- Title
- Challenges associated with implementing BIM-enabled code-checking systems within the design process
- Creator
- Shih, Shan-Ying
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- This study has involved the specification and development of a Building Information Modelling (BIM) enabled code-checking system to check building designs for compliance against the Building Code of Australia (BCA). In Australia, building designs must comply with the BCA before construction works commence. At present accredited certifiers manually assess two-dimensional design drawings against each clause of the BCA. However, these manual activities have been shown to be time-consuming and inconsistently executed, and have informed two research gaps identified for this study. Firstly, design modifications are sometimes not noted on two-dimensional drawings, particularly when these are updated. This may fragment the information that stakeholders share, resulting in drawings and designs that do not match assessment results. Stakeholders then need to spend additional time repeating certification activities. Secondly, the BCA is a set of continuously changing and increasingly complex regulations. Code clauses may be cross-referenced and contain open-ended conditions. This could lead different certifiers to have different interpretations of BCA codes. Certifiers therefore need to rely on their experience to determine whether or not building designs comply, resulting in inconsistent assessment results. Where building designs do not comply, schedule delays and budget overruns ensue. BIM represents a synergy between technologies, processes and policies. It provides a three-dimensional platform that stakeholders can use to collaborate and coordinate their designs throughout the entire design process. BIM supports software vendors to develop extensions to strengthen its capabilities. Many BIM extensions enable complex calculations and analyses to be conducted accurately and efficiently. This supports the research aim of incorporating a BIM-enabled code-checking system (BIM-CCS) into the design process. Several existing code-checking systems were reviewed. Most of them were research projects and few have been successfully implemented. Knowledge from these contributed to this study of developing a BIM-CCS specific to the Australian context. A BIM-CCS, called Ignis, has been incorporated into Autodesk® Revit®2014. It is designed to assess BIM models of commercial buildings (Class 5 to Class 9 buildings) against Section C Fire Resistance codes of the BCA. This study has applied a Design Science methodology to developing Ignis. Within the development process, new knowledge has been created through the design of innovative artefacts, and effective results produced for users when Ignis is executed. Design Science research comprises five sequential procedures: awareness of problems, suggestions, development, evaluations and conclusions. In addition, Design Science methodology emphasizes an iterative process of development, evaluation and further suggestions that enable artefacts to be refined. Semantic analysis methods were used to interpret Section C Fire Resistance codes of the BCA for designing code-checking rules. Challenges identified during this stage stemmed from either a lack of information provided by BIM models or the need for further calculations. Proposed solutions to these challenges were then developed. Some challenges were overcome by additional activities, while others needed regulatory content and BIM information to be aligned and therefore needed related parties to work collaboratively. Three sequential evaluation activities were then conducted (preliminary, first and second evaluations). Demonstrations and interviews were adopted for each evaluation activity. In the preliminary evaluation, an accredited certifier was invited to assess the efficacy of Ignis against four topics: structure, rules, reports and interface. Each topic contained specific evaluation criteria such as functionality, efficacy and usability. The preliminary evaluation results verified the efficacy of the Ignis prototype, while some information, such as floor area for each storey, was suggested to be added to reports. A first revision Ignis was then used in the first evaluation. Six accredited certifiers were randomly selected to assess the efficacy of Ignis (1st revision). They acknowledged that Ignis (1st revision) successfully checked the fire resistance rules of the BCA. However, this exercise highlighted the fact that different accredited certifiers interpreted BCA clauses in different ways. This is due to a fact that several BCA clauses are open to interpretation. Accredited certifiers observed that the reports were not well-designed and were inconvenient to refer to because they were separated into too many pages. This led to redesign the Ignis (1st revision) interface as a second revision. The Ignis (2nd revision) was then assessed by a group of architects. They endorsed the need for Ignis-like systems to help assess whether their designs complied with the building regulations during the design process. In addition, they also noted that Ignis (2nd revision) was able to inform stakeholders how to identify building elements and/or solutions during the design process. Furthermore, they noted these actions could change the ways in which stakeholders engaged with the BCA during their design activities. Overall, this study has demonstrated the potential and opportunities for the development of BIM-CCSs for Australia. The evaluation results have demonstrated two significant outcomes that address the identified research gaps. Firstly, Ignis can assess building designs for compliance in an efficient manner and streamline design and certification processes. Secondly, where BCA clauses are explicitly specified, Ignis can produce consistent assessment results of building designs. The development of a fully functional BIM-CCS will require building-related professionals to participate in refining the BCA to harness the capacity of this new technology. The contribution of this study is to establish the knowledge of designing Ignis as an artefact outcome of Design Science research.
- Subject
- BIM; code-checking; BCA; design science; BIM-CCS
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1315685
- Identifier
- uon:22992
- Rights
- Copyright 2016 Shan-Ying Shih
- Language
- eng
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