Effect of Building Information Modeling on Construction Projects Design Stage Efficiency

Abstract

Clash detection in building information modeling (BIM) is gaining significant importance as an enhanced tool for coordinating design schemes. Its primary task is to identify design errors and clashes between design disciplines during the design phase before the start of the project. Problems with such errors and clashes require frequent corrections and revisions of drawings, leading to time delays and cost overruns. For this research, a typical school project consisting of ten two-story buildings was selected as a case study, i.e., only two buildings were implemented. This paper aims to clarify and identify the cost-saving benefits that can be achieved through clash detection that supports the BIM system at the design stage. The research methodology involved gathering building data and independently converting architectural and construction drawings from 2D to 3D, subsequently exporting them to Navisworks for analysis. The findings revealed the presence of multiple design flaws that require rectification before commencing the implementation phase. According to the obtained results, it was observed that the total costs spent on each building exceeded the estimated total costs by approximately 25% due to design errors. Additionally, when considering a group of items in the bill of quantity for each building during the calculation and clash detection analysis, it was found that each item experienced a 10% increase in costs compared to the estimated values. Consequently, the combined total costs for both buildings surpassed 100 million IQD. Utilizing BIM technology has significantly influenced and improved various stages of the construction process and how BIM technology is used to create a model building that closely matches the estimated cost.

Keywords

• BIM
• Clash detection
• Cost estimation
• Cost overruns
• Design error
• Navisworks