Building information modeling for construction applications : formwork installation and quantity takeoff

Recent advancements in Building Information Modeling (BIM) hold great promise for addressing the challenges of the construction industry by allowing project teams to ‘test out’ a design prior to construction. The projects that have successfully implemented BIM demonstrate numerous benefits, including increased design quality, improved field productivity, cost predictability, less rework, and reduced construction cost and duration. However, much of the research to date has focused more on the preconstruction phase with less research on uses for the construction phase, The goal of this research was to evaluate specific uses of BIM in the construction phase of the project. I investigated two construction applications of BIM: (1) BIM for developing lift drawings to support formwork construction on the BC Hydro Substation project, and (2) BIM for quantity takeoff to support life-cycle assessment (LCA) and construction cost estimating on the Pharmaceutical Sciences project. The BC Hydro project provided an opportunity to examine the use of BIM for the field crew. I developed 3D coordinated lift drawings that conveyed the necessary information for forming the components accurately and clearly. I believe that creating the lift drawings increased the crew’s productivity by providing the necessary information for building a component, resolving conflicts prior to construction, and reducing mistakes. I evaluated the use of BIM for quantity takeoff using the Pharmaceutical Sciences project. I evaluated two BIM-based and one 2D-based quantity takeoff software, and based on several parameters of importance to cost and sustainability consultants. I found that calculating quantities from a BIM model is faster and more accurate as long as the model is created correctly and accurately to suit the needs of the users. This thesis provides evidence for the benefits of BIM for construction uses at different stages in the project. The BC Hydro case study provides significant detail on how a BIM can be utilized by construction field personnel. The Pharmaceutical Sciences project demonstrates the benefits and challenges of utilizing a BIM for quantity takeoff. More case studies are needed to demonstrate the benefits of BIM for different applications in the project delivery process to enable more widespread BIM adoption.Applied Science, Faculty ofCivil Engineering, Department ofGraduat