Executive summary
Operational 10. Prioritisation among ad-hoc, linear, and distributed BIM collaboration patterns;
11. Information exchange of IFCs and provision of stable physical and digital infrastructure. Yes
Con: clear BIM scope *Legend: ‘Yes’: Discussed and approved strategy, ‘Inc’: Inconclusively discussed strategy, ‘Con’: Condition(s) of applicability
Concluding remarks
As the two observed routes to integration emerged from the cases, it is advisable for construction managers that their respective strategies (Table 1 and Table 2) would not be deployed in isolation, but instead complementarily. The strategies could facilitate the identification of which route is the ‘closest fit’ to SC integration, and then support the decision-making about how to pursue it. Given that the concept of BIM is currently a hot topic, it might be wise to undertake a ‘product-related’ route to integration and gradually introduce strategies from the ‘actor-related’ route. However, the ‘actor- related’ route could attain long-term benefits for SC integration and thus, long-lasting
relations among the multi-actor construction networks. The long-term trusting relations among the various actors could, in turn, prepare the ground for innovation change management and smoother adoption of future construction IT developments. The key aspects of the alignment of partnering with construction IT for long-standing, young, or future BIM-enabled SC partnerships are:
–
The type of the complexity in the BIM-enabled SC partnership, e.g. whether it is of processual, product-related, or organisational nature (Chapter 2);–
The deployed BIM collaboration patterns, i.e. ad-hoc, linear or distributed (Chapter 3);–
The SC coordination mechanisms, e.g. centralised or decentralised (Chapter 4);–
The relation between formal and informal aspects, e.g. symmetric or asymmetric (Chapter 5);–
The emerging inter- organisational and intra-organisational relations (Chapter 6);–
The various inter- organisational and intra-organisational hierarchical levels of decision-making that BIM-enabled SC partnership pertains (Chapter 7).From the above, it is concluded that the alignment of partnering with construction IT is a complex task for innovation change management that requires the introduction of additional organisational and other, completely new, information-based
1
Introduction
Chapter summary
The thesis on the ‘Alignment of Partnering with Construction Information Technology (IT): Exploration and Synthesis of network strategies to integrate BIM-enabled Supply Chains’ offers an understanding of the Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) concepts and their combination through the lenses of collaboration, coordination, and integration. This first chapter includes insights into the status of the Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry globally and in particular in the characteristics of construction in the Netherlands, where the research took place. It describes the research area, contains a short definition of the main terminology and explains the motivation for the study. Thereafter, this chapter introduces basic concepts, issues, and theories that will be further critically reviewed in the background chapter (Chapter 2). Next, it underpins the research problem and proposes a potential solution to it.
Having analysed the relevant research gaps omitted from the existing recent research on BIM and Supply Chain Management (SCM), this chapter presents the research objectives and questions. Subsequently, after defining the research goals, the chosen research design to achieve them is presented. Both inductive and deductive reasoning was held at times, and simultaneously, both qualitative and quantitative data have been collected and analysed. The potential impact of this doctoral thesis is highlighted as to the (a) regional, (b) societal and (c) scientific relevance and its research limitations. Finally, this chapter outlines the structure of this book by associating the research questions to the corresponding chapters of the thesis, as well as a short guide to the reader.
§ 1.1
Background
§ 1.1.1
Building and Construction industry
The construction industry has had a pivotal role worldwide. The advancements in the construction of building and infrastructure are strongly linked to the maturity and economic power of the global community. It is estimated that in Europe, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the construction industry is 10% (EuropeanCommission, 2015). The construction market is globally highly important economically as also highlighted by the quick translation of the housing bubble in the construction market into a financial crisis in the United States of America (USA). Therefore, the construction industry is a quite volatile market. However, it is suggested by industry reports that after 2020 the construction industry in Western Europe will return to the “pre-crisis levels” (Timetric, 2015). Thus, it will soon resume playing a vital role in the economy. Apart from its economic importance, the construction industry consists of numerous professionals with various backgrounds and specialisations who perform architecture, engineering or other construction professions, and are organised in heterogeneous firms or coalitions of firms. The construction sector has been considered synonymous with the Architecture Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry. In the context of this thesis, the industry has been referred to as Architecture Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, as the owners’ organisations are rarely discussed and occasionally researched. The terms AEC and construction industry have been hereafter used interchangeably. These multi-disciplinary construction firms are rarely in sync with each other, as their various specialisations are diverse and range from managing real estate portfolios to producing lighting fixtures. So far, the individual firms of AEC have focused on and achieved improved performance in a content-based and intra- organisational manner by applying customised principles of Operations Research (OR), such as scheduling and process management.
In the manufacturing sector that is more homogenous – and possibly more simplistic – than the AEC, the advancements in the field of OR gradually led to the rationalisation of quality, logistics, business organisation, and partnerships. Supply Chain (SC) research surfaced after that period, approximately in the mid-80s
(London & Kenley, 2001). Initially, a Supply Chain was represented by a set of flows: a downstream flow of material, an upstream flow of transactions and a bidirectional flow of information (Christopher, 1992). SC Management (SCM) is a philosophy that theorises and suggests activities for the regulation of these flows. Later, a Supply Chain was considered actually to be a network and not a – linear – chain per se, given that the multiple organisations that form this network, generate different and multiple information streams simultaneously (Christopher, 2005). The ‘network’ view of the
concept of SCM is traced back to the beginning of the nineties as both permanent and temporal networks (Davidow & Malone, 1992). As Christopher (2011) has described, a Supply Chain could be considered as a “supply-demand network”, or a complex and distributed network of organisations.
The geographically distributed character of manufacturing industry has been facilitated by sophisticated applications of Information Technology (IT). Similar IT support has been applied to several activities of AEC. Until recently, Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) software was the standard tool of computerisation in architecture and its use not only portrayed the contemporary architectural process but also increased the performance of AEC significantly by supporting automated, semi-automatic, and standardised processes (Aouad, 2012). More than a decade ago, the term Building Information Modelling (BIM) was introduced. BIM is a technology-driven approach that includes integrated software solutions for AEC. BIM is an integrative technology with “parametric intelligence” for the AEC (Eastman, Teicholz, Sacks, & Liston, 2008). Since it generates, collects represents and manages building project information, it could potentially support the management of the - information flows of the SC. Although there is a plethora of BIM definitions and interpretations, for this thesis, BIM is considered a promising set of technologies for generating, sharing, and managing building information among various AEC actors. Thus, this thesis adopts a more engineering and managerial, rather than a purely sociological standpoint. This research is based on the two standpoints of management theory and
technological developments. On the one hand, it used SCM as an integrative concept that encompasses the organisational-, process- and product-related aspects of the construction SC. On the other hand, it used BIM as an information-driven technology that could achieve integration of the SC network by structuring and regulating the information flows. The research will navigate equally and concurrently between theoretical and technological stands.
§ 1.1.2
Motivation
Despite the economic importance of AEC, which was mentioned above, the construction industry has an immediate societal impact, given that it not only
employees numerous individuals but is also responsible for sheltering the basic human needs and shaping the Built Environment. Therefore, the research on the broad area of AEC is highly relevant to architects. The PhD research topic was advertised as the job position from the Department of Real Estate and Housing – currently named Management in the Built Environment (MBE) – within the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). The research problem of this thesis was
initially proposed as an extension of the dissertation of Vrijhoef (2011), but with an additional focus on BIM. The description of the job post and scope of this PhD research were initially stated as follows in the advertisement of the doctoral position:
“Various attempts have been endeavoured to move the building industry away from its traditional and fragmented approaches to the organisation and coordination of the supply chain. Supply chain integration has been applied in many various modes in building to improve its performance. Much of the applications have implied intensified and integrated information sharing among industry partners. The approach and software solutions of Building Information Modelling (BIM) have already given various indications of how this can be achieved, particularly in the design stage, and promises to contribute further to supply chain integration. The PhD candidate is expected to analyse the applicability and usability of BIM throughout the supply chain of the build environment and develop a theoretical and operational framework that guides BIM deployment promoting and supporting supply chain integration. The main issues of the research are: (a) Coordination among different organisations in the supply chain and various stages of the life cycle, (b) Integration of information, decision-making and logistics, (c) Continuity of information on products and processes, (d) Costs and benefits of BIM in the supply chain”.
After a successful application process, the author – heretofore called researcher – was hired to conduct this PhD research within four years, starting in November 2012. The position was financially supported during the first year from the Knowledge Centre of Construction Process Innovation (CPI), and afterwards from the MBE Department. As the majority of SC-related research aims to ameliorate the whole industry, this PhD similarly had a broad scope, which was not initiated by a specific firm – ‘problem owner’ – or triggered by a specific problem. Therefore, this research did not have a specific ‘problem owner’. As one of the numerous architects that have been engaged in designing and forming the built environment, the personal experience shaped the researcher’s motivation for the study. The classic architecture theory considered the construction process as continuous and not fragmented – as it currently is – but governed by a masterbuilder (Vitruvius, 1523). Nowadays, many different specialisations – or disciplines – in the Built Environment perform numerous specialised activities (Winch, 2002). The AEC industry is nowadays well-advanced regarding the three pillars of classical architecture about function, fitness, and form and it is now seeking for progress and innovation in optimising the mechanics and its organisational, processual, and product-related components. The contemporary problems of AEC are closely related to the lack of discipline-specific management approaches, rather than technical or aesthetical considerations. To this end, the researcher did not hold an architectural mindset throughout this research, rather than an unbiased – generic – managerial standpoint instead, aiming at understanding the
intersection of BIM and SCM from the perspectives of various actors, across multiple tiers, with the aim to foster greater synergy among them.