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Delivering Energy Savings for the Supply Chain Through Building Information Modelling as a Result of the Horizon 2020 Energy BIMcert Project
... Regarding equipment, especially related with renewable energy, BIM tools are not yet capable of modelling all of the existing solutions on this front [105,111]. Seeing the interest in developing a cost estimation tool with 3D features [168], realtime energy consumption should be available in future BIM tools [73], with higher levels of interoperability between these and energy analysis tools [128] and country-specific energy standards [137], achieving more accurate results. ...
... However, as stated by Gao et al. [73], there is a need for a BIM capability in which real-time energy consumption can be calculated. Additionally, country specific energy standards should be implemented [137] in such a tool, allowing its use internationally. -According to Cavalliere et al. [45] and Fernãndez et al. [71], BIM technology represents a good support for LCA analysis. ...
The Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) sector is responsible for a great proportion of the global energy consumption and associated environmental impacts. On this front, and from a sustainability improvement perspective, the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) capabilities could represent an opportunity to improve these impacts in all steps of a building’s life. The main purpose of the current paper is to identify the areas in which BIM technology can or already is playing a role in improving building efficiency, helping AECO sector stakeholders in reducing environmental impacts. In the current paper, the impact of using BIM to enhance the building energy efficiency is explored through a scientometric analysis and a systematic literature review. There is a high interest among the scientific community in these fields, given the recent rise in publications and citation numbers. Moreover, there is a lack of interoperability between BIM and energy analysis tools, a high potential for integrating BIM with other technologies, such as thermography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and monitoring, and a very positive impact from the use of BIM in the optimisation of construction solutions which allow energy savings in the AECO sector.
Construction information technology (CIT), particularly building information modeling, is globally embraced in industry but relatively new to Japanese universities because of its unique interdisciplinary nature. This presents challenges for students and instructors. Promoting the widespread adoption of CIT in Japan necessitates the development of undergraduates’ proficiency in hard and soft engineering. The problem is that Japanese universities lack research and curricula concerning CIT education—a deficiency that raises the need to evaluate students’ perceptions and acceptance of such education. This study is an initial endeavor to fulfill this need, with a view to providing curriculum recommendations and insights into the issue of interest via the analysis of students’ awareness by developing a comprehensive technology acceptance model (TAM). The findings revealed that students’ exposure to and knowledge of CIT during their university education significantly influence their perception of its utility, thereby affecting their acceptance of CIT courses. Their perception of the usefulness of CIT in future employment is a more influential factor in their willingness or readiness to accept and participate in CIT courses than its perceived importance for industry development. To facilitate the advancement of the construction sector, stakeholders should develop an industry–university collaboration-based education program that bridges the gap between academic and industry needs, creates job opportunities for students, and nurtures talent.
One of the least used aspects of BIM (Building Information Modeling) is the ability to obtain the energy model of the building using the BIM methodology known as BIM 6D. This digital information model allows simulating the real energy behavior of the building and the improvement in the building's lighting systems, both natural and artificial, in particular daylighting. In this way, the BIM 6D simulation allows us to make design and operation decisions for the building, not only for new buildings that must be, in accordance with current legislation, NZEB (Nearly Zero-Energy Building) but also for the rehabilitation of existing buildings. Particularly in buildings for sanitary use, BIM 6D allows an exhaustive analysis of the energy impact of said rehabilitation, guiding it towards an improvement in energy and light efficiency, which in turn provides greater quality and comfort in the use of the sustainable building. This subject of study is especially important in public buildings for hospital use. Buildings where energy efficiency and comfort, oriented towards optimal and efficient lighting, are two fundamental criteria highly appreciated by patients and citizens in general. Once the energy model of the building has been obtained, it is possible to study and identify possible alternatives to improve energy efficiency and improve lighting, as well as to analyze the possibilities of incorporating other more efficient forms of renewable energy, such as the use of daylight. In this work we can see how applying a set of simulated improvement actions in BIM 6D achieves an energy saving of 50% in general and up to 13% only by acting on lighting systems, allowing the decarbonization of buildings with high energy consumption, such as hospitals, and in turn, will lead to an improvement in the energy certification of these buildings; thus achieving a better and higher quality of habitability, using more efficient forms of lighting and transforming buildings into more sustainable spaces.Sus
Purpose
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is becoming the new norm in the AEC industry and also part of many construction project management (CPM) programmes. The purpose of this paper is to address the difficulty and challenges in walking the narrow line between an industry-ready BIM and a BIM that is good for student learning and offers a realistic and practical, but simultaneously achievable, learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
An action research was conducted in an undergraduate CPM education setting.
Findings
Key challenges encountered were availability of appropriate teaching and learning resources for BIM; finding the balance between theory and practice, technology and process, and traditional and emerging CPM methods; and facilitating staff’s professional development. Closer look was given to the teaching and learning resources for BIM. Theoretical resources that are available for education in the form of books, articles and websites are easy and straightforward to locate. Likewise, a good share of various tools are available for educational purposes. On the other hand, actual building models represent a challenge in terms of preparing and optimising usage of the model for high-quality educational purposes. Several different approaches for obtaining BIM resources were identified with various challenges and benefits.
Originality/value
The results and recommendations will assist educators to better understand and overcome the practical challenges related to BIM education, especially those related to teaching and learning resources.
Growing industry demand and the United Kingdom (UK) government's 2016 'BIM deadline' have provided a clear impetus for enhanced BIM teaching in UK Higher Education institutions. This paper reports on the strategic approach taken in a large multi-disciplinary School of Civil and Building Engineering. From a number of options suggested by literature, the approach to embed BIM into existing modules was chosen and three categories of BIM Learning Outcomes (BIMLOs) were identified including: knowledge and intellectual aspects; practical skills; and transferable skills. A three-year implementation plan (2014-2016) was developed in which 26 priority modules had their existing learning outcomes upgraded to meet the BIMLOs. Three new modules had to be introduced to cover new concepts and processes that required special attention, including: model coordination and clash detection/avoidance; as well as use of common data environments (CDE) which is a pre-requisite for Level 2 BIM. The contents of the BIMLOs were influenced by partnership with BIM technology providers, practicing professionals, contemporary and research-driven topics as well as UK BIM guidance and strategy documents e.g. BS1192-2007, the PAS1192 series, BIM Protocol and Government Soft Landings. Many priority modules were taken by mixed cohorts of students drawn from various programmes, so group work via problem-based coursework was typically used for assessment. Guided self-learning through web-based video tutorials was adopted across the School using commercially available and in-house produced content. These have helped students with problem-solving and modelling skills. There were differences (such as background skills and future interests between local undergraduate students and international postgraduate students) and these differences influenced how they approached group working and the tasks they could effectively carry out. The approach adopted by Loughborough University for teaching BIM required long-term vision, leadership, BIM championing and the cooperation of academic peers who were extensively consulted. A feedback mechanism was put in place to capture students' experiences regarding BIMLOs, access to computing facilities and effectiveness of video tutorials. Recommendations are made to other institutions considering wide scale multi-disciplinary embedding of BIM into their curriculum.
In the past several years, Building Information Modeling (BIM) adoption has grown significantly in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. In response to this trend, the industry and academia realized that BIM education in university curricula is an important requirement for satisfying educational demands of the industry, and a notable body of research has reported strategies AEC programs implemented to incorporate BIM in their curricula. However, no study has comprehensively reviewed and synthesized the research on strategies adopted by educators. To bridge this gap in the literature, this paper presents a systematic review of research on BIM curriculum design in AEC education. The authors report on the trends of research on BIM curriculum design (e.g. methods, timelines, and contexts) as well as a synthesis of implemented pedagogical strategies with detailed discussions on their implications and effectiveness across different studies and contexts. These strategies address a variety of important pedagogical issues such as enrolment of students, optional or required BIM use, important competencies and skills, tutoring methods, industry engagement, designing assignments, and assessment methods and criteria. This synthesis shows that designing pedagogical strategies for BIM education is complex and challenging, and AEC programs need to make trade-offs between advantages and disadvantages associated with these strategies. The results also highlight the need for more diverse research designs and settings to bridge the gaps identified in BIM curriculum research to date. Finally, the authors present a literature-based framework of BIM curriculum design strategies as well as a set of recommendations that can be used BIM educators and researchers as a guide for designing or assessing their BIM curricula in future research.
College construction management (CM) programs across the nation have been integrating building information modelling (BIM) in their curricula in various forms with specific priorities. Nevertheless, the common goal is to cultivate a competent workforce that possesses the desired knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) as the industry is largely embracing BIM. This study explores the project-based learning (PBL) pedagogy in a four-year undergraduate CM curriculum with a special focus on BIM implementation in sustainable design and construction. Through a joint course project, this study examines how PBL may improve critical student learning outcomes (SLOs) pertaining to institutional assessment and program accreditation requirements. Specifically, students in two upper division elective courses collaborated on an ongoing campus project through roleplay as they would in real project teams. Major project deliverables included developing the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification strategy and the BIM project execution plan, performing schematic design, conducting performance simulation for LEED credit compliance, and documenting project information for LEED submittals. Formative and summative assessments were conducted on the PBL pedagogy and the joint course experience in enhancing students’ understanding and working knowledge of BIM implementation in the sustainability domain. The joint course project also provided the instructors with opportunities to align course redesign with program accreditation standards. This paper outlines the strategies of implementing and managing a joint course project, and shares various metrics and tools adopted in project evaluation. The results and the findings of this joint course project are expected to shed light on competency-based program assessment and future BIM curriculum innovation.
Background
Today, the architectural, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry is motivated to employ graduates educated about Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools, techniques, and processes, which help them to better integrate visualizations and data into their projects. In line with today’s AECO industry necessities and government mandates, globally active BIM educationalists and researchers are designing BIM educational frameworks, curricula and courses. These educationalists and researchers are also generating solutions to the obstacles faced during integration of BIM education into tertiary education systems (TESs). However, BIM researchers have taken few efforts recently to provide an overview of the level of BIM education across the globe through review and analysis of the latest publications associated with BIM education in TESs. Hence, this study attempts to fill this gap by providing a review of the efforts of globally active educationalists and researchers to educate AECO students about BIM in the context of advanced engineering education with visualization. Method
In our study, an investigation of texts in the field of academic BIM education was conducted. Keywords such as “BIM education”, “BIM curriculum”, “BIM course”, and “visualization in engineering education” were used to search for publications ranging from 2010 to the present day. Textual and content analysis were employed to arrange BIM-related qualitative textual data into similar sets of conceptual categories for the purpose of analyzing trends in today’s global academic BIM education research. ResultsThis study generated six conceptual categories by arranging qualitative textual data from 70 collected BIM publications in order to build an understanding of active BIM educationalists and researchers efforts: (a) identifying needs for BIM in tertiary educational institutions (TEIs), (b) identifying essential BIM skillsets for BIM education, (c) developing BIM educational frameworks, (d) developing BIM curricula, (e) experimenting with BIM courses, and (f) developing strategies to overcome BIM educational issues. Through this process of review and analysis, current research gaps in academic BIM education across the globe are identified. Conclusion
This process of review and analysis of global BIM education research trends resulted in a conceptual categorization of BIM educationalists and researchers’ efforts in TES. This categorization and review of the collected publications can serve as a knowledge base for: (a) identifying major issues involved in BIM education, (b) developing strategies to incorporate BIM into TES, and (c) developing BIM frameworks and curricula in the context of tertiary education, which can assist BIM educators with taking BIM education in TES to the next level for visualization in advanced engineering education. Through analyzing global BIM education research trends, this study also provides future research suggestions on academic BIM education across the globe. Furthermore, our analysis highlights the relationship between current tertiary BIM education and visualization.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is considered as a common language in construction industry projects today. It is rapidly being acknowledged as a driver for change on a global scale. The perceived benefits of BIM by the early adopters and various research indicate that collaborative BIM approaches help in delivering projects with reduced time, lower cost, higher quality, and greater customer satisfaction. Recent government uptakes and demands for fully collaborative BIM, as a requirement in different countries, have resulted in a strong interest towards BIM adoption and its uses, creating a huge demand of BIM competent workforce. Thus, there is an accelerated need for upskilling the industry practitioners and educating the future engineers. However, there is a major challenge for academic organizations to embrace BIM in their curricula for educating the future professionals due to lack of skilled BIM educators. Engineering education is still often based on drafting, since most teachers are experts in 2D or 3D modeling, and only few in BIM. The present lack of skilled BIM educators calls for educating the educators and, thus, becoming acquainted with the BIM processes, concepts and technologies. The present paper presents the current state and strategies of BIM academic integration in the School of Civil Engineering and Building Services (SCEBS) of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Finland. It describes both an initiation and the results derived from "OpeBIM" (BIM for teachers) implemented to educate the educators. The paper collects the feedback and recommendations provided by the participating educators.
Purpose
Steel and reinforced concrete are among the most common structural materials used in the construction industry. Cost and the speed of construction have been usually the main criteria when selecting a building’s structural system, whereby the environmental impact of the structural material is sometimes ignored. Availability of an easy-to-use tool for environmental assessment of the structural alternatives could encourage this evaluation in the decision making. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an automated tool for the environmental assessment of the on-site construction processes of a building structural system, which calculates the energy consumption and carbon emissions of the structural system as a parameter for comparison.
Design/methodology/approach
This assessment tool is implemented using a building information modeling (BIM) platform to extract structural elements and their key attributes, such as type, geometrical and locational data. These data are processed together with a productivity database to calculate machine hours, and then predefined energy and carbon inventories are used to assess the energy consumption of the structural system in the erection/installation stage.
Findings
This assessment tool provides an automated and easy-to-use approach to estimate energy consumption and carbon emissions of different structural systems that are modeled in a BIM platform. The results of this tool were within the ranges reported by the available studies.
Originality/value
This research project presents a novel approach to use BIM-based attributes of the structural elements to calculate the required efforts, i.e. machine hours, and assess their energy consumption and carbon emissions during construction processes.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors driving Palestinian construction contractors to implement energy management strategies during the execution of construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted by administering a questionnaire that comprised 26 drivers for adopting energy management strategies. Data were collected from 67 contractors in the Gaza Strip. Factor analysis was adopted to explore the underlying relationships among the identified drivers.
Findings
Drivers were grouped into one of the four categories: economic and financial, institutional and legal, organisational and managerial and educational and informational. The results revealed that the majority of the respondents were of the view that economic and financial factors were the most important factors driving the adoption of energy management strategies by construction companies in the Gaza Strip. Of the economic and financial drivers, the cost savings derived from the adoption of energy management strategies was considered the most important item. Energy management education and training programmes are scarce in the Gaza Strip, and local contractors have no formal energy management education and training. The government needs to allocate sufficient funds for policy implementation and regulation enforcement.
Research limitations/implications
Difficulties in accessing energy management data are deemed as a limitation to this study, as the topic of energy management in the construction has received no or very little academic attention so far.
Practical implications
This study provides a valuable reference for studying ongoing research in the practice of energy management development in other industries and locations. The priority of the drivers for energy management will help the local contracting companies to focus on weak and strong points of the company for energy use development to remove these weak points and invest in strong points. This paper results can increase the encouragement for greater social responsibility of the contracting organisations towards energy use. Government and concerned organisations can get benefits from the identified factors in encouraging contractors to adopt energy management strategy in their projects.
Originality/value
This study is the first investigation of energy management aspects in a local construction industry, especially from contracting organisations.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers a novel approach to design, construction, and facility management in which a digital representation of the building product and process is used to facilitate the exchange and interoperability of information in digital format. BIM is beginning to change the way buildings look, the way they function, and the ways in which they are designed and built.
The BIM Handbook, Third Edition provides an in-depth understanding of BIM technologies, the business and organizational issues associated with its implementation, and the profound advantages that effective use of BIM can provide to all members of a project team. Updates to this edition include:
• Information on the ways in which professionals should use BIM to gain maximum value
• New topics such as collaborative working, national and major construction clients, BIM standards and guides
• A discussion on how various professional roles have expanded through the widespread use and the new avenues of BIM practices and services
• A wealth of new case studies that clearly illustrate exactly how BIM is applied in a wide variety of conditions
Painting a colorful and thorough picture of the state of the art in building information modeling, the BIM Handbook, Third Edition guides readers to successful implementations, helping them to avoid needless frustration and costs and take full advantage of this paradigm-shifting approach to construct better buildings that consume fewer materials and require less time, labor, and capital resources.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and occurrence, and peculiarities and dynamics, if any, of perceived challenges to the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) in construction site management; using South Africa as context for empirical study.
Literature on the constraints to technology transfer and ICT adoption in construction is used as basis for the study. A national survey of registered persons in South Africa was used to collect qualitative data. A robust multi-stepped analytical approach was used to derive results.
Findings suggest appreciable similarity between literature and primary data, in types of individual challenges and their categories. Lack of technology and management support, and knowledge and information related issues, are relatively more prevalent in site management. There is a fair level of commonality in perception of technical barriers among the various categories of respondents who are active in site management. However, project managers seem to be more sensitive to some inhibiting factors, more than other respondent groups.
Inherent limitations of survey strategy were experienced, but highly qualitative data were collected at a national level. The study highlights the range of barriers to ICT in site management, and compounding effects of technology-, knowledge- and management-related constraints.
The possibility of knowledge-based factors remotely manifesting in other categories was highlighted. There is need to consider all challenges in planning for ICT in projects, and prioritise technology-, knowledge- and management-related challenges. A classification for exploring challenges to ICT in the site management process is also proposed.
Appreciable paucity remains in research focused on ICT in the site management process, as opposed to the popular operations/application focus of IT/ICT studies. Furthermore, there is still scarcity of ICT research in Africa, with regard to the built environment and specifically site management.
This study contributes to research in ICT innovation adoption in the construction industry, by developing a better understanding of the dynamics of perceived challenges to ICT adoption in the site management process; according to types and classifications of challenges, and roles and age groups of stakeholders. The study further sets a baseline for future studies in this area by proposing a frame of categorisation that is focused on site management.
The use of building information modelling (BIM) has increased in the global architecture, engineering, construction and owner-operated (AECO) industries. This increased use has contributed to a recognition by project stakeholders of its importance across the building life cycle, leading higher education institutions to rethink their AECO provisions. There has been much debate about how BIM should be employed in undergraduate curricula: should it be included as a stand-alone subject in a programme or as an underlying theme across the programme? Research has also been conducted into theories of practice with regard to BIM education. This article builds on previous research in the codeBIM project and describes students’ perceptions of current practice in the United States and the United Kingdom. The article begins with a literature review of current theories of BIM teaching in AECO and a summary of good practice. The use of focus groups is described and the findings from focus group sessions held in the United Kingdom and the United States are discussed. The authors identify six key areas required for BIM to be inclusive in higher education: collaborative curricula, space, teamwork, relevance to the industry, technical/technological skills and the role of the professor or lecturer. Each of these areas is discussed in light of the findings from the focus groups.
Purpose
Competency-based measure is increasingly evident as an effective approach to tailoring training and development for organisational change and development. With design stage widely reckoned as being decisive for construction waste minimization, this study aims at identifying designers’ competencies for designing out waste.
Design/methodology/approach
Due to paucity of research into competency for construction waste mitigation, this study corroborates Verbal Protocol Analyses (VPA) with phenomenological research.
Findings
Combining findings from the two methodological approaches, competencies for designing out waste are grouped into five categories, three of which are largely task related and two being contextual competencies. The study suggests that design task proficiency, low waste design skills and construction related knowledge are indispensable task competencies, while behavioural competence and inter-professional collaborative abilities are requisite contextual competencies for designing out waste. In concurrence with task-contextual theory of job performance, personality variables and cognitive abilities are found to influence one another. This suggests that both task and contextual competencies are not only important, they are less mutually exclusive with respect to designing out waste.
Practical implications
This study implies that apart from commitment and dedication of designers to waste minimization, design and firm practices are expected to be adapted to the industry’s standard.
Originality/value
Basis for training needs of design professionals as well as redeployment criterion are further elaborated in the paper. By enhancing competencies identified in this study, construction waste would not only be significantly designed out, adequate cost saving could be made as a result of waste reduction.
Innovation creates opportunity for improvement within the construction industry. Yet for construction professionals to benefit from innovative technologies and emerging business environments, they must both recognize opportunities and possess the prerequisite education and training needed to capitalize them. In order for construction educators to properly prepare students with the associated competencies for the advanced work of construction of the future, they must forecast the future and develop curriculum aligned with the projected proficiency requirements. Although, a crystal ball is not available to foretell a clear and predictable view of the future, construction educators are able to study established and emerging trends and are encouraged to use this information to understand the implications of these trends to curriculum and learning activities. Framed within the context of the construction industry, this paper presents scientific methodology of future prediction and trends research and also describes trends identified and studied over multiple years by the Strategic Planning Committee of the Construction Industry Institute (CII). In response to the presented construction industry trends, specific recommendations are made for construction curriculums to satisfy the expected proficiency required of the builders of the future.
Improving the sustainability of the built environment by training its workforce in more efficient and greener ways of designing and constructing through the Horizon 2020 Energy BIMcert Project
- B Mcauley
- A Behan
- P Mccormack
- A Hamilton
- E Rebelo
- B Neilson
- . . Borkovic
Educating the next generation of architects for interdisciplinary BIM environments
- S Jaradat