC (UK), 2009, AEC (UK), 2012)
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All relevant information about the project is stored in a central information repository called
Project Integration Model (PIM). This concept appears because the Building Information Models
do not contain and should not contain all information regarding the projects. So, according to
Davies (2009), the PIM is “the source of all data exchange, co-ordination and drawing
production – using only signed off, correct, information”.
The ProNIC role in this process is to bridge the gap between the information in the PIM and the
tender documents, charts, specifications and other technical information.
In the PIM, the referred concepts regarding the information management have a significant
position, as will be argued later.
2.3. Information management within PIM
The functions of ProNIC were important to work in a collaborative environment, however, in the
information management perspective, the ProNIC WBS is a very useful tool to classify the
information. The Figure 4 shows the proposed model for the information organization within
PIM.
Figure 4 – Proposed model for the information organization within PIM
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The first step is define a taxonomy of elements, whose classification criteria is the function of
the elements (Jørgensen, 2011). Examples are the level 3 of the UniFormat and the table 21
“Elements” of OmniClass. The information organization by elements is the most intuitive way.
According to Omniclass (2006), this provides “a useful way to organize and classify elements at
the early stages of a project, before particular or specific materials and methods (designed
elements) have been determined, and help to conceptualize the project without restrictions
imposed by any particular design solution”. This taxonomy will form the basis hierarchy in the
BIM.
Throughout the design development, as information starts to be created like the materials and
their properties. In the stage, the automation allowed by the BIM should be used. In the Building
Information Models, family types and instances represent the elements and have all their
informations. Thus, the information introduced in the Building Information Models can be
exported by three ways (some of the information can be classified already within the Building
Information Models):
Process identical to the NBIMS process (concept MVD);
Direct export from the BIM softwares in text format;
Manual input.
The IT platform must have the capacity to read the exported files, import the information and
introduce it onto BIM.. Once in the PIM, the remaning information can be classified in the the
families and/or instances that have the composition of the elements, properties and associated
products. For that, it is possible to use taxonomies like the tables 23 “Products”, 41 “Materials”
and 49 “Properties”.
At a certain phase, when all necessary information to specify the work results in the ProNIC is
gathered, the work results can be assigned to the family types or instances and to their
components, where applicable. For that, the ProNIC WBS must be made available as a Web
Service to facilitate its use. In addition, it is recommended the use of check boxes to explore the
ProNIC WBS and when the target level is reached, all the necessary properties must become
available. In this way, the users can introduce the information as this become available.
Here, the classification can be used to automate the filling of the required information. For
example, the typology of a wall is already determinated in the taxonomy by elements, so if the
IT platform support that functionality the typology can be automatically be selected in the
ProNIC WBS, at the time of the assignment of work results to the family types and/or instances.
Finally, all those informations can be exported in a XML schema to the ProNIC that, in turn,
utilize them to produce tender documents, materials charts, measurement charts.
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3. Conclusions
The ProNIC integration in the BIM process is a very important step for the Portuguese
construction industry, by addressing many of their weaknesses and causes for the cost
slippages and deadlines extensions.
This integration will be challenging but it is possible. Apart from the creation of a collaborative
environment, it is necessary to understand the appropriate way of working in collaborative
environment and, as demonstrated, the CDE and PIM concepts can be the answer for that
subject. All stakeholders can work on the same data. In addition, the information delivery
processes must be defined at the level of the BIM Execution Plan
The use of an information central depository (the PIM) permits an efficient management of the
information, on which it is possible the use of classification and the information introduced in the
Building Information Models to make the use of the information in the projects much more
efficient. It is important to create a faceted classification system in the Portuguese construction
industry and, for that, the ProNIC notation must meet the notation of the others developed from
scratch or adapted from existing ones in other countries.
Finally, the development of a system like the COBie is recommended and the PIM is ideal for do
that.
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