Jin, Z; Gambatese, J; Liu, D and Dharmapalan, V (2019) Using 4D BIM to assess construction risks during the design phase. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 26(11), pp. 2637-2654. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: The prevention through design (PtD) concept has been widely recognized as one of the most effective approaches to eliminate or reduce construction site hazards. It encourages engineers and architects to consider occupational safety and health during the planning and design phases. Nevertheless, the implementation of PtD is often inhibited because designers lack adequate knowledge about construction safety and the construction process, and limited design-for-safety tools and procedures are available for designers to use. The purpose of this paper is to provide designers a tool for assessing construction risks during early phases of multistory building projects at an activity level and on a daily basis in a 4D environment. By using the tool, proactive measures could be taken in the design and planning phase to reduce site hazards. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed method consists of four steps including risk quantification at a design element level, 4D model integration with risk values, risk assessment, and design alternative selection and model acceptance. A case study was carried out to test and verify the proposed method. Findings: The proposed tool has the capability to assess the safety risk for an entire multistory project and visualize safety risk in a particular time period, work space and task prior to construction. It benefits designers in conducting risk assessments and selecting design alternatives concerning safety. Contractors could also utilize the visualization and simulation results of the 4D model for site safety planning so that a range of risk mitigation strategies could be implemented during construction. Originality/value: The study provides an innovative PtD tool targeting designers as primary end-users. The proposed tool helps designers assess construction risks and has potential to incorporate the top levels of the hierarchy of risk controls.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building information modelling; case study; construction planning; construction safety; risk management |
| Index terms: | case study, quantification, building information modelling, designer, engineer, architect, design phase, risk management, occupational safety and health, risk assessment, construction planning, implementation, prevention, strategy, construction site, construction process, integration, methodology, visualization, risk mitigation, construction safety |
| Subjects: | profession, risk assessment, data collection methods, work location, construction planning, contractual arrangements, professional practice, research methods, design practice, management, financial risk, measurement and scaling, building construction, occupational health and safety management, organizational analysis, information systems, environmental health |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Site Management, Research Practice, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Procurement, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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