Application of BIM in Construction Process

This article discusses the application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the construction process. It covers how BIM is used from the early stages to control the building process, reduce running costs, and select the design of the school. It also explores the main concerns in tender documents and how BIM helps in design selection.

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CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE AND MANAGEMENT
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

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Question 1
How the construction industry has developed into a lot of specialist companies with
different knowledge skills and facilities
The current construction industry requires a different specialist. All the specialist companies
which will take part in the development of the project will be tasked to carry out specific roles
and responsibilities. For the project to be implemented, there must be a team of practitioners
such as architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, contractors, construction managers, town
planners among. Also, there will different specialist companies such as structural engineering,
mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, plumber companies, woodworkers' painters, etc.
How different trades will work together
The chart below shows different Practitioners who will be involved in the project, the roles, and
responsibilities of each of the practitioners are discussed below.

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(Herbert Robinson, 2015, p. 764).
Question 2
a) How the construction of a junior school on the site of an old factory building would
involve the skills and specialisms.
All the specialists and practitioners who will take part in the construction of the junior school
will use their expertise and experience to perform their roles and responsibilities. As follow;
The surveyor will be the custodian of all land information. The size, topography, site features,
location and the features which are beneath the land upon which the project will be developed. If
this kind of information which is expected from the surveyor is there will be adequate, proper,

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accurate and effective planning, designing and implementation of the proposed junior school will
be achieved.
The town planner will be responsible for the orderliness in the developmental layout which will
show different land used. The town planner will be responsible for developing the master plan, a
layout which will take into consideration the culture, population, social economic, infrastructure,
human needs, and political factors. During the construction stage, the Town planner will ensure
that the orderliness in the master plan is not distorted and that all the approvals which were given
are strictly adhered to. The architect will be responsible for assisting the client to formulate the
project requirements in a much understandable way while bearing in mind any statutory
condition which may apply.
The engineers who will part in the project implementation include; the civil engineers, the
structural engineers, the mechanical engineers, and the electrical engineers. Engineers will be
very essential members of the design team, their responsibility will be to assist the overall design
of the project within the scope of their specialist fields. Engineers such as the structural,
mechanical will conduct some analyses and calculations before arriving at the final design
solution for the project (Herbert Robinson, 2015, p. 116).
The builder who is also referred to a contractor is a professional who will be at the center of the
physical construction of the project. The main role of the builder in this given project will be
constructing the project. The builder will construct the project by taking charge of all the
activities which are carried out in the construction site. The builder will also be responsible for
translating the design, schedules, working drawings and specifications into a physical structure.
The builder will make application of his or her management knowledge, together with the

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available resources such as manpower, materials, and the machinery in the construction site to
execute the project.
The project manager will be responsible for inspecting materials on site and the workmanship of
the work being carried out. The project manager will be presenting the interests of the client on
site by inspecting material, project components specified by the architect and also the project
manager will be responsible in checking the dimensions of the project to ensure that the builder
does not alter the drawings generated by the architect and the engineer
b) Main stages of the construction from tendering through to hand over
The overall construction process involves the following stages:
Stage 1: Planning
Stage 2: Design
Stage 3: Tendering
Stage 4: construction
Stage 5: Handover
Stage 6: Evaluation (Burns, 2017, p. 596).
From tendering to hand over the construction process involves the following:
During tendering the following takes place;
o Preparation of the tender documents with sufficient details to enable a tender or a number
of tenders to be obtained for the construction of the project.

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o At this stage, the quantity surveyor prepares the bill of quantities
o At this stage the client with other practitioners involved in the project to select the
contractor
o At this stage, the responsibilities of different parties in the project will be considered.
During the construction process the following activities will take place;
o Site preparation which will include the provision of the site amenities, vegetation
clearing, and construction of access paints.
o Excavation of the foundation
o Construction of the substructure to ground floor level.
o Pouring of the sub-floor concrete
o Construction of walls
o Construction of the roof
o Plastering of all the internal and external walls.
o Installation of the secondary fixtures such as doors, radiators, skirting, etc.
o Cleaning and testing
o Hand over.
c) Specialisms would be employed during each of the main stages of the construction
from site clearance through to hand over
Stage specialist
Site preparation o Builder
o Project manager

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o Town planners
o Architect
o Surveyor
Excavation of the foundation o Structural engineer
o Builder
o Surveyor
o Architect
Construction of the substructure o Builder
o Project manager
o Structural engineer
Pouring of the sub-floor concrete o Structural engineer
o Builder
o Project manager
Construction of walls o Builder
o Project manager
Construction of the roof o Architect
o Project manager
o Builder
o Structural engineer
Plastering of all the internal and external
walls
o Builder
o Project manager
Installation of the secondary fixtures o Electrical engineer

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o Architect
o Project manager
o Carpenters
o Mechanical engineers
o Builders (Issa, 2013, p. 714).
Handing over o Project manager
Construction companies are companies which are involved in the execution of the construction
projects. The construction companies are divided into different categories depending on the type
of jobs they are involved in. some of the construction companies include; General construction
companies, renovation construction companies, real estate developers, builders and profession
construction consultants while construction contracts are mutual agreements between two parties
in the construction industry based on the condition and policies documented in a form. There are
different types of construction contracts such as;
Cost plus fixed fee contract, special contracts, lump sum, and scheduled contracts and percentage
rate contract.
Question 3
a) Main concerns that the local council would include in any tender document
The tender documents will be means through which the work requirements will be
communicated to the tendering constrictors. The local council will include the following in the
tender documents;

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o The scope of the project
o The conditions under which the project (school) will be constructed
o The project specifications
o Bill of quantities of the project
o The works requirements
o The preliminary health and safety plan
o The pricing documents (Kelleher, 2011, p. 782).
All the above-mentioned concerns will enable the tendering contractors to understand the scope
and nature of the work to be carried out.
b) How BIM helps the council to select the design of the school
The information which was gathered and stored in the BIM repository during the planning stage
will govern the design selection of the project. The main aim during the primary design is to
ensure that the development of design and construction documents which are required the project
delivered will be functional, liveable, secure, safe and sustainable. All the decisions which will
be made during the design stage should make consideration of the constructability, operational
and maintainability of the proposed project sharing at the design stage (Reddy, 2016, p. 880).
BIM plays a very crucial role during the designing stage of the project since it will be used in
authoring of all professionals who will be involved in the project design. The authoring of the
professionals who took part in the project design will enable to track, the errors or any other
confirmations that might require some clarification.
During design, BIM will also be used to carry out the structural analysis of the project. This will
involve the structural design of the structural, elements such beams and columns which will be

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used in the construction of the bridges. It will be much easier to carry out the structural analysis
with the use of BIM since the standards and specifications can be easily be fed into BIM and
generate a structural for the elements, this will include the reinforcements which will be used in
the construction of the structural elements. During design will greatly depend on making the
application of BIM to attain the illumination required for given elements within the project. This
will guide the electrical engineers regarding the types of lamps they will use for the given project
(Kaneko, 2013, p. 651).
Application of BIM in the construction stage
BIM will provide a collaborative environment for the information and the knowledge which will
be required during the construction process. BIM will play a very vital role in site utilization and
designing. This will involve the position of all the support facilities that will be required,
construction of diversions, site clearing, and construction of storage facilities and provision of
services such as water (Reddy, 2016, p. 880).
Building information modeling (BIM) will also play a very important role in the designing of the
construction system. This will involve the construction of the falsework and the scaffoldings
where they will be required. The formwork will first be designed in BIM before it is constructed
on site.
During the construction of the project, BIM will enable a powerful visualization which will
facilitate the construction-specific time frames as planned well.By viewing the construction
process and planning for it in advance it greatly helps in detection of the problems which were
likely to be encountered during the actual construction process (Guggemos, 2016, p. 116).

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BIM will be of great help in the digital fabrication of the construction components. For instance,
in the fabrication of the steel beams and column which will be required for the construction of
the project will be achieved through the application of BIM. The specification of the elements
will be fed into the BIM database whereby they will be used to fabricate the elements
automatically. The automatic fabrication of the building elements will make the project delivery
to be much faster and efficient which on the other hand will save a lot of time and resources.
Which will be channeled to other facilities within the project (Guggemos, 2016, p. 82).
c) Factors would be taken into consideration by the main contractor when looking for
small local companies who could act as sub-contractors.
Some of the factors that will be considered before the selection of the local subcontractor
include;
i) On-time delivery
The contractor will select a local subcontractor who will be able to deliver on time. Usually
delay in construction projects are very expensive.
ii) Communication
The selected local subcontractor must have open communication with the main contractor. All
the concerns which arise should be effectively communicated to the main contractor.
iii) Quality of work.
The main contractor will check the quality of work which is given by the subcontractor. The
main contractor will select a subcontractor who will be able to deliver high-quality work.
iv) Track records of the subcontractor.

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The contractor will select a subcontractor with a good track record since this will give an idea of
the experience the subcontractor.
Other factors which will be considered include;
o Conflict management skills
o Cooperation
o Teamwork (Lancaster, 2010, p. 762).
Question 4
a) Application of BIM from the very early stages to control the building process
During the project planning, BIM will be used to break down the project into phases and then
plan on how the stages will be implemented. The project phases will be further broken down into
manageable components which will ensure easy design and construction of the project. The
project will be broken down into the implementation stages i.e. the planning, designing,
construction, operation, and maintenance. Also, those stages of project implementation will also
be broken down for easy planning and implementation.
During planning, BIM will be used to carry out site analysis whereby the site will be analyzed
before the design and construction of the project. BIM will be used in the analysis of the site
topography by the surveyor, also during site analysts, different elements will be analyzed for
instance the climate of the area will be analyzed and conclusions will be made on how it affects
the implementation and operations of the project. The human activities carried out within the
proposed project site and the neighborhood will also be analyzed with the use of BIM.

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During project planning, BIM will also be used in the preparation of the project program on how
the project will run from, the design stage to maintenance. The breakdown of the project which
was done initially will also be used in the preparation of the program.
BIM plays a very crucial role during the designing stage of the project since it will be used in
authoring of all professionals who will be involved in the project design. The authoring of the
professionals who took part in the project design will enable to track, the errors or any other
confirmations that might require some clarification.
b) How BIM will reduce the running costs of the school
BIM will be able to deliver real-time data and specifications regarding the operations and
maintenance the school requires. Having BIM in place it will eliminate a lot of reliance on the
paperwork (Documents) on school utility systems, buildings and data about the tools and
equipment. BIM enables enhanced work which will be able to detect the potential problems and
also offering the necessary alerts on the maintenance updates and ensuring that there are proper
repair and maintenance. The use of BIM in the management of the school will lead an organized
approach to preventive maintenance, more equipment uptime and it will bring about
transformative changes through revenues and the likely reduction of the annual running costs
(James C. Balogh, 2018, p. 438).
BIM will enable effective specification of the plan which will be required for construction of the
school. With BIM during the drafting of the plans, it gives choices of the materials that can be
used for the construction of different elements of the school. With that, it will be possible to
select the right products at the right price, which will in turn help in the reduction of the
construction cost of the project.

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With the use of BIM in the school, it will be possible to reduce the staff costs, this is because
there is a lot of time which is saved by eliminating the data re-entry. By specifying, estimating
and designing at the same time. Not only time will be saved but also unnecessary steps and
expenses which were to be incurred (Kotaji, 2017, p. 495).
BIM will play a very crucial role in avoiding errors and the loss of information. Usually, human
errors are associated with losing a lot of money. With BIM it will be possible to reduce human
errors which will be occurring when the school will be operating.
c) How BIM will ensure safety and health both during the building and when the
building is eventually in use.
BIM will greatly contribute to ensuring that there are safety and health during the construction of
the school in the following ways;
 With the application of BIM during construction, it can facilitate Model-driven
fabrication and off-site fabrication. Building components such as windows, doors, steel
beams, and columns, will be done outside the site in a much controlled and safe
environment.
 BIM will present an automated ability to check against a set of rules or codes which have
to be adhered to during the construction and operation of the school.
 Scenario planning will be possible with the use of BIM during the construction of the
school. The contractors will be able to construct the school virtually before the actual
construction. With that, it will be possible for the contractor to explore a number of
scenarios which might be hazardous during the actual construction of the project.

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 BIM will offer clash detection, whereby it will be possible to identify the collisions
which might occur during the actual construction and then control than before
construction commences.
d) Role of CDM in the construction process
The role of CDM in the construction of the junior school will be ensuring that the health and
safety issues are properly considered during the construction of the school so that the risks of
harm to the workers and other parties involved in the construction of the school is reduced. The
rule that only companies with good safety records will be observed during the selection of the
contractor and the subcontractors. This will be achieved by considering if they have met the
required health and safety standards (Gresham Smith, 2018, p. 54).
References
Burns, T., 2017. Real World Applications of BIM in Construction. 2nd ed. Chicago: JohnWyatt
Publishing.
Gresham Smith, 2018. A Handbook for Addressing Water Resource Issues Affecting Airport
Development Planning. 1st ed. Texas: Transportation Research Board.
Guggemos, A. A., 2016. Environmental Impacts of On-site Construction Processes. 4th ed.
Chicago: University of California, Berkeley.
Herbert Robinson, 2015. Design Economics for the Built Environment: Impact of Sustainability
on Project Evaluation. 3rd ed. Chicago: John Wiley & Sons.

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Issa, R., 2013. Building Information Modeling: Applications and Practices. 2nd ed. Kiev:
American Society of Civil Engineers.
James C. Balogh, 2018. Environmental Issues. 4th ed. London: CRC Press.
Kaneko, N., 2013. Sustainable Living with Environmental Risks. 4th ed. Paris: Springer.
Kelleher, T. J., 2011. A Practical Guide for the Construction Professional. 4th ed. London: John
Wiley & Sons.
Kotaji, S., 2017. Life-cycle Assessment in Building and Construction. 4th ed. Chicago: SETAC.
Lancaster, P. J., 2010. Construction in Cities: Social, Environmental, Political, and Economic
Concerns. 4th ed. Chicago: CRC Press.
Reddy, P., 2016. BIM for Building Owners and Developers: Making a Business Case for Using
BIM on Projects. 7th ed. London: John Wiley & Sons.