Gathering Feedback from Practitioners

In   addition   to   feedback   received   during   workshops   and   demonstrations,   feedback   was   also   gathered   during   a   pilot   project,   which   was   carried   out   on   a   Highway   Automation   project   (where   traffic   management   infrastructure   were   being  installed)  in  the  UK.    

Although  the  workshops  and  meetings  did  not  follow  a  structured  questionnaire   approach   and   were   mostly   open-­‐ended   discussions,   where   possible   following   questions  were  asked  while  gathering  feedback.  

• What   challenges   are   being   faced   (technical   and   process   related)   while  

implementing  the  production  management  system  

• What   BIM   solutions   are   being   used   to   support   the   production  

management  system  

• Are   you   using   Lean   Production   Management   techniques   on   your  

project(s)?  

o If  so,  do  you  think  they  are  adequately  supported  through  existing   Information  Systems?  

• Do  you  use  BIM  on  your  projects?  

o If   so,   are   you   using   BIM   for   production   management   and   to   support  lean  processes?  

The  following  paragraphs  outline  the  main  feedback  received  during  the  initial   feedback  sessions.    

5.1.1.1   Production   management   systems   mostly   rely   on   manual   information   retrieval  

Even   after   almost   two   decades   following   the   launch   of   International   Group   for   Lean   Construction   and   numerous   construction   organisations   around   the   world   having  adopted  lean  practices,  hardly  any  software  systems  exist  that  specifically   support   the   lean   production   process.   Collaborative   planning   sessions,   namely   reverse   phase   scheduling,   look-­‐ahead   planning   and   weekly/commitment   planning  rely  mostly  on  manual  processes  where  stakeholders  use  Post  It™  notes   or  similar  devices  to  plan  and  sequence  construction  activities.  Following  from  

the   planning   sessions,   the   information   is   mostly   managed   using   paper   based   plans  or  at  most  Excel  spread  sheets  or  similar  systems.    

Observed  by  the  author,  on  two  UK  based  projects  where  collaborative  planning   was   implemented,   besides   following   the   Post   It™   method,   five   separate   spread   sheets  were  being  maintained,  along  with  three  paper  based  registers  to  collect   and  manage  information  from  the  planning  meetings.  This  was  in  addition  of  the   project   planning   and   scheduling   system   Primavera   Project   Planner,   and   Enterprise   Information   Management   system.   None   of   these   systems   were   integrated  with  each  other  causing  a  significant  amount  of  data  re-­‐entry.  Use  of   such  a  system  is  inefficient  as  it  cannot  easily  integrate  information  from  other   management  systems  and  is  not  standardised  across  projects.  

Another   key   issue   that   was   highlighted   by   the   practitioners   was   that   little   auditing  is  possible  with  the  current  systems,  i.e.  when  key  decisions  are  made   regarding   (re)   scheduling   tasks,   reallocating   resources,   etc.,   it   is   currently   not   possible   to   record   such   decisions.   Hence,   it   is   not   possible   to   track   the   performance  of  the  project  and  link  back  to  these  decisions  and  learn  from  it  (i.e.   whether  it  impacted  positively  or  negatively).  Similarly,  reports  such  as  the  PPC   (Percentage   Plan   Complete)   and   Reasons   for   Non   Completion   are   created   manually  either  by  the  site  manager  or  by  the  site  planner.  The  data  is  collected   manually   and   such   reports   are   prepared   in   Excel.   Such   tasks   are   very   time   consuming  and  as  a  result  costly.  

5.1.1.2  Use  of  BIM  is  still  limited  to  Clash  Detection  and  4D    

It  was  observed  through  all  interviews  and  workshops  that  the  participants  felt   that  the  availability  of  BIM  model  provides  them  a  significant  opportunity  to  use   it  throughout  the  construction  project.  Although  use  of  BIM  is  increasing  on  the   construction  site,  it  is  still  limited  to  basic  4D  simulation  where  a  master  plan  is   attached  to  the  model  and  the  project  schedule  can  be  simulated  in  3D  at  a  macro   level.  There  are  some  systems,  which  enable  detailed  resource  management  and   5D   planning,   however   these   systems   are   highly   complicated   and   rely   on   dedicated  system  operatives  who  have  been  trained  to  use  these  systems.  Due  to   this   high   level   of   training   and   skill   required   and   relatively   high   cost   of  

implementation,   it   is   not   possible   to   yet   implement   these   systems   across   the   whole   supply   chain   so   that   they   can   be   used   throughout   the   construction   process.  As  a  result,  these  are  mostly  used  during  the  initial  stages  of  the  project   to   develop   detailed   schedules,   but   not   during   the   production   management   operations.  

It  emerged  from  the  interviews  that  two  organisations  were  already  using  BIM   during   their   collaborative   planning   sessions.   However,   this   was   achieved   by   having   a   dedicated   BIM   manager   who   helped   with   the   navigation   of   the   BIM   model   while   the   tasks   are   being   discussed   during   the   collaborative   planning   session.  When  these  BIM  managers  were  interviewed,  it  was  mentioned  that  due   to  the  lack  of  direct  connection  between  the  planning  tasks  and  BIM  system,  the   navigation   becomes   a   difficult   activity   and   sometimes   results   in   longer   than   usual  time  taken  to  carry  out  these  meetings.  

5.1.1.3   Field   BIM   is   now   increasingly   becoming   accessible   due   to   advanced   hardware  and  maturing/new  software  

Use  of  BIM  technology  on  construction  sites  is  increasing  due  to  the  advantages   that  it  provides  such  as  physical  and  process  clash  detection  as  well  as  clarity  on   the   design   intent.   Some   case   studies   such   as   Castro   Valley   project   (Khemlani,   2009)  and  Maryland  General  Hospital  (Eastman  et  al.,  2011)  are  such  examples   where   BIM   has   been   utilised   quite   successfully   along   with   other   tools   and   techniques   such   as   lean   construction.   In   two   case   studies   the   author   observed,   one  in  Chicago,  US  and  other  in  Bristol,  UK,  it  was  found  that  a  workstation  (high   end  computer)  was  made  available  to  construction  teams  to  access  BIM  models   during   execution.   This   enabled   the   workers   to   gain   a   better   understanding   of   what  is  to  be  constructed  (i.e.  task  at  hand)  and  reduced  the  need  for  supervisory   communication.  However,  as  the  BIM  models  are  only  the  partial  representation   of  the  project  (i.e.  only  the  product  model),  the  process  side  was  not  available  in   the  same  interface.  

It   was   also   found   that   construction   companies   were   looking   for   innovative   solutions  to  take  BIM  to  the  worksite  using  mobile  technologies,  however  were   restricted  by  the  options  available  to  them.  There  are  currently  only  a  couple  of  

software  platforms  such  as  Vela  systems  (now  acquired  by  Autodesk)  and  Artra   (in  the  UK)  that  offer  field  management  of  construction  using  mobile  devices  and   also  partial  integration  with  BIM  model.  

5.1.1.4  Summary  of  feedback  

Although  the  popularity  of  BIM  is  increasing  on  construction  projects,  from  the   user   workshops   and   interviews,   it   was   found   that   not   many   software   systems   exist  that  go  beyond  macro  level  4D  planning.  Hence,  construction  personnel  are   left   to   devise   their   individual   solutions   on   their   own.   In   case   of   some   organisations,   they   hire   a   trained   BIM   technician   or   architect   to   personally   facilitate   use   of   BIM   during   daily   construction   activities   and   other   planning   sessions,  however,  this  is  yet  to  become  an  industry  wide  practice,  and  one  that   is  not  yet  supported  by  commercially  (or  otherwise)  available  systems.