Daniel Nascimento

CasCADe: A Novel 4D Visualization System for Virtual Construction Planning

Building Information Modeling (BIM) provides an integrated 3D environment to manage large-scale engineering projects. The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry explores 4D visualizations over these datasets for virtual construction planning. However, existing solutions lack adequate visual mechanisms to inspect the underlying schedule and make inconsistencies readily apparent. The goal of this paper is to apply best practices of information visualization to improve 4D analysis of construction plans. We first present a review of previous work that identifies common use cases and limitations. We then consulted with AEC professionals to specify the main design requirements for such applications. These guided the development of CasCADe, a novel 4D visualization system where task sequencing and spatio-temporal simultaneity are immediately apparent. This unique framework enables the combination of diverse analytical features to create an information-rich analysis environment. We also describe how engineering collaborators used CasCADe to review the real-world construction plans of an Oil & Gas process plant. The system made evident schedule uncertainties, identified work-space conflicts and helped analyze other constructability issues. The results and contributions of this paper suggest new avenues for future research in information visualization for the AEC industry.

Measurement of sustainability performance in Brazilian organizations

ABSTRACT In recent years, sustainability issues are gaining greater prominence among organizations and their stakeholders around the world. This paper aims to verify the sustainability performance of Brazilian organizations in performance measures and to propose sustainable guidelines with the intention of directing future efforts to the transition to sustainable development. The research utilized a triangulated approach by collecting qualitative and quantitative data acquired through multiple collection methods of a theoretical literature review, documentary analysis of corporate reports, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews with industry professionals and academic researchers. The results show that internal organizational factors are the main inductors of the sustainable environment in organizations, and sustainability must be tied to strategic planning, starting from upper management to lower levels. It is essential to use sustainable performance measurement systems in order to respond to external and internal levers and serve as benchmarking for future corporate operations and strategies. In addition, it is the responsibility of organizations to focus their efforts on environmental protection, reduction of energy, corporate reputation, quality management, customer satisfaction and investor relations, as they are considered to be more important and have a relationship of dependence on organizational sustainability. The findings will be of value to professionals and academics who want to start measuring and for continuously improving the sustainability performance of their organizations according to the technical, economic, environmental, social and governance dimensions. This research work also helps to understand the perceptions and expectations of stakeholders.

Constructability in industrial plants construction: a BIM-Lean approach using the Digital Obeya Room framework

AbstractOne of the main problems the construction industry faces is the high cost and slow execution time due to inadequate planning, which results in poor use of human resources. A common solution for reducing time and costs is the adoption of prefabricated components (prefabs). This paper proposes a novel methodology for interdisciplinary management of construction projects by integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Lean Thinking to improve the production planning and control of pipe-rack modules in an industrial facility. The article first presents a literature review to assess the key synergies between BIM and Lean Thinking. These led to the development of a new integrated work methodology named Digital Obeya Room. This model focuses on the required workflows, the analysis of collected data, and the visual management of construction planning and control. A real-world empirical study in the Oil and Gas industry evaluated how the newly devised practices could improve prefabrication and preas...

Análise do fluxo de valor sob uma perspectiva estocástica

Lean Production (LP) emerges as a response to the increase in competitiveness in a globalized market. Among the practices utilized in LP, value stream mapping (VSM) is one of the most adopted, as it identifies wastes and direct the application of other LP practices. VSM maps material flows and production control information. However, VSM has a deterministic approach, which limits the power of modeling and makes it difficult to map dynamic models. In this sense, this work has the goal of proposing a method for the identification of opportunities for improvements that combine VSM and Monte Carlo simulation, taking into account the uncertainties of the value flow. The results show that this new approach allows the identification of improvement opportunities that are not contemplated in a traditional application of the VSM.

Digital Obeya Room: exploring the synergies between BIM and lean for visual construction management

Industrial construction management increasingly needs to integrate processes, technologies, and people to support strategic objectives and seeks to eliminate waste to achieve more efficient results. From this, the synergistic use of building information modeling (BIM) and lean construction (LC) principles can bring continuous improvements to the construction industry. This paper proposes a novel methodology for interdisciplinary management of construction projects by integrating BIM into LC. First, the study presents a literature review of BIM and lean methods and tools. Afterward, the research proposes the Digital Obeya Room framework for visual management of industrial pipelines manufacturing. A real-world application evaluates this new proposal on production planning and control of an industrial construction. From this experiment, the study presents results from a focus group that correlates the applied BIM functionalities and lean principles with the PDCA stages of industrial construction. This paper contributes to planning predictability, integration among stakeholders and usage of lean and BIM for continuous improvement of engineering management.