Automatic extraction of daily concrete requirements from 3D BIM and project schedules

Abstract

Concrete, the second most consumed material on earth after water, is considered as the backbone of modern construction. Excess or shortage in concrete supply may lead to wastage of material, time, and cost in a construction project. At present, ready-mixed concrete is widely used in the construction industry, and it is generally supplied to construction sites from offsite plants. The limitation of accurate estimation of daily concrete requirements leads to a difference in the ordered quantity and the actual requirement, and thus creates excess or shortage in supply. The advancement of 3D BIM made quantity takeoffs easier and more accurate for engineers. Considering the time and effort saved through the digitalization of construction projects, this study aims to integrate 3D BIM and project schedules for the automatic extraction of concrete supply schedules for construction projects. The use of different software for quantity takeoff and project scheduling purposes and their interoperability hinders such integration in practice. The tool developed in this study integrates quantity information extracted through BIM API and time in-formation from project schedules. The study is mainly focused on large and complex construction projects, where phase-wise construction is necessary, and quantity takeoffs are challenging when using built-in functions of BIM software. Extracted concrete supply schedules can be exported to spread-sheets for further analysis and, at the same time, be visualized through bar charts to assist with decision-making. Finally, a residential building project in Vietnam is used as a case study to prove the concept proposed in this study.