Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013 Vijay Kumar Saini and Sumedh Y Mhaske, 2013
BIM AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN AECINDUSTRY FOR TIME OPTIMIZATION
Vijay Kumar Saini1* and Sumedh Y Mhaske1
The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), industries have long sought techniquesto decrease project cost, increase productivity and quality, and reduce project delivery time.Effective planning is one of the most important aspects of a construction project and influencesthe success of a project. Traditional way of planning, scheduling and monitoring is lackingvisualization and forth coming impediments in the project. Building Information Modeling (BIM) isa model-based design concept, in which buildings will be built virtually before they get constructedon site, where various database are integrated at single platform for building lifecycle which alsomanages the information exchange between the AEC professionals, to strengthen the interactionbetween the design team. BIM plays a vital role in decisions making during its lifecycle. In thispaper, traditional and BIM methods of scheduling are explained taking nth dimension as time.This paper explains the Software used and their system requirements, methodology used bywhich 4D model of a building can be created.
1 Civil Construction Management, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Mumbai.
INTRODUCTIONIn the 21st century, every evolution in technologyhas been achieved with advances in computerscience. The result of each evolution is toprovide more information to attain objectiveseasily. This technical evolution is also reflectedin the Architecture, Engineering, andConstruction (AEC) Industry. In the past 10years, design tools in the AEC industry havebeen improved from 2D modeling to 3Dmodeling. Effective planning is one of the mostimportant aspects of a construction project and
Keywords: Building information modeling, Digital interface, Software used, Procedure
influences the success of a project. Duringdesign and construction phase, potentialspatial conflicts may arise between buildingcomponents. It is not easy to identify or predictthese conflicts using 2D or 3D layouts. Thisloophole is bridged by adding an additionaldimension to the model and therefore, timebecomes an additional dimension to 3Dmodeling giving the evolution of 4D model.This paper aims to give the methodology forcreating a 4D model from the availablesoftware’s in market.
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LITERATURE REVIEWInitial Design
Until the mid-19th century, the general methodof design did not change a lot. Engineers usedsimple tools (such as pen, paper and ruler) todescribe their buildings. However, withadvances in mathematics and buildingmaterials, the process of design changed andimproved rapidly.
Initial 2D CAD Method
With the invention of the computer, 2D CADas a new drawing tool was adopted completelyin the AEC industry. After the Second WorldWar, American martial technology was appliedin the civil field. SKETCHPAD was firstdeveloped by Ivan Sutherland. That was theroot of CAD. At the beginning, the technologyof CAD was not as popular as in modern times.However, with the popularization of personalcomputers, the renowned software companyAutodesk developed AutoCAD. Suddenly, allthe architects in the world started to learn anduse this type of software to design their project.
Current Design Methods
The technology development form 2D CAD to4D simulation greatly improved the designprocess. 2D CAD developed into 3Dmodeling. This innovation changed theprocess of building design and the relationshipbetween the structural engineer and thearchitectural designer. It did not only changethe way building designs are visualized, butalso signaled a paradigm drift in designthinking from pure visualization to simulation.
Building Information Modeling
Beyond the 3D modeling, BIM is emerging asa new powerful technology. Firstly, it has all the
functions of 3D CAD. Whereas 3D CADmodeling was merely collections of points,lines, 2D shapes and 3D volumes, in the BIMconcept, such geometric entities can also havesymbolic or abstract “meaning”, as well asquantitative or qualitative data. In order tocompare the differences between traditionalCAD documents and Building InformationModeling, a hypothetical model is created andrelevant steps and software’s are explainedin this paper.
NEED OF BIM IN PROJECTSCHEDULING ANDPROGRESS MONITORINGDue to the difficulty observed in using thetraditional scheduling and monitoringmethods, the construction industry hasacknowledged that its current scheduling andprogress reporting practices are in need ofsubstantial improvements in quality andefficiency. Research efforts to incorporatevisualization into scheduling and monitoringhave been motivated by the failure oftraditional methods.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) allowsproject managers and different peopleinvolved in the project with differentbackgrounds to get the accurate informationof the project and monitoring of activities. Theproject manager and client can use thevisualization aspects at any stage of the projectto monitor the activities and cost flow. BIMimproves the construction planning and designefficiency by integrating the 3D model andschedule of the project at one platform.
In BIM various drawing likes architectural,structural, electrical, MEP, etc., are associatedto the model. Various drawing available at one
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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013 Vijay Kumar Saini and Sumedh Y Mhaske, 2013
platform improve and speed up theconstruction planning as well as ensure dataintegrity and accuracy. BIM allows the user tomanipulate the schedule and 3D componentsin a single environment, which in turn facilitatesthe rapid generation of alternatives. Theschedule in BIM allows easier understandingof the project as well as helps to detectpossible problems in it. By integrating anddisplaying specification/recommendation andconstruction resource information, theschedule in BIM promotes interaction andcollaboration among the project teammembers from different fields.
PROCEDURES FOR PROJECTSCHEDULING AND MONITORINGSYSTEM USING BIMThis paper gives the information about thevarious software used, methodology adoptedfor the making a 4D model. Various softwareused for making a 4D model are AutoCAD
AutoCAD 2013 is used for creating andstudying the 2d CAD drawings. Autodesk Revit2013 is used for creating 3D model andcollaborating drawings related to other field ofthe project. Microsoft Project 2007 is used forcreating a schedule for the activities involved inthe project. Autodesk Navisworks Manage2013 for dynamic linkage of 3D model and MSPschedule activities creating a 4 D model. Figure1 shows the steps for making a 4D model.
PILOT STUDY3D model is created by using Autodesk Revit2013; it’s a hypothetical model of G+5 storeybuilding comprising of concrete elements likecolumn, beam and slab as shown in Figure 2.Model is perceived from the perspective of aconstruction manager and therefore model isrestricted to civil works only, however other
Figure 1: Design and Information Flowchart
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database like mechanical, electrical andplumbing can also be integrate in the model.Model prepared in Revit is exported asNavisworks file format using export option.
Elements are listed out by creating a workbreakdown structure of the 3D model andaccordingly a Construction schedule is preparedin Microsoft project 2007 as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 2: G+5 Storey Model
Figure 3: MSP Schedule
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Int. J. Struct. & Civil Engg. Res. 2013 Vijay Kumar Saini and Sumedh Y Mhaske, 2013
Figure 4: Dynamic Linkage of MSP Schedule with 3D Model
Model exported from Autodesk Revit (2013)and schedule prepared in Microsoft Project(2007) are imported in Autodesk Navisworks(2013). Schedule is synchronized andhierarchy is developed automatically byclicking synchronize option in the timeliner.Model elements are selected and attached
with the schedule giving commands forconstruction as shown in Figure 4.
In the simulation tab of timeliner, color codingfor construction phases is done to distinguishthe view of different phases of model. Finally the4D model can be visualized virtually by startingthe simulation in timeliner as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Simulated 4D Model
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CONCLUSIONThe proposed methodology utilizes thedynamic linkage between the activities in theschedule and corresponding 3D componentsand help to detect the incompleteness andlogical errors in the schedule sequence. Thisis because, BIM provides the user with a realtime representation of the project which mayimprove and speed up the constructionplanning as well as ensure data integrity andaccuracy.
BIM, thus is not only a visualization tool butcan be utilized as a project scheduling andmonitoring tool at any stage of the project inwhich the schedule and the 3D componentscan be manipulated in a single BIMenvironment. The schedule in BIM allowseasier understanding of the project as well ashelps to detect possible problems in it.Therefore, by integrating and displayingspecification/recommendation andconstruction resource information, theschedule in BIM promotes interaction andcollaboration among the project teammembers from different fields.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe authors are very grateful to moral supportand encouragement from the friends,batchmates, staff VJTI, Mumbai. They thankAutodesk student community for providingsoftware support, without which this project isimpossible.
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