Building Information Modeling (BIM) to Increase the Efficiency of Construction Projects

Abstract

several technologies, including CAD technology, have provided competitive advantages to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry in terms of cost and productivity. CAD has passed through evolutionary developments until it reached what it is today, starting with the first in-house developed two-dimensional CAD system in the early 1960’s, involved feature-based parametric modeling; which is one of the main origins of what is known in the AEC industry as BIM. Building Information Modeling (BIM), the current state of the art in CAD development, is mainly based on both feature-based CAD and parametric modeling technologies. These technologies provided new powerful tools that caused a huge development to the AEC industry. BIM is currently being implemented by a significant number of architectural and engineering firms.  This thesis traces the chronological development of different CAD. It also explores BIM technology, the relationship between BIM and the construction process, and opportunities of development in order to enhance productivity by saving time and effort, and reduce human errors. Two suggested tools are proposed, Auto-Finish Macro (AFM) and Auto-TAG Macro (ATAGM), with the purpose of accelerating the BIM workflow by reducing the time involved in building the architectural BIM model and 4D BIM models respectively. The thesis introduces the conceptual basis of AFM and ATAGM, their main input requirements, and working sequence, in addition to case studies. It also proposes extensions to the current AFM capabilities to address different phases in the design process.