Overall Introduction to the Framework of BIM-based Digital Twinning in Decision-making in Safety Management in Building Construction Industry

Abstract

There is a growing impact of digitalization on the management processes in the construction industry. This trend enhances changes in decision-making related to the Occupational Health and Safety. This paper aims to study the Building Information Modelling (BIM) and digital twin technology integration within the decision-making processes related to safety management in building construction industry. Considering the complexity of the occupational health and safety management, the decision-making processes and operational performance in this field requires special emphasis on communication, data gathering and feedback organization-wide. As technologies advanced and flexible enough, the BIM-based digital twinning provides an opportunity to give decision-making support in the scope of complex situations and comprehensive data management of construction projects. Through the real-time interfaces and the users´ information sharing BIM-based digital twinning is a big step in the direction of safety management based on predictive analysis, all users/workers inclusion and smart assets optimization and assessment of the decision-making processes at all operational levels. As the application of BIM methods is widely spread along the whole cycle of building construction from the project definition till the post-execution inspection, the correct and predictive data collection from BIM and its´ 3D visualization through digital twins stand out as a significative progress in prevention of risks through the safety planning and simulation. This collaborative safety planning and predictive risk awareness within construction the projects are to become the starting points to combining general technical planning with novel safety management functions. Through scoping literature review the study of emergent technologies application for the occupational health and safety in BIM-related construction projects has been carried out. The main finding of this research is a proposal of BIM-based digital twins’ framework able to enhance strategic developments of proactive solutions of safety planning and management in construction industry. BIM-based digital twinning facilitates to overcome the employees´ resistance and to improve safety management related communication that is considered the reason for construction relatively high ratios of accidents. BIM-based digital twins are advanced and flexible enough to give decision-making support in the scope of complex situations and comprehensive data management of construction projects. The initial conceptual framework of correlations among Safety Management processes, general strategic decision-making on a project level, BIM-based digital twins and Decision Support System, is outlined. As well as the BIM-based digital twin framework for decision-making of safety management has been outlined applying the Research through Design. However, the future in-depth strategic analysis of BIM-based digital twin as a decisive factor of decision-making in safety management will be required to determine functional model suitable to be implemented on executive level of construction companies.