Tallgren, M V (2018) Developing a collaborative planning tool for construction-a building information model-enhanced planning and scheduling tool for production. PhD thesis, Chalmers Tekniska Hogskola, Sweden.
Abstract
Construction projects are becoming increasingly complex with a higher degree of specialization, resulting in more sub-contractors as well as in more information needed in the project. This results in a bigger project organization with an increased need for information exchange, an area where construction has been criticized by academics. The increasing specialization is related to an increase in more technically advanced buildings. The amount of information created and managed in construction projects has been recognized as hard to manage at the construction site. This is problem since the site-management uses this information in the scheduling and planning of the production. One way to address this is to utilize the sub-contractors in the planning of the production, thus drawing upon their work-experience for their specific tasks. This creates a collaborative planning approach that somewhat addresses parts of the problem, however, the amount of information is still hard to manage, especially since it has to be coordinated between disciplines to get the full picture. Information and communication technologies, (ICT), have attempted to solve this, with potential found in building information modelling (BIM). However, most use of BIM is seen in the design phase of construction projects, with some BIM visualization appearing at the construction site. The lack of adoption at the construction site is partly attributed to lack of time to alter processes to new tools.This thesis addresses this potential for BIM tools aligned to a collaborative planning process. Furthermore, it recognizes that prior literature lacks a focus on both the people and the social context the technology is used in as well as the development of the technology itself. Thus, a sociotechnical systems view is adopted. Design Science is used as the method to observe the current collaborative planning process, develop a BIM-system supporting the collaborative planning approach and document the research process. This is done with a strong focus on the user, using people, processes and technology as dimension to analyze the requirements of the BIM system developed. Thus, the research’s contribution is threefold; the thesis contributes with a documentation of an existing collaborative planning process, a BIM-enabled collaborative planning tool enhancing a current work practice and an example of how Design Science can be used as a method to support ICT development in construction.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Bosch, P |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction site; building information modelling; communication; design science; documentation; project organization; scheduling; specialization; visualization; construction project; sub-contractor |
| Index terms: | dimension, design phase, becoming, building information modelling, visualization, sub-contractor, construction project, work practice, project organization, information exchange, documentation, drawing, science, construction site, information and communication technology, scheduling, collaborative planning, specialization |
| Subjects: | information systems, design practice, management, professional development, technical documentation, work location, data science, health monitoring assessment and metrics, business, computing systems, philosophical process, organizational theory, production management, urban planning, operations research, professional practice, specialized education, practitioner |
| Topics: | Project Management, Health and Safety, Education, Governance, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Site Management, Organizational Design, Time Control, Digital Applications, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here