Development of planning and estimating scaffolding system using BIM paradigm

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Industrial construction projects (e.g., oil refineries) rely on a modular construction process which is**environmentally-friendly, provides a short completion time, and uses cost-competitive technology. PCL**Industrial Management Inc., as a general contractor in heavy industrial projects, has taken up a modular**construction approach to produce piperack modules at an offsite prefabrication facility and deliver them to the**construction site for installation. In this respect, the management team has mainly focused on reducing the**cycle time of the prefabrication process and designing better logistics (i.e., crane lift studies and transportation**logistics) by planning efficient operations and processes, where as much as 20% of operations can be**eliminated through careful planning. However, previous research and company practice have not given**attention to the scaffolding system (30-40% of the total man-hours of direct work), even though it is essential**on both prefabrication and construction sites to provide temporary elevated platforms to facilitate the work of**labourers and the movement of materials. In this respect, the effective planning and estimating of scaffolding**throughout the life cycle of the construction project can improve significantly project productivity and safety,**and reduce project cost. We thus propose a method which involves the following procedures: (i) study of the**existing scaffolding process and the requirements for heavy industrial projects; (ii) development of a database**structure and cost metrics based on identifying the locations of scaffolds and associated specific trades,**man-hours and task times spent using scaffolds, and weights/volumes of the scaffolds used; and (iii) integration**of BIM with data visualization in order to understand and monitor the utilization of the scaffolding work on the**construction site corresponding to the project progress. The results of the proposed research will be used to**develop more accurate scaffolding planning and estimation for project productivity and safety improvement in**future industrial projects.