Building Information Modeling: A Report From the Field

Britani N. Harris1 & Thais da C. L. Alves2

1Senior Project Engineer, Balfour Beatty Construction, San Diego, CA, USA, [email protected]
2Associate Professor, J. R. Filanc Construction Eng. and Mgmt. Program, Dept. of Civil, Constr., and Env. Eng., San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA, [email protected]

Abstract

Since its inception in the early 2000s, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has evolved from an emerging innovation to an integral part of the construction industry. Though the benefits of BIM during the preconstruction and coordination phases have been thoroughly researched and documented, investigation into the present status of BIM implementation at the construction phase has remained primarily theoretical. This article aims to record the current state of field level BIM use by General Contractors in order to gain insight on how BIM is being implemented at the construction site today. The data used for analysis was collected via a nationwide survey distributed to several internationally known General Contractors. Through this research, the goal is not only to understand the ways through which field level employees are using BIM on their projects, but also to determine the underlying structures of the field implementation processes, the employees’ comfort navigating the technology, the perception of BIM’s reliability, and the impact of Lean Construction on project sites through use of the BIM. From this article’s findings, it is the authors’ hope that companies can leverage the information to stimulate training, revise inefficient BIM implementation structures, and further the integration of BIM and Lean at the field level.

Keywords

Building Information Modelling, Collaboration, Continuous Improvement, Value

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Reference

Harris, B. N. & Alves, T. C. L. 2016. Building Information Modeling: A Report From the Field, 24th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , -. doi.org/

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