A Knowledge-Based Model for Constructability Assessment of Buildings Design Using BIM

Abstract

Economic and time efficiency can be attained in the construction industry by applying the principles of constructability. Existing empirical studies demonstrate that incorporating these principles into initial stages of design maximise outcomes for all stakeholders including designers, contractors, and clients. Considering the complexity of current building design processes, there is a need to provide a decision support tool that can help designers in designing for constructability based on embedded information within the design model. Such a tool would be most beneficial at the conceptual design stage so that constructability is factored into the design solution starting from its inception. Therefore, this research investigates how contemporary process- and object-oriented models can be used to provide a mechanism that represents the subjectivity of design constructability to inform decision making. Consequently, it proposes a BIM-based model using embedded information within the design environment to conduct the assessment. The modelling framework is composed of three key parts: The Constructability Model (CM) which formulates user-based knowledge; the BIM Design Model which provides required data for the assessment; and the Assessment Model (AM) which reasons with the formulated knowledge and the BIM Design Model. The modelling framework is implemented in C#, using.NET Frameworks and Revit API. This paper demonstrates that using this framework, constructability related information can be captured and reasoned with to inform decisions at the early stages of the design process.