An Information Flow Framework to Model, Automate, and Optimize Value Delivery in AEC

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The Canadian construction industry sector is expected to reach US$ 267.6 billion by 2022. Project success can be measured by its ability to fulfill the realized value of multiple stakeholders - namely the client, designers, builders, public agencies, operators, and others. Value can be understood as fulfilling stakeholders' needs in terms of functionality, time, cost, quality, sustainability, serviceability, aesthetics, etc. However, the construction industry is plagued with various issues, including information flow deficiencies, that multiply and pass downstream into construction. For instance, about 50% of design time is spent on non-value-adding tasks, such as rework. Subsequently, projects fail to achieve their desired value, leaving behind unsatisfied stakeholders. Therefore, there is a pressing need in the Canadian Construction Industry to model the dynamic interactions between stakeholders and the evolution of value across project phases, and to develop innovative means where automation and lean methods can be used in guiding professionals, organizations, and policy to deliver projects at lower cost, time, waste, and rework. This research aims to design a quantitative framework to understand, measure, model, and optimize value delivery in design and construction using lean principles. The specific research steps include: (1) modeling the evolution of product and process value throughout project phases; (2) investigating factors impacting value such as collaboration, integrated delivery, negotiation, and improvisation; (3) studying interactions and information exchanges between different disciplines of within the stakeholder network; (4) developing new process performance metrics and an industry-friendly automated tools to measure value generation; and (5) optimizing value delivery by employing lean construction techniques and advanced BIM capabilities. When fully implemented, this innovative project is expected to significantly improve value generation in Canadian Construction Industry. An expected 20% reduction in hidden waste and latent value can reduce millions of dollars in project cost, lead to significant time gains, decrease rework, and increase customer satisfaction on Canadian projects. The production of a comprehensive framework and realistic models that are tested on real projects will provide the Canadian Construction Industry with advanced automation tools to assess and monitor the delivery and communication of value throughout design and construction. Providing evidence-based results to showcase the benefits of value-driven projects will encourage Canadian stakeholders and policy makers to transform traditional ways for higher value realization at lower process waste. In addition to training HQP on advanced computational methodologies, the project will provide research and practice in Canada with the opportunity to be world-wide vanguards of technological innovations and policy making in value project delivery.