Christos Vidalakis

A critical analysis of Building Information Modelling systems used in construction projects

Construction life cycle project needs to be understood for BIM to be easily integrated.Interoperability is crucial for the uptake of BIM in the construction industry.Supply chain members need to collaborate on projects to deliver BIM compliant projects.There is a need for vendors/manufacturers to adopt a common language in publishing information about BIM software. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is now a global digital technology which is widely believed to have the potential to revolutionise the construction industry. This has been mainly a result of worldwide government initiatives promoting BIM uptake to improve efficiency and quality in delivering construction projects. This push has been accompanied by the release of a tremendous amount of BIM software systems which are now available in the market. Although this can be seen as a positive development, one cannot ignore how it has overwhelmed many professionals who cannot easily distinguish between the uses of these software systems. Previous studies about different BIM systems have generally been limited in scope focusing predominantly on operational issues. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive and critical appraisal of a wide range of BIM software systems currently being used in managing construction project information. To achieve this, five main methods are adopted. These include a systematic review of the literature, a structured questionnaire survey, action learning, focus group discussions and email surveys. It has to be noted that, although it is impossible to examine the totality of BIM systems, the study adopts a holistic approach looking at most of the major BIM system categories and 122 application examples which are common in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.

Demand Uncertainty in Construction Supply Chains: A Discrete Event Simulation Study

The delivery of construction projects is typically an assembly operation involving a high number of subassemblies and materials brought on site by the supply chain. However, although supply chain management in construction has attracted significant attention, paradoxically little focus has been placed on construction supply networks and operations. This paper places emphasis on supply chain operations by looking at the logistics function of construction material suppliers. Specifically, the paper examines the impact of demand uncertainty on supply chain performance in order to assess the capacity of material distribution companies to provide a timely and cost-efficient service to the construction industry. The study adopts a discrete event simulation approach to assess the impact of demand fluctuations on two crucial logistics performance measures; lead time and cost efficiency. The results show that lead times are particularly sensitive to fluctuations under conditions of low demand. The findings also reveal that, although transport is a significant cost element for lower demand levels, higher inventory costs result in a negative exponential relationship between increasing demand and cost efficiency.

The quality and value of higher education facilities: a comparative study

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to explore the relationship between the quality and value of higher education facilities through comparing the views of different user groups and professionals involved in the procurement and design of such facilities.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a mixed methods approach incorporating a number of interviews and a questionnaire survey, underpinned by the recommendations and input of an expert panel.Findings – The results reveal the potential of facilities management and maintenance to create value for higher education institutions (HEIs) and students, perhaps even greater than the construction of new high‐profile facilities, by facilitating student recruitment and improving the student learning experience.Research limitations – The sample includes data from a single HEI. Although this was deemed necessary so as to reduce the impact of externalities, the adopted approach has to be applied to a wider sample of HEIs in order to claim more generalisable findi...

BIM Big Data System Architecture for Asset Management: A Conceptual Framework

Effective decision making in the AEC/FM industry has been based increasingly on an exponential growth of data extracted from different sources and technologies. It has been argued that Building Information Modelling (BIM) can handle this information efficiently, acting as a data pool where data can be stored, managed and integrated. Indeed, a BIM platform based on cloud computing and Big Data can manage the storage and flow of data, as well as extract knowledge from Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Internet of Things (IoT), asset management, energy management and materials and resources databases. Furthermore, it can also provide an opportunity for multiple users to view, access and edit the data in 3D environment. This paper describes the requirements and different components of a BIM Big Data platform for facilitating management of building assets. This is achieved by firstly, conducting a critical peer review to ascertain Big Data definitions and stages, and also to define the critical BIM requirements for the Big Data platform. At the crux, this paper presents a conceptual framework for developing a Big Data platform for BIM which incorporates suitable tools and techniques needed to export, store, analyse and visualise BIM data.