Suggestions abound for successful adoption of building information modeling (BIM); however, a company with limited resources cannot adopt them all. The factors that have top management priority for successful accomplishment of a task are termed critical success factors (CSFs). This paper aims to derive the CSFs for four questions commonly asked by companies in the first wave of BIM adoption: (1) What are the CSFs for adopting BIM in a company? (2) What are the CSFs for selecting projects to deploy BIM? (3) What are the CSFs for selecting BIM services? (4) What are the CSFs for selecting company-appropriate BIM software applications? A list of consideration factors was collected for each question, based on a literature review, and then refined through face-to-face interviews based on experiences of BIM experts. An international survey was conducted with leading BIM experts. From the 206 distributed surveys, 52 responses from four continents were collected. This study used quantitative data analysis...

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is often criticized for its fragmented approach to project delivery. Traditional procurement and contracting intentionally serves to isolate designers from contractors to provide checks and balances, but limits opportunities for collaboration. This research presents a structural modeling approach to studying the role of integration in the performance of building construction projects. A sample data set of 204 completed projects was collected to compare cost, schedule, and quality performance under different delivery methods. Integration of project teams was proposed and tested in the form of two latent constructs—team integration and group cohesion—that mediate the link between delivery methods and performance. More integrated teams interacted with more participants from all levels of the building construction process, from designers to specialty trade contractors. These interactions included design charrettes, joint goal setting, and multidisciplinary building information modeling (BIM) uses. The selected project delivery method had a significant effect on team integration. Delivery methods that involved the builder and specialty trade contractors before schematic design achieved higher levels of integration and were more equipped to control project schedule growth. Cohesive teams were characterized by better chemistry, goal commitment, and timeliness of communication. Project delivery methods that included cost transparency with open-book contracts and qualification-based selection of the builder resulted in more cohesive teams and a lower average project cost growth. Additionally, the owner’s perception of their turnover experience and building system quality was rated higher for cohesive teams. Understanding how delivery decisions influence the integration and development of their project teams will make building owners more aware of how those decisions ultimately affect the project’s performance.

The design-build delivery method is increasingly used in the United States due to numerous advantages it can offer a project. An important issue associated with design-build delivery is the procurement method used to select the design-build team. It is a critical decision that involves several key project team members, including the owner, designer, and contractor organizations, and requires the owner to carefully choose the design-build procurement method that will be used to select the team that will deliver the project. This research quantitatively analyzed the correlation between the design-build procurement method and the performance of the design-build project with regard to cost, time, and quality metrics. The procurement methods studied were sole source, qualifications-based, best value, and low bid selection. Data were collected through surveys from 76 design-build projects in the United States. Based on the patterns and relationships identified from these data, a better understanding of the proc...

It is important for students in academic disciplines related to building design and construction to gain an understanding of the different sustainable design considerations that will affect a building’s performance. Additionally, it is important for these students to be able to generate, visualize, and assess the performance of alternative design options to determine the best possible approach. The research presented in this paper tasked students with performing a building redesign activity in which they had to design, visualize, and assess exterior wall designs to retrofit an existing facility and improve its sustainable performance. It was of interest to understand how augmented reality and simulation game technologies would influence students’ design processes during the activity. To measure student performance, 34 architectural engineering students, 47 architecture students, and 27 civil engineering students were given the same design activity using an augmented reality–based educational game...

This paper was written to fill a void created by the absence of fundamental principles of site construction management. Efficient material management is essential to managing a productive and cost efficient site. For more than 25 years , the senior author has been observing and writing about inefficient labor productivity practices resulting from poor site material management. Using deductive reasoning, fundamental principles were developed to avoid poor practices. A construction site should be portioned into three areas or zones: semipermanent (exterior) storage, staging areas, and workface (interior) storage. Each has a unique function relative to site material management. Using these areas as a framework, fundamental principles are stated and illustrated using a case study project accompanied by numerous photographs and narratives.

Building information modeling (BIM) can facilitate evaluation of the energy performance of a building from the early stages of a project. However, due to differences in how information is represented in BIM and building energy modeling (BEM), the exchange of data between the two tools is tedious and error prone. This paper presents research on leveraging open BIM standards for facilitating energy analysis BIM use. An extension was developed for OpenStudio that transforms building information models represented in Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) files into building energy analysis models in the OpenStudio data format. In the defined workflow, the model transformation is performed by a serializer that was developed using the open source BIMserver, while the OpenStudio extension transitions models between OpenStudio and BIMserver. The model transformation algorithm and its implementation in BIMserver were validated in a case study by comparing the actual energy demands of a building with the predicted energy demands of a simulation model that was created through the developed workflow.