BIM based Request For Information classification and distribution: two residential tower cases

Abstract

Request For Information (RFI) is a communication tool to facilitate resolution of, or to clarify, construction issues. Traditionally, construction teams generate RFIs, but with BIM they are anticipated being generated before construction by designers. The aim of this study to improve the understanding of how design conflicts happen through the lenses of RFI and motivate a proactive design review approach. The study was developed as a case study of RFI distribution and classification in the design of residential towers using a Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the virtual construction team coordinator. The interviews were transcribed and transformed in process map, especially, explicating how Request For Information was generated and how the interaction among the participants occurs. A documental analysis was performed on coordination models characterizing the type of RFI, its location, and quantity distribution within design discipline. The design process map drawn shows a partially implemented VDC where design developed with traditional CAD tools benefits from a design review process developed with virtual prototyping and 3D coordination with BIM tools. The distribution patterns of RFI quantities denote where the greatest effort in the review was, exposing design complexity. The analysis here presented may be applied to new situations other than those studied in order to promote learning within and metrics for VDC.

Keywords

• Requests for information. RFI. BIM. Virtual Design and Construction. VDC. 3D coordination. Virtual prototyping.