Understanding the generation and communication of design : dynamics, metrics and BIM dashboard.

Abstract

The design phase of construction projects is a crucial step that impacts the entire project’s lifecycle. Shape, constructability, serviceability, functionality, as well as the maintainability of the facility are all decided at this phase. Inadequate management of the design phase; however, leads to suboptimal design solutions, disrupted information flows, rework, reduced value, design errors and omissions, as well as cost and time overruns in both the design and construction phases. Meanwhile, the construction industry is witnessing an increasing use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a work platform to run and manage design projects. While the full potentials of BIM are yet to be realized, BIM has proven to be a game changer in the way design information is being generated, coordinated, and shared among involved stakeholders. In this regard, several studies have addressed the use of BIM during the design phase aiming to enhance the overall project’s performance. However, a formerly under-explored perspective of BIM workflow during the design phase is the one that correlates between stakeholders’ interactions and BIM model dynamics. To bridge the gap, this study approaches design workflow at the interaction of social, process, and product aspects of BIM-based design projects. First, an agent-based simulation model is developed to understand the development dynamics of real BIM-based design projects; second, a visual dashboard is designed to correlate between design development and BIM model dynamics, and third, an ontology-based framework is developed to standardize the representation of BIM-based design projects at both the product and process levels. In this context, case studies and illustrative examples are employed to showcase and test the application of developed frameworks. The results of the study show how: (a) the client’s knowledge about his-her project’s value, the ability of involved AE teams to address and shape this value, the process setup, as well as t