A Constructability Assessment Framework for Buildings Design Using BIM

Facility design is facing challenges in the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Fragmented design and construction processes have been identified as key causes of declining productivity in... [ view full abstract ]

Facility design is facing challenges in the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Fragmented design and construction processes have been identified as key causes of declining productivity in construction. Contemporary advancements in IT and the efforts of various research initiatives in the AEC industry are showing evidence of progress in filling this gap with the advent of building information modelling (BIM). BIM has a great potential in electronically modelling and managing the vast amount of information embedded in a building design, from its conception to end-of-life. Researchers have been looking at extensions to expand its scope, including constructability.

Constructability can be defined as “The optimum use of construction knowledge and experience in planning, design, procurement, and field operations to achieve overall project objectives” (CII USA, 1986). Implementation of constructability principles in the construction industry has a potential return on investment concerning time and money. Prior research shows that reviewing the design constructability at the early design stages provides benefits to owners, contractors and designers. Considering the complexity of current building design processes, there is a need to provide a decision support tool that can help designers in reviewing the design constructability based on embedded information within the design model. Such a tool would be most beneficial at the conceptual design stage so that constructability is factored into the design solution starting from its inception. 

Therefore, this research investigates how contemporary process- and object-oriented models can be used to provide a mechanism that assesses the design constructability to inform decision making at an early stage. Such a framework will be implemented as a prototype using Application Programming Interface (API) in BIM extension. The system can be used to explore what-if-scenarios in design iterations and appraise alternative design solutions and construction methods.