BIM Integrated Workflow Management and Monitoring System for Modular Buildings

BIM Integrated Workflow Management and Monitoring System for Modular Buildings

Amar Seeam (School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK & Enemetric Ltd., Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK), Tianxin Zheng (School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK & Enemetric Ltd., Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK), Yong Lu (School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK), Asif Usmani (School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK) and David Laurenson (School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK)
Copyright: © 2013 |Pages: 12
DOI: 10.4018/ij3dim.2013010103

Abstract

The authors are collaborating with a manufacturer of custom built steel frame modular units which are then transported for rapid erection onsite (volumetric building system). As part of its strategy to develop modular housing, Enemetric, is taking the opportunity to develop intelligent buildings, integrating a wide range of sensors and control systems for optimising energy efficiency and directly monitoring structural health. Enemetric have recently been embracing Building Information Modeling (BIM) to improve workflow, in particular cost estimation and to simplify computer aided manufacture (CAM). By leveraging the existing data generated during the design phases, and projecting it to all other aspects of construction management, less errors are made and productivity is significantly increased. Enemetric may work on several buildings at once, and scheduling and priorities become especially important for effective workflow, and implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The parametric nature of BIM is also very useful for improving building management, whereby real-time data collection can be logically associated with individual components of the BIM stored in a local Building Management System performing structural health monitoring and environmental monitoring and control. BIM reuse can be further employed in building simulation tools, to apply simulation assisted control strategies, in order to reduce energy consumption, and increase occupant comfort.
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2. Towards A Bim Management System

BIM evolved as a superset of the 3D CAD model of a building, containing parametric information supplemented with object relationships, which can support the simulation of a building virtually, permitting experimentation, by modification of design parameters. BIM is therefore, geared towards automating the creation of optimised buildings (in terms of energy use and structural design), and management of building data. However the current methodology does not include further methods of data collection and storage through online monitoring, and additional manipulation through data analysis in simulated models can help to improve performance or mitigate any problems during the building lifetime, when BIM is encapsulated in a Building Management System. This would also enable the automatic updating of building information models (Hwang & Liu, 2010) for continual self-diagnosis and reporting to aid 6D BIM, in terms of lifetime management. The main focus of BIM thus far has been interoperability between software and data re-use, particularly with design simulation tools, which up this point has been a successful reason for its recent widespread adoption in the AEC industry, especially in terms of collaboration.

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