There is no need to stress that after the WWII, the United Kingdom, as well as the rest of the Tripe Entente members, faced complete devastation, with most of the state being destroyed. As a result, the necessity to rebuild the British society emerged, and the creation of new residential communities was the first step towards it. However, because of the lack of urgency and the reconsideration of priorities for the UK government, the house building rates have dropped in 2000s and 2010s significantly.
When reconsidering the issues that the modern UK house building companies have in the present-day world, one must mention the fact that the focus on the upper-class clientele seems to have played a malicious trick on the former. More to the point, the fact that a range of companies had to adjust to an entirely new environment of the global market and, therefore, utilise impressive resources in order to retain their competitiveness in the target area, has played its toll on the house building rates within the state. According to the recent report, The inevitable response, given the shift in the mortgage market, was to go for the higher end of the market where potential buyers were equity rich and could buy with low loan to value mortgages (Britains biggest housebuilders 2014, para. 13).
In addition, the infamous bursting bubble of 2008 has also played a huge role in defining the demand rates for the real estate property that was built in 2008 2010s: In 2008, as the housing bubble burst spectacularly, the house-building sector imploded with such force that the survival of many of its biggest names seemed unlikely (Top 20 House Builders 2012 2012, para. 1).On the one hand, the infamous bubble seems to have little to do with the field of house building; on the other hand, the economic decomposition of the global market, which was set off in 2008, did lead to a major decrease in the property values within the state, therefore, triggering the lack of initiative the house building industry and the oversaturation of the property market with the property that was built in the post-WWII era (Archer & Cole 2014).
The aforementioned fact sheds a lot of light on the impact of macroeconomic factors on the house building process within the state. Indeed, a closer look at the changes, which have occurred in the United Kingdom over the past few decades show that the emphasis on the globalisation process has facilitated the following shift towards the higher end of the market within the United Kingdom. Forced to reconsider their pricing policy due to the entry into the market, where competitive rivals posed a tangible threat to their financial success, the UK organisations working within the house building field were made to change their pricing policy drastically.
The fact that a range of middle and small house building businesses in the United Kingdom turned out to be unfit for the realm of the global market also displays the connection between the macroeconomic factors and the steep decline in the house building rates. As the pricing strategy for the 2000s2010s buildings needed to be raised in accordance with the demands of the global market, the demand for the specified product decreased within Great Britain, with the following increase in demand for older buildings. It would be wrong to claim that the selling price of the houses built in 2000s2010s has become unattainable for the British people, yet one must admit that, compared to the 20082009 rates, the current prices have increased by at least 40%.
Because of the influence that the global market has on the UK house building industry in the 21st century, the demand for the buildings created in the post-war area is impressively high compared to that one for the houses built in 2000s2010s. Particularly, the pricing strategies, which needed to be geared towards raising prices after entering a more competitive global economy area, can be viewed as a direct effect of the macro economy. The crisis of 2008 is another proof of the fact that the challenges, which emerged on the macroeconomic level, affected the UK house building industry as well. More to the point, the links between the elements of the macro economy also allow identifying the reasons for the UK house building field to depend on the changes within the global market so much.
Depending on their international partners and facing the need to uphold to their high standards within the complex realm of the global competition, the major house building organisations of the United Kingdom soon faced the need to adjust to a range of macroeconomic factors in order to introduce sustainability into their operation processes and satisfy the needs of the key stakeholders. Thus, it can be suggested that by overcoming some of the key supplying challenges, including the promotion of the property built in 2000s and 2010s and , as well as reducing the prices for the new buildings, one will be able to increase the house building rates in Britain.
Technological advancement has improved the efficiency of construction projects nowadays. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an example of such technology and is considered to be a database system that has advanced functionalities based on spatial relationships and relational attributes in the management of the necessary information for any given construction project. Contractors and project managers use building information modeling to ensure that the right details for any given project are followed from the initial to the final stages. BIM plays a crucial role in ensuring effective management of a construction project. Following the introduction of the BIM approach in the construction sector, there have been a lot of concerns on its role on the performance of any construction project.
Recently, the government of UK has been working towards reducing the cost of construction projects through the adoption and implementation of BIM. For this reason, this study was carried out to find out the potential impacts of adopting BIM in the transportation infrastructure of the UK. The study focused on examining the relevance of Building Information Modeling in transportation projects and the key drivers and barriers to the implementation of BIM in transportation infrastructure projects. In addition, the study aimed at evaluating any available case-studies on BIM implementation within transportation infrastructure projects in the UK, as well as providing recommendations on effective BIM implementation in the transportation infrastructure projects in UK.
Two research designs and case studies were used in this study in the collection of the required data on BIM adoption in the UK. As such, both primary and secondary data were used for the study. An extensive literature review was conducted alongside a survey that was based on questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The study used a sample size of150 individuals within the UK construction industry, who were chosen randomly and interviewed to provide quantitative data on the impacts of BIM adoption in the UK.
The study had the following results based on the survey analysis, literature review and case studies. It was evident that the implementation of the BIM technology in UK is affected by a number of factors such as low level of BIM knowledge, lack of the necessary expertise and skills, inadequate training and education, lack of efficiency in the existing methods, job insecurity, and perspective that BIM technology is complex among many more.
The building information modeling technology is highly relevant in the transport and highways sector of UK. Secondly, it was evident that there are several construction projects in United Kingdom that use the building information modeling in the highways sector. However, many of the construction projects are faced with numerous challenges. The study found out that there is a need for the development of an advanced asset management system, which can effectively store all projects’ information for future use. In addition, it was evident that there is a high demand for the adoption of BIM in UK.
The analysis showed that BIM has been used in various successful projects in UK and that there are various areas where BIM tools can be used in construction projects such as in detecting clashes in a construction project, reviewing design, as well as in the transfer of project’s information.
Introduction
The growth and development of technology has had numerous effects in many aspects of people. This can be attributed to the fact that numerous technologies and devices have been introduced, and have helped to make various operations easy, simple and fast. For example, in the building and construction industry, a lot of building aspects have changed following the introduction of the Building Information Model (BIM) (Alvesson & Sandberg 2013).
Building Information Model can be considered to be a database system that has advanced functionalities based on spatial relationships and relational attributes in the management of the necessary information for any given construction project. Azhar, Khalfan and Maqsood (2015) asserted that BIM plays a crucial role in ensuing effective management of a construction project. In support of this, Arayici, Egbu and Coates (2012) pointed out that Building Information Model is a technological approach of construction projects that ensures coherent storage of available information for purposes of increasing the compatibility and interoperability of the process management.
Following the introduction of the BIM approach to construction, there have been a lot of concerns on the role of Building Information Model on the performance of any construction project (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015; Teall 2014). This chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the concept of BIM, with the aim of evaluating its potential impact on the performance of the highway transport systems in the United Kingdom (UK).
Research Background
During the Great Recession period, there was the need to improve the transportation infrastructure in UK. The UK government identified the transportation sector as a part of industrial strategy. The transportation sector is diverse and has discrete sub-sectors. In 2010, the sector delivered £69 billion to the UK’s economy and employed more than 2.5 million workers, ranking it among key contributors in UK growth (Eadie, Millar & Grant 2013).
UK preserves competitive advantages as primarily on engineering, development framework, and building solutions. The advantages are driven towards technological changes, increasing environmental awareness, and emerging economies (Teall 2014). The direct and indirect levers of UK’s public sector have several influential factors within procurement of 30% of industry output.
This study will review the UK transportation infrastructure with a special focus on specific requirements of BIM implementation (Pocock et al. 2014). Now the requirements are to be identified with the key development factors of BIM. The Building Information Modeling is another effective way to develop the entire infrastructure with state-of-the-art techniques enabled. Followed by the effectiveness analysis, the best-case practice of BIM implementation is to be reviewed to show the key areas where improvement is addressed (Love et al. 2015). Furthermore, the standard set of guidelines is to be included to achieve quality transportation infrastructure in UK, alongside recommendations for the purpose of achieving high-quality construction practices in UK.
Background of the BIM
BIM was initially approved in UK in the year 2011 through a direction by the Construction Project Information Committee. It appeared that the approval of BIM implementation set the base for organizations to stay relevant (Sanchez et al. 2014). This was trailed by the production of the BIM technique setting the 3D BIM access by 2016 with new technology adoption. The BIM technology has contributed colossally in advancing institutionalization through straightforwardness and clarity of business.
The legislature used BIM as an instrument to achieve its objective of sparing as much as 20% of its expense of capital tasks before the end of the 2015 monetary year (Eadie, Millar & Grant 2013). The BIM technique intended to accomplish a superior operation system while diminishing resource cost, accomplish prevalent and viable development supply chains, and in conclusion help the arrangement of a side-by-side intuition section that individuals can trust with their thoughts.
Research Aim
The aim of this study is to establish the effects of Building Information Modelling on the performance of transportation infrastructure in the UK.
Research Objectives
With respect to the aim of this study of establishing the effects of BIM on the performance of the transportation infrastructure in UK, the study has the following research objectives:
To understand the relevance of Building Information Modeling for transportation projects.
To establish some of the key drivers and barriers to the implementation of BIM in transportation infrastructure projects.
To critically examine case-studies of BIM implementation within transportation infrastructure projects in the UK.
To develop a set of guidelines for effective BIM implementation in the transportation infrastructure projects in UK.
Research question
The primary objective of this study is to examine the concept of BIM in an attempt to establish its impacts on the performance of transportation infrastructure in UK. To achieve such objectives, the study will rely on research questions to act as the guidelines in the course of the study. The research questions for the study include the following:
Is there a significant influence of BIM on transportation infrastructure?
What are the emerging technologies and standards with regard to BIM implementation in infrastructure projects?
What is the role of BIM in the performance of transportation infrastructures in UK?
Justification
The United Kingdom has a very complex infrastructural base. As such, the construction industry in UK experienced numerous challenges following the need to match up the demand within the complex infrastructure of the country (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). For the construction industry in UK to be successful, there is a need for a collaborative work that is highly impressive. First, one of the main challenges in the UK’s construction industry is the lack of effective communication, a factor that adversely affects the effectiveness of any construction project within the industry. This is attributable to the fact that inefficiency in communication limits the sharing of vital information among the necessary shareholders in any given construction project.
As pointed out by Bryde, Broquetas and Volm (2013), lack of effective communication negatively affects the activities of any given construction project since some important information might not reach the intended individuals in any given construction project. In addition, the success of the construction industry depends largely on the availability of the required construction materials (Pocock et al. 2014; Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015).
With a proper system in place that enhances the sharing of information about materials and any necessary aspect of a given construction project, it becomes easy to achieve the goals of any construction project while ensuring that it meets the construction demands in UK (Eadie et al. 2013).
For this reason, the highway transport systems in UK require the input of an efficient module which is able to handle all the information and process management of the industry. In the light of Beynon-Davies (2013), Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a new technology that can be used in the construction industry to ensure effective management of construction projects through availing information to the right individuals whenever needed and managing the personnel and entire construction process.
The Building Information Model was not available in UK until in 2011, when the Construction Project Information Committee proposed its need in the construction industry of UK. According to Eadie et al. (2013), the adoption of BIM in UK was instigated by the need for a module that would ensure that construction projects were effective through improved ways of sharing information and monitoring the progress of construction projects. In addition, there were high expectations that BIM would help construction companies remain relevant (Liapi 2008; Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015).
This was followed by publication of the BIM strategy explaining plans to access 3D BIM by 2016 at the latest. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the adoption rate of BIM in UK, and have shown that there is a high rate of BIM adoption in UK, which can be seen from the rise from 13% at the point of adoption to 48% in 2014 (Eadie et al. 2013; Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). Neath, Hulse and Codd (2014) pointed out that the government of UK has taken the initiative to ensure that the hosting of BIM objects provided by most of the UK-based websites particularly the websites of manufacturers of construction products.
Since its adoption in UK, the Building Information Model has been very instrumental in the construction industry of UK (McAdam 2010; Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). This is attributable to the fact that Building Information Model has provided standardization benchmark in UK by ensuring transparency and clarity of construction projects across the industry. The government has used BIM as a tool to reach its target of saving as much as 20% of the total cost of capital projects by the end of the fiscal year of 2015 (Eadie et al. 2013; Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). According to an investor report, the UK government began the adoption Building Information Model to ensure that the procurement of construction materials is easy for both the private and public sectors (Pocock et al. 2014).
The strategy to adopt the Building Information model into the construction industry of UK was informed by the need for a better operation procedure that can stimulate the reduction of asset cost, and help in achieving superior and effective construction supply chains (Steel, Drogemuller & Toth 2012). In addition, the adoption strategy was influenced by the need for a module that would help in the formation of an abreast thinking segment which people that was trustworthy as far as the ideas of different individuals were concerned (Suchocki 2015).
Even though there are numerous studies that have been conducted about the adoption of BIM, there are limited studies on the influence of BIM on the performance of transportation infrastructure (Crotty 2013; Smith 2014).
For this reason, this study will provide an in-depth evaluation of the potential impacts of building information modelling (BIM) on the performance of transportation infrastructure in the UK. As such, to achieve the objectives of this study, different aspects of BIM will be analyzed. A lot of emphasis will be put on the role of BIM in the construction industry as far as the effective handling of transportation infrastructure is concerned (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). The results and findings from this evaluation will be helpful in identifying the efficacy of using the building information model in handling the transportation infrastructure to overcome the associated challenges within the construction industry.
Outline of Research Methods
Research methods refer to the technique and procedures that are adopted in a study work to help in the collection and analysis of data regarding a given study. In this study, a number of research methods will be used to help in the achievement of the study’s objectives. They include:
literature review,
two case-studies,
survey questionnaires
semi-structured interviews.
The review of the literature focuses on past studies that cover the concept of building information model, and the concept of the global construction industry in relation to the adoption of BIM. To achieve the objectives of the study, the literature review will focus on the following: performances issues in the global construction industry; an overview of transportation infrastructure in the UK, including status and barriers, BIM Adoption, and the BIM strategies in UK, the benefits of the adoption of BIM for transportation infrastructure projects, and the need for transportation investment in UK.
The semi-structured interviews focus on exploring the performance issues of the transportation infrastructure projects in the UK. The interviews will be useful in citing the potential impact of BIM implementation on the identified performance issues. BIM is a new technology within the transportation infrastructure, and this research proposes the adoption of BIM to overcome the performance issues in transportation infrastructure projects in the UK. As such, it would be necessary to evaluate the influence of transportation infrastructure in relation to BIM, along with the significance of adopting BIM in the transportation infrastructure projects in the country. The survey questionnaires will be very effective in the collection of the necessary information on BIM adoption and its role in the transport infrastructure of UK.
On the other hand, the case-study approach focuses on highlighting the best practice of BIM implementation, as well as developing a set of guidelines for effective BIM implementation for the transportation infrastructure projects in the UK. The combination of the various research methods will ensure that the study achieves its set objectives.
Research Structure
This dissertation is divided into five chapters including the introduction chapter, literature review chapter, research design and methodology chapter, results and data analysis chapter, and lastly, the findings, discussion and conclusion chapter.
Chapter One: is the introduction chapter to the concept under investigation and presents an overview of the phenomenon under study, the justification of the research along with its aim, objectives and research questions.
Chapter Two: is the literature review chapter, and the chapter provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of BIM on the performance of transportation infrastructure in the UK, based on previous studies covering this concept. As such, this chapter explores the concept of BIM, its significance in UK’S transportation infrastructure projects and key drivers and barriers associated with the implementation of BIM within transportation infrastructure projects
Chapter Three: is the research design and methodology chapter, and presents the appropriate research design and methodologies used in the study. As such, the chapter highlights the methods used in collecting and analysing data on the concept under study- Evaluating the potential impacts of BIM on the performance of transportation infrastructure in the UK.
Chapter Four: is the results and data analysis chapter. It covers a review of the secondary and primary data acquired through the semi-structured interviews and survey questionnaires, and presents such data in form of tables and graphs.
Chapter Five: is the discussion, conclusion and recommendations chapter. The chapter provides a summary of the entire study reviews the results obtained from the semi-structured interviews and questions and provides an in-depth discussion of the results and findings in an attempt to examine how the results align with literature review findings. Additionally, the chapter identifies the achievements, limitations of the current research and offers recommendations for further studies.
Literature Review
Introduction
This section aims at the provision of an overview on the effects BIM has on the transportation infrastructure performance in the UK. The literature review will also be involved in the revelation of any existing gaps in the current research. However, there are several aspects that should be covered by the literature review. Some of the aspects include the current state of transportation infrastructure in the UK, BIM adoption strategies and benefits, the necessity to use information and communication technology in the development of infrastructural development projects as we as the challenges that can be faced during the model implementation.
To ensure constant developments, the government of UK has been involving various stakeholders of the BIM projects such as the private sector and both the small and medium sized organizations in the planning and implementation of the project (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015).
The working together with such organizations has led to the establishment of various programmes that are involved in the reinforcing of the mandate by the government for the effective delivery of the transport infrastructural projects. The implementation of the BIM projects was set to be done before the end of 2016. If the set goals and objectives are attained, it may assist the transport sector to formulate the best strategies for construction. The country will thus gain more benefits in the long run due to the accumulation of profits from the efficient development in infrastructure. The UK government has already received several benefits from the BIM implementation.
Background of the UK Construction Industry
Overview of the UK Transportation Infrastructure
The construction sector in the UK has been in demand for improvement and increase in its operations in the past years (Crotty 2013). The development of business has been performing at a sub-class level with constant expansion in the lodging actions than those experienced in 2014. Employment also recoiled back with the contactors indicating the highest speed ever. However, the sector has faced various challenges that hinder its development and upgrading (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015).
As a result, the attainment of the objectives of key projects has been slow, the standards are not yet acceptable and the budget has been increasing. The problems have been experienced by both the private and the public sectors in the country. This has led to the provision of best value by the construction strategies to the taxpayers and clients (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). The government has been actively involved in sponsoring various training programs with an aim to improve the value for money, and ensure efficient and effective delivery of services in the sector (Crotty 2013). Klassen et al. (2012) summarize the challenges faced such as the fragmentation of the process of project development, lack of integration in the stakeholder related problems, and supply chain challenges during the contacting processes.
Several studies indicated that partnering and integration by the UK government have been highly favored (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015; Crotty 2013). For instance, the government has taken responsibility to avoid issues of fragmentation that have so far been established as the key causes of the challenges. The strategic target set by various stakeholders in the country is twenty percent to be attained by the integrated supply chains and teams (Crotty 2013). However, other studies indicated that there is lack of methodology that can ensure appropriate analysis of what lead to inefficiencies in procurement during construction. For instance, false dichotomy between responsibilities has been a major drawback in the integration for construction.
The Status of Transportation Infrastructure in the UK
The transportation infrastructure in UK has been facing various challenges over the last centuries (Crotty 2013). The challenges have emanated from the poor conditions of the infrastructure. All the means of transport in the UK have faced the challenges since their last improvement efforts (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). For instance, the air transport is known to have fallen back since the termination of the terminal and runway programmes of building in 1970s (Morecroft 2015). However, the set strategies picked up again in the course of 1980s after the extension of the runways as well as the construction of various terminals (Klassen et al. 2012).
From that time, huge amounts of money have been spent towards the construction and improvement of the UK air transport infrastructure. Additionally, the British Airports Authority has helped in the improvement interventions of the UK government through the expenditure of its money to support air transport development (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). There was a decline in the investment made for railway transport in1980s. However, expenditure on the same has been increasing due to the response of the 2000 crashes. In road transport, the government has still made some huge investments since the 1970s.
However, the strategic implementation of the set strategies has experienced a sharp decline (Crotty 2013). This is the only sector that has had a small improvement since the 1970s and the UK government wishes to keep the status as high as possible. Generally, the UK infrastructure is still poor and needs to be improved through the use of the BIM model (Ceranic, Latham & Dean 2015). In addition, the use of information and communication technology should ensure that advanced technology is applied in the improvement of the infrastructure.
To ensure infrastructural development in UK, Crotty (2013) indicated that there is the need to make considerable investment in such developments. For instance, the renovations and improvements that can be made in the transport sector play an essential role in meeting the ever increasing transportation demands due to the constant growth in the UK population (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). In addition, the population has increased propensity to travel as well as the provision of the conditions that can assist in ensuring that the economic growth conditions are well met and adequately productive for the country.
Congestion in roads in the UK is very high. Approximately, 133 million passengers are driven in each kilometer in the UK (Crotty 2013). This number is increasing in every year and it is the highest in the world above the United States, France, Germany and Japan among others. In addition, the freight on the roads of the UK has heavier loads for every kilometer of movement (Klassen et al. 2012). To help in sustainable growth of the UK economy, the government has to ensure that the infrastructural state is improved to ensure smooth movement of people and goods from one place to another.
Goedertier, Vanthienen and Caron (2015) indicated that the rail transport network has been increasing over the last years. As a result, substantial work is required to ensure improvement of the rail system so that the transportation needs of the twenty first century can be fulfilled. For instance, the Great Eastern Main line has been in the current state for more than sixty years. However, its performance has always declined as it has very low sensitivity to changes in temperature and it is highly unreliable. Its maintenance has been expensive for the government and has caused disruptions to the performance of the railway line. The performance of the rail needs fast improvement as studies indicate that it is carrying more passengers than it has ever carried over the last centuries.
In the meantime, the comparison between the airports in the UK and that of other international airports is very poor (Morecroft 2015). However, the airports have recorded a slight improvement over the last five years (Crotty 2013). The UK transport department has predicted that the population in the UK is expected to increase by between eleven and fourteen percent in next twenty years. The rate at which all people travel is also likely to increase over the same period. The expectations of the travel rate of each UK citizen are likely to increase by 1100 kilometers by 2030 (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015).
As a result, there will be increased use of rail and more flights than ever before. The combination of population growth and the rate of travel for citizens is likely to have effects in two decades time. Keeping other things constant, there will be an increase in the number of passengers on the rails and the roads by fifty percent and thirty percent respectively (Brown & Stowers 2013). In addition, the number of UK flights is expected to increase by seventy five percent by the same period.
The Need for Transport Investment
For UK to ensure constant economic growth and development, it has to ensure that its sectors are well maintained for maximum benefits (Morecroft 2015). As a result, there is need to invest in the development of its infrastructure since it plays a significant role in the development of all other sectors (Brown & Stowers 2013). People use the roads, air and rai to travel to work and to do all their business transactions. Though it may be hard to carry out an assessment of the total amount of money that can be spent in the development of the infrastructure, the utilization of the BIM model ensures the right track of investment and the projects operate within the set budget (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015).
Since the national government has allocated a huge amount of money to the infrastructural development, it may be easy for it to allocate around fifty percent of the same to the improvement of its infrastructure (Olatunji 2014). The estimation of the required amount to maintain, expand and improve the roads is actually less than the anticipated amount (Crotty 2013). Even with such an investment, the roads will be used as a means of transport by more passengers than ever before due to the increase transport demands in the twenty first century (Brown & Stowers 2013). However, there is an assumption that the technologies used to manage traffic will have constant development and at the same rate with the growth in population.
On the other hand, the rail transport is expected to take around thirty five percent of the total population that will be travelling. As a result, its projected total amount for maintenance and renewal is $4.8 billion (Highways Agency 2008). Such allocations are based on the efficiency of the means of transport. For instance, the railway transport has challenges in terms of its efficiency, a problem that the government has been trying to solve and achieve results within a short period (Klassen et al. 2012).
Finally, the expansion of the current air transport network, thirteen percent of the total budget can be used for the development and improvement of the network (Crotty 2013). This will ensure that the needs of customers who travel from various parts of the world are satisfied. However, the country may require additional capital for the improvement of the air transport network if it has to continue preserving its reputation for international transport (Olatunji 2014).
Such an improvement will lead to an increase in its international transactions including foreign investment by people from various parts of the world (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). In economic terms, the number of travels to other destinations through the United Kingdom may reduce and lead to a decrease in the viability of its economy. As a result, the impacts on its GDP growth are negative.
The Funding Challenge
Eadie et al. (2013) noted that the adoption of BIM in UK was motivated by the need for a module that would ensure that construction projects were effective through improved ways of sharing information and monitoring the progress of construction projects. However, Azzouz, Copping and Shepherd (2015) pointed out that financial support has been a challenge to the implementation of various projects in different countries in the world. In the same way, the infrastructural development in the UK has been facing various challenges in terms of funding for its projects (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015; Cook 2011).
For instance, the last decade has recorded a total of eight percent contribution of the public sector to the development of the country’s infrastructure (Crotty 2013). The funding of road projects has always been done by both the local government and the transport department of the UK. The department of transport has supported the construction and development of the railway network through subsidies and constant support to the companies in the train transport sector (Olatunji 2014).
Only the airports in the UK have received a large percentage of private funding. Actually, around eighty six percent of the total funding comes from the private sector. Even though the support is far much beyond expected, various private organizations in the country have indicated their levels of corporate social responsibility through helping the government in the implementation and ensuring the success of its projects. The deficit in the structure gives an indication that it may be hard to sustain the old model of funding in twenty years to come.
The assessment on the amount of public funding that the government may offer indicated that the amount may decline with time (Olatunji 2014). This is due to the decline recorded between 2014 and 2015. The assumption is thus that there might be increase in the budget allocations for infrastructural development. The department of transport in the UK is thus expected to increase its allocations for strategic improvement of the rail infrastructure and the road network (Crotty 2013). The funding challenges in the UK should push the government to set specific strategies for the improvement in the transport infrastructure within a set period of time.
The set strategies should be reliant on the economic development that is highly determined by how well the transport network allows easy movement of people and goods. On the contrary, the airport owners may have the ability to cater for the development in airports without any changes in the cost of flights within the country or region (Klassen et al. 2012). The biggest challenges in the funding of the infrastructural development may arise after the government’s decision to move all the major airports within London to a different location.
In addition, the failure by the government to eliminate the public funding on infrastructural development may cause severe effects to the UK economy (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). This may lead to almost half percent of decrease in the rate of economic growth which affects the general economic growth. The decrease is likely to come from all sectors of the economy with the highest percentage from a decrease in the productivity of labor if workers have to waste a lot of time experiencing air and rail delays or sit in traffic jams. The wasted time reduces productivity and leads to negative effects on the productivity of the country.
During the evaluation of alternatives on how the government can improve this, it identified two major steps that can help in the tackling of the challenges without any slight increment in taxation (Steel, Drogemuller & Toth 2012). It decided to cut the construction and maintenance cost of infrastructure while increase income from the transport sector. With such a balance, the sector funds itself and the burden is not felt by the citizens.
With the maintenance of average productivity in the transport sector, the additional cost for improvement will be reduced (Crotty 2013; Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). This will lead to the elimination of the existing gap in funding between the rail development and the road improvement strategies. To eliminate this gap, the country may further need to seek additional and alternative sources of money. For instance, it may get the money from road users with an aim of helping them to reduce the congestion in roads, rails, and airports.
Reducing the Construction Cost
The construction and maintenance of infrastructure in the United Kingdom is very expensive. Several studies indicate that the outcome of cost used in the infrastructural development in the UK ranks among the highest in the world (Klassen et al. 2012). The expected increase in roads, rails and airport density is due to the density of population in the country. Despite the various challenges discussed above, several providers of infrastructure have been helpful in the support of the UK infrastructural development (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). As a result, there are a number of achievements such as the slight improvement witnessed in the transport sector.
However, due to the variations of what has been achieved so far and what the government had set to achieve, there is still room for improvement in the state of infrastructure in the country. Zhou and Wang (2009) indicated that the collaboration between the UK government and the providers of infrastructure from various parts of the world can lead to a sixteen percent decrease in the total cost of infrastructure. This is under the assumption than the total productivity of the transport sector continues to increase at a rate of 1.7% annually. The attainment of the sixteen percent is further based on the changes of the value chain for construction with the assistance of the BIM model (Klassen et al. 2012; Olatunji 2014).
The time span planned for the attainment of efficiency in the infrastructural sector need to be given to the contractors in charge for their practices to ensure evolvement in the public sector. In addition, the front-line managers of the concerned companies need to ensure that all their efforts lead to an increase in general productivity of the infrastructural sector. There have been prolonged planning processes instead of having attempts towards the reformation of the planning committees.
There are limited opportunities in the attempts to reduce the total cost of infrastructural development. However, a major challenge leading to increase in the total cost is poor specifications of designs (Klassen et al. 2012). The infrastructure developers in the UK are sophisticated and like carrying out their operations outside the United Kingdom so that they can save some percentage of their expenditure through the application of standard specializations at the design stage that lead to improvement in the services provided. The standard specifications further assists in the management of risks and other uncertainties.
In spite of the reasonable progress that has been witnessed in the sector including labor productivity, better results can be obtained (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). The clients of infrastructure and the construction firms in the UK to work collaboratively so as to assist one another in reducing the complexities faced during project management. The integration of suppliers in the projects is essential as it helps in sharing of ideas as well as getting their opinions on the bets courses of action for the projects. In addition the service providers need to ensure that the supervisors of the project remain the same so that the instructions received by employees do not contradict. In case of any contradictions, there comes confusion that leads to challenges during accountability.
The other issue is that if the planning is inadequately done, the daily operations result to a decrease in ground productivity by the employees. For instance, several studies indicated most ground employees work for at most ten percent of their total shift time. The other percentage is spent as they wait for tools, waiting to collect any missing items, accessing the site of work, and waiting for specialist colleagues among other activities. This results to low quality of work as well as common issues of redoing the work that was poorly done.
From several studies, it is clearly indicated that if the supervisors ensure better management practices, they can work better with the staff to ensure improvement of the services provided (Zhou & Wang 2009). Such collaboration will play an essential role in reducing the cost of infrastructural development in the country. The other high cost will remain for the purchase of materials and their efficient use can further reduce that cost. In addition, it was realized that a combination of value design approach and complex techniques of management should lead to the attainment of substantial savings. These strategies to reduce the cost that are based on productivity could lead a decrease in the expenditure required to improve the road, rail and air transport.
Achieving efficiency in transportation projects
To ensure efficient funding of the transport network in the UK, there is a need for the government to seek alternative sources of funds. One of the selected options is to increase the amounts paid by the citizens in the name of reducing congestion in roads (Wong & Fan 2013). However, such an approach may lead to various challenges due to the fact that the road users will bear a lot of cost by the end of it. This is likely to discourage travelling that further reduces that amount of money received from the same.
They may also be motivated by the fact that using roads in the UK is less expensive compared to other places in the world like Germany, France, and Switzerland. In addition, the government in the UK increased the taxes on fuels. Although this led to an increase in the transportation cost per kilometer, it remains lower than in most places in the world. This gives an indication that most of the revenue in the UK is generated from taxes (Zhou & Wang 2009). As a result, studies indicated that if the taxation per every kilometer is to increase by 0.5%, the existing gap in the funding of the public sector is likely to be closed.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) Adoption
There are various benefits that can be obtained from the implementation of the set strategies and goals regarding the adoption of the BIM model in UK. For instance, some of them may include request for information, reducing conflicts, and increasing constructability (Crotty 2013). The benefits obtained may be due to the fact that the approach used provides good visualization, that help in the reduction of the estimated costs for the project leading to effective spread of information among the active parties as well as increase in smooth coordination of activities (Klassen et al. 2012).
However, despite such advantages, the speed with which BIM is adopted is still very low (Goedertier, Vanthienen & Caron 2015). This low speed may gain explanation from the fact that BIM is taken by key players in the construction industry to have disruptive technology. This technology is blamed for causing challenges into the current process used for construction through the transformation of the entire process to a new process (Crotty 2013). As a result, there are various challenges that hinder the adoption of BIM in the construction industry. Such challenges can further be classified into technical and non-technical.
In essence, the non-technical challenges are those related to the culture of an organization and the people within the organization. Culture is defined as the way of doing things in an organization, a country or a society that has been in use for some time and widely accepted as to be passed to new generations. Culture plays an essential role in the development strategies of any organization of country. For instance, some of the challenges that may arise during the implementation of the BIM are explanation of new roles responsibilities to BIM stakeholders and facing resistance to change by people from the old systems. In addition, the stakeholders need to be involved in ensuring that people have a clear understanding of the BIM model as well as how well it can work for their benefit (Crotty 2013).
The benefits obtained are actually better in comparison with managing education, 2D drafting and training people ion how best they can use the BIM (Pottle 2013). On the other hand, the technical issues involved may involve updating to technological advancements, technology complexities, compatibility and interoperability. Although technology may play the most essential role in the implementation of the BIM, it may lead to various benefits to organizations that adopt it very fast. However, the process of technology selection is critical in ensuring that they are in full support for the organization’s set goals and objectives (Klassen et al. 2012).
Wong and Fan (2013) further asserted that the technical challenges that face organizations in terms of acquire g technology are highly determined by several factors such as the size and organizational capability. Actually, not all organizations can afford to adopt the latest technology as soon as it is invented. Several studies indicated that the small and medium sized organizations are more likely to face such challenges than the large organizations (Crotty 2013).
As a result, for an organization to be in a position to adopt the BIM, it should come to a realization that there are benefits after changing several aspects within the organization (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). For instance, some of the aspects that need to be changed include the ways in which information related to projects is utilized, the needs of both staff and organization, and the currently used processes of work (Crotty 2013). In addition, the managerial practices such as the hierarchy and functioning, which include the assigned roles and responsibilities as well as the identification of the key skills and capabilities of both individual managers and the organization in general need to be changed.
Building Information Model in the UK
The government of UK should focus on the full collaboration of 3D BIM in all its projects, ensure effective documentation and storage of data in electronic form, and the efficient dissemination of information to both the shareholders and stakeholders in the construction industry (Crotty 2013). These were set as the minimum goals to be attained by the end of 2016. In addition, the government had planned for the publication of the progress on annual basis so as to ensure that citizens can help in tracking the progress of the projects that are set to ensure that public interest is satisfied (Klassen et al. 2012).
To make the process of adopting BIM easy, the Construction Industry Council has been in the front line to ensure the development and implementation of the best practices that can assist with the guidance for the adoption and dissemination of the model throughout UK (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). More to the point, the UK government has been getting assistance from Building-SMART that focuses on the improvement of the process to adopt the system and specifically on the sharing of data (Highways Agency 2008). Although the UK government has always provided full support towards the adoption of BIM in all the country’s projects of construction, the private sector has also been playing an essential role to ensure the same (Crotty 2013). For instance, the private sectors led to the formation of the BIM Industry Working Group in 2011.
This is a group that is fully behind the government in ensuring that BIM is adopted and fully beneficial to the country. In addition, the private sector does not just don activities without consultation with the government. However, it gets involved into discussions with the UK government for the development of the national guidelines and standards that should take the country to the desired level of technology. To ensure the promotion the BIM strategies, the government in collaboration with other groups including the private sector has distributed various tasks to be performed. For instance, various seminars have been organized to help in the creation of awareness to the key players in the industry, the development of BIM guidelines and strategies, development of training modules, as well as conducting colloquium and seminars.
BIM Strategies in the United Kingdom
A strategy can be defined as a course of action for an organization or government so as to solve a challenge that has affected its operations. The choice of strategies is mainly based on an in-depth examination of several alternatives that can be adopted and lead to the attainment of the same results. However, they are evaluated in terms of the positive and negative consequences as well as their total expenditure in terms of time and money. The UK government has various courses of action that need immediate implementation for the country to be technologically advanced (Crotty 2013). The strategies are set according to the challenges faced.
For instance, there has been a knowledge gap on the ways to implement the building information modeling. To solve this issue, the government formed the delivery teams that provide assistance to the governmental departments in the development and implementation of their own strategies for the adoption of BIM in order to meet the mandate by the government (Azzouz, Copping & Shepherd 2015). The progress is constantly reported to the government to track if performance is in the right direction. The formed team may also be involved in the study and establishment of the bets processes and procedures that aim at ensuring a smooth transition in the adoption of BIM. Finally, the government authorized the formation of regional hubs that provide guidance to both the clients of small and medium sized organizations.
The other challenge was insufficient technical skills. As a result, it developed training opportunities so as to equip the required number of individuals with the relevant skills for the implementation of the BIM. In addition, the government is severally involved in collaborations with various trade bodies and professionals that help in ensuring that the models can be implemented by all players in the construction sector. A third challenge could be managing risk and other uncertainties. The strategies used are working with the private sector to ensure equal distribution of the BIM benefits and incentives to all parties. Additionally, Government Soft Landings have to be incorporated in the implementation process of the BIM programme.
Case studies
The significance of building information modeling has led to increased attention among many people and companies in the construction and transport industries (Cook 2011). As such, a positive rate of adopting BIM has been noted over the past few years, which indicates that with time the building information and modelling technology will become very common both in the public and private sectors (Eastman et al. 2011).
For the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of this study, two case studies related to the adoption of BIM are examined below. The first case study focuses on the application of building information modelling in the highways sector, with a specific interest on major projects in the future. The subject of this case study aligns with the objectives of the study in that it hopes to highlight the benefits and challenges of adopting BIM in the highways sector. The second case study is on the Highways England-‘digital delivery’ strategy, whereby the focus is on the development of a ‘digital delivery’ strategy that is highly collaborative. As such, this case study puts a lot of emphasis on finding out the role of BIM in the development of the proposed strategy.
Case study 1: BIM in the highways sector
The government of UK announced its intention to ensure that there is a 15-20% reduction in the cost of construction projects in the public sector. This announcement has raised a lot of attention on the building information modelling. The decision to adopt and implement BIM was based on the fact that this model has shown potential to achieve reductions in savings of the construction projects as estimated by the government (Highways Agency 2008; Zhou & Wang 2009).
According to the government estimates, the use of such technology has the capacity to reduce the cost of projects within the construction industry by up to £2 billion on yearly basis. This can be attributed to the fact that the modelling techniques increases the certainty of cost and time, as well as ensures that there are fast mechanisms through which programs are delivered (Pottle 2013). Such savings are often accompanied by strategies aimed at reducing wastage and cases of re-work during the construction process, thereby enhancing efficiency of the projects (Eastman et al. 2011). In addition, the availability of asset information that is more detailed and accurate is important in reducing the cost of survey, as well as risk budgets targeting future projects.
This case study focuses of the present state and continuous developments in relation to the application of BIM and the related processes in most of the highway projects that are being undertaken by the Highways Agency of the United Kingdom. The choice of this case study was based on the fact that analyzing the use of M25 widening scheme provides insights into the benefits that the highways sector of the UK gets from the use of building information modelling in its projects.
The case study provides more information such as the challenges of adopting BIM in the construction industry. Additionally, the case study offers further information on the benefits that accrue from the reliance on embedded information that is available within the building information modelling and other related models. Lastly, the case study discusses the A556 improvement project in an attempt to demonstrate the added benefits from BIM models.
Overview of Highways Agency (HA) of UK
The highways agency of the UK looks for tools and mechanisms that can ensure that the completion of any construction project uses the minimum cost possible (Highways Agency 2008). This explains the interest of the Highways Agency in implementing the building information modelling in its future projects. This agency deals with the maintenance of more than 12,000 km miles of truck roads and motorways. Most of the construction projects undertaken by HA are divided into either maintenance activities or major projects. Over the recent years, Eastman et al. (2011) inferred from trends that there is a high possibility that the highways agency of UK will fully adopt the building information modeling tools for future developments based on the positive results that have been witnessed in the few projects carried out so far.
For example, HA’s M25 expansion project used the 3D building information modeling approach for detecting any clashes, for reviewing the design, and visualization of the site. Such an approach has been very significant in ensuring the project used as low capital as possible (Pottle 2013). In addition, plans are underway to ensure that the highways agency of the UK has more BIM-compliant asset management systems (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). In spite of this, a review of the delivery process of the highways agency and its management systems shows that there is the need to change major aspects of the systems to ensure that the delivery project can effectively enhance the transfer of information among interested parties (Cook 2011). Such capacities are available for advanced functionalities of the building information modelling tools such as the avenue to embed design information in the building models as well as integrate scans in the development of the models.
Highways’ BIM Developments in UK
The United Kingdom has adopted a number of developments that use the building information modeling in the highways sector. For example, the highways agency of UK has integrated asset management information system. Such a system is very important in keeping information for all the projects that the HA engages in (Highways Agency 2008). Numerous challenges have been witnessed in the highways sector, which result from the sheer quantity of information, which need to be stored for all the large and small-scale projects in the sector (Pottle 2013). For this reason, there have been numerous cases of lost information, or the use of incorrect information about a given project.
This is attributed to the availability of multiple systems that are used for the storage of information. Such a system has been considered to lack the necessary standardization measures (Cook 2011). For this reason, it becomes extremely hard to obtain any relevant information on a given project and thus, requires extensive network surveys to be carried out before starting out any new project.
The highways agency of the UK has been working towards improving its asset management systems to ensure that all projects’ information is available whenever needed. To achieve this, the agency laid out plans that would ensure the combination of the agency’s 17 databases to form the agency’s ‘integrated asset management system’ that can allow HA to effectively integrate and comply with the needs of adopting BIM (Highways Agency 2008).
This is based on the fact that to achieve BIM compliance, the agency was required to have a platform that has the ability to directly accept BIM models’ information. At the moment, the highways agency faces a lot of challenges trying to transfer information from the BIM models to the new integrated asset management information systems (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). This is caused by the lack of clear definition of the information format suitable for such a transfer (Cook 2011; Pottle 2013). In spite of this, the continuous work serves as a proof that full adoption of BIM is underway.
Most of the projects carried out nowadays are based on contracts. Nevertheless, this does not have a negative effect on the adoption of BIM in the highways sector (Eastman et al. 2011). For the government to effectively adopt BIM and benefit from it, there ought to be no form of competition or complexity of activities. This is attributed to the fact that there is always the need for client leadership to help in ensuring success based on the mechanisms of collaboration provided by the BIM solutions (Pottle 2013).
Despite the fact that a lot of effort has been put in ensuring full adoption and implementation of the BIM technologies, it has been challenging to ensure effective guidance in the entire process (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). The highways agency of the UK has been working extensively towards ensuring that its asset management systems are based on the proposed guidance, even though such an objective cannot be achieved without effecting the necessary changes (Pottle 2013). A review of the activities of HA and the current status in the highways sector of UK shows that the demand to adopt BIM in the sector is high (Rainer et al. 2013).
Use of BIM in the M25 Widening Project
The use of the building information modelling tools has been beneficial in the highways projects undertaken by the highways agency, as witnessed in the M25 widening project. Upgrading of the initial sections of the M25 widening project was finished in 2012 with a lot of focus on the motorway (Pottle 2013). There was a need for an extension of the carriageway that had been in existence through the erection of gantries alongside associated technology and variable signs. In addition, the project needed an effective drainage to be installed, which was necessitated by the increase in the carriageway area and the need for strict standards.
The boundary next to the designated area for expansion of the project made it quite challenging for effective completion of the widening process. However, the use of 3D BIM model enabled the Atkins to develop a suitable design for the project (Highways Agency 2008; Liapi 2008). One of the significant aims why the model was created is that there was a need to detect any clashes in the process of developing the design (Kendrick & Taggart 2006).
For this reason, discipline models and clash reports were available that ensured effective management of the entire project (Rainer et al. 2013). The use of the building information modeling technology played a major role in saving a lot of cash by ensuring that the project was efficient (Pottle 2013). In addition, the models helped to achieve the objectives of the project before the scheduled time and ahead of budget, which led to the Autodesk BIM experience award of April 2011. Based on the success of the M25 widening project, it was evident that BIM tools are very important in design development, more specifically in areas where there is possible virtual clash detection.
In spite of this achievement, it was not possible to develop the building information modelling tools into an asset information management due to the lack of information from the start of the design process. As such, to effectively use the technology, Cook (2011) noted that there was a need to embed data to the developed model.
Future projects
As evident in the case of the M25 widening project, BIM tools are very effective in design review, clash detection and transferring information on any given project to the necessary parties. As such, the embedding of information is possible through the creation of a model that is based on the objectives of the given project, which ensures that the users have full access to any information whenever needed (Cook 2011; Liapi 2008). Often, a gantry pile cap is used and it contains all the data such as the required reinforcement, concrete mix and any other specifications of the project (Rainer et al. 2013).
In its map, the highways agency identifies seven data drops that are developed to ensure the realization of the initial objectives of any given project (Highway Agency 2008; Pottle 2013). Usually, a data drop is considered to be an avenue through which data from a given project is transferred to the highways agency based on the set requirements. A project that is BIM-complaint ought to have all the required information attached to the model from the initial design phase. Such a strategy ensures that the necessary information can be transferred without much challenge during the project’s life cycle (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). The use of the BIM technology ensures that the highways agency can regularly update its projects easily through effective asset management systems.
However, for the information attached to the project model to be useful, it must have a direct relationship with the requirements of the client. To ensure such requirements are met the highway agency maintains continuous communication with the teams in charge of the delivery of the project (Pottle 2013). For this reason, the highways agency ought to provide detailed information in form of independent groups. Such information should adhere to the methodology applied in the maintenance of projects. This ensures that the installation of the integrated asset management system is effective and follows the required procedures.
On the other hand, the highways agency of the UK had another chance to apply the BIM tools in the A556 improvement project. The A556 improvement project features the upgrade of single carriageway that runs from the M56 junction 7 to the M6 Junction 19, a distance of about 6.5 km. In addition, the upgrade involves the construction of a bypass at Mere for the purpose of preventing a lot of damage to the environment. The cost for the A556 improvement was estimated at £137 and £212 million (Highways Agency 2008). The adoption of the BIM tools at the initial stages of the A556 improvement project has been considered to be a suitable approach to ensure that the development of the project follows the 3D-objectives (Liapi 2008). Essentially, the use of the BIM technology in the construction industry allows project managers and delivery teams to identify any inconsistencies in the project and offer the necessary solutions.
Asset Management Challenges
The highway agency has been trying to change the way in which the systems of asset management work. To ensure effectiveness in the utilization of such systems, it uses the previously separated database information (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). As a result, the way in which the used database looks and how well it can be used becomes a main factor of consideration during the implementation of BIM in major projects of the highways agency (Teall 2014). The key reason for this is that the models of BIM projects are designed in such a way that the information used during construction is updated (Pottle 2013).
After the construction phase, the project is handed over to the HA as an Asset Information Management (AIM) in its final stages (Highways Agency 2008). In addition, there is the transfer of the essential information about the maintenance and operation of the entire asset from the delivery team of the project to the owner (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). The delivery team and the asset owner always do their debate on how information will be transferred. Undoubtedly, in case there is no match between the attached information on AIM and the one within the AIM Information System (IS), handing over the information may become complex leading to loss of some significant information.
The individuals tasked with the responsibility to ensure the implementation of the BIM projects ought to be careful with all the stages. There should be an identification of any existing incompatibilities between the format used by the BIM model and the one that can be accepted by the AIM IS (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). However, the team of project managers ought to ensure that the system is operational from the initial stages so that any problematic issues can be solved during that time.
Although the experts may demonstrate the tools used for BIM for major projects of HA as manageable, they do not have examples of how the model has been used for some contracts. The new asset information management system is thus, aimed at accepting the information fed from the BIM models (Pottle 2013). However, there is less clarity on the storage and the utilization of models based on the projects. Though the acceptance of the new model may face various challenges, it is the responsibility of the team of experts to ensure that all stages are well clarified to avoid challenges during the final stages. In addition, they need to ensure that the model is in use until it helps in the maintenance of the implemented projects. The utilization of all the information gathered from some projects in the asset contracts may be more useful in the development of the IS (Cook 2011). Therefore, the IS should aim at the provision of a link between the system and the gathered information.
According to the Highways Agency (2008), most projects face the challenge of cumbersome data, which becomes difficult to access. In such a case, the main concern is the fact that the combination of all the information about the project may lead to more challenges. This hardens the operation of the AIM IS as adding more data to an already filled database makes it slower to access (Highways Agency 2008). This challenge cannot be easily avoided by the developing team.
From the above, it is evident that the adoption of the BIM tools and processes can lead to efficiency and saving cost of operations as far as construction of reliable structures is concerned (Cook 2011; Highways Agency 2008). Since the UK government has been trying to reduce the amount of capital allocated on construction projects, efforts have been seen that focus on the implementation of BIM and incorporating such models in its supply chains (Highways Agency 2008). The projects undertaken by the highways agency of UK take into consideration the major part of the government expenditure on infrastructure.
As a result, Pottle (2013) noted that there is a need to constantly provide updates on the progress of the implementation of the BIM through improving the used design, detecting clashes and making huge savings in terms of both time and money. Since the implementation of the BIM has mostly been given to contractors, the highways agency has been trying to be compliant with the requirements and accept the information offered by the BIM models.
However, a lot of work still needs to be done in regard to ensuring that the HA gets the construction contracts from the government (Teicholz 2013). For instance, there is the need to integrate the BIM model’s information with that in the IAM information systems of the HA. Adding information to personal projects within the models of BIM has not yet been approved by the government. However, there is the hope that such provision will be available to enhance the integration of the HA to the strategies and models of BIM (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). With such an opportunity, the remaining part is a clear indication that the aspirations of handing over a complete BIM model may be the most suitable option.
To ensure better results in the implementation of the BIM, there is the need to create 3D database and develop a naming system for the highways sector (Kendrick & Taggart 2006; Cook 2011; Highways Agency 2008). It will further help in adopting the BIM models in the future. However, the developers have not yet given a specific deadline by when they should develop the database and it is essential as the information organization has to be aware for the purpose of allocating the upcoming Integrated Asset Management IS in the HA. The tools and processes of BIM have various advantages that have already been observed in the successful projects undertaken by the highways agency of UK.
The biggest limitation is that there is no clear information on the link that exists between the transfer of data and how the project teams use the BIM models. The HA thus, aims at investigating and developing this link and how it will function to ensure that they improve on the delivery of the asset support contracts and the major projects.
According to the findings of the case study, one would notice that the adoption of the BIM technology has been underway and has numerous benefits especially in terms of enhancing efficiency and reduction of cost. As evident in the case of the M25 widening project and the A556 improvement project, building information modelling technique is very efficient in areas where a large project is to be developed on a small area.
This, according to Cook (2011), is possible because the design of a BIM model prior to the start of any work highlights the project’s specifications, as well as helps in clash detection. In addition, adopting BIM tools ensures the availability of all the details of any given project making it very easy for such details to be updated whenever needed, as well as for references purpose in the future. Lastly, the case study discussed above has shown that even though the building information modelling is suitable for al construction projects, it is largely used in large projects.
Case study: Highways England-‘digital delivery’ strategy
This case study focuses on the development of a ‘digital delivery’ strategy in England through the help of Costin, Highways England (HE) and Bryden Wood. While a strategy to implement BIM exists, this case study seeks to provide insights into the implementation strategy by optimizing the adoption of the proposed strategy as well as identifying use cases, which are in line with the Highways England for the purpose of demonstrating the role of building information modeling in the creation of value for money and business in UK. As such, the case study examines the stream of work with respect to the digital delivery strategy and its progress. This will be covered by looking at a section on libraries, use cases, and key performance indicators.
Libraries
The assemblies and objects of the library play a significant role as far as the specification of elements and standardized designs in the construction of highways is concerned. Such elements are necessary ensuring improved production, accurate and consistent definition of data based on the required clarity. The Highways England Building Information Modeling Libraries were developed to offer maximum usage of standardized designs in areas where it was applicable for the purpose of ensuring effective development of the design, as well as to ensure that projects could be developed earlier in the course since such an approach ensures rapid model progress.
For this reason, the library contains components and assemblies that are rich in data and are used as reference points in relation to equipment, signage, fixtures, functionality and activities, adjacencies and flows, any form of maintenance required in the process of construction, clauses that outline various specifications, as well as other Highways England designs and technical standards (Morecroft 2015).
Evidently, the objects of the library are important in the lifecycle of any given project, as well as in differentiating between objects that are ‘actual’ from the ‘virtual’ ones. The components are often data-driven and are thus, very important based on the fact that the Highways England is becoming highly popular for its reliance on data to enable the involved parties to make effective decisions especially in network optimization.
During the initial stages of any given project, the objects of the library are useful in the creation of an outline that can be used for the ‘visual brief’ of an asset. Such an outline is suitable in extracting data on the cost of the project, schedule among other aspects of the project (Marzouk & Abdelaty 2014). The project teams find the use of library objects very convenient in that they are easy to refine or even manipulate whenever needed, which is very important especially because such an approach allows effective testing of scenarios, as well as development of necessary options at scales that are in line with the requirements of the project.
In the case of the tender age of any given project, the BIM models offers option of being populated with respect to an increase in the level of ‘granularity’ (Pottle 2013). At such a state, the library objects play the role of generic ‘placeholders’ whereby the performance specifications and other properties are contained. As such, the project team can extract any data they require easily. According to Marzouk and Abdelaty (2014), the significance of the library objects at this stage is that they provide certainty of all procedures including the programme, fit and cost.
The design development phase provides the project team with an opportunity of populating the BIM tools with elements and objects that are compliant with the project and are highly tested to ensure that the required design is achieved (Cook 2011; Wong & Fan 2013). In addition, the presence of such elements make it possible for the contractors to assess the client brief as well as create schedules that are accurate based on real time data (Zhou & Wang 2009).
For this reason, the contractors are in a suitable position to carry out virtual construction exercises at the pre-construction phase. Such exercises can include training operatives that are intended to achieve the necessary efficiency while on site (Morecroft 2015). The BIM tools offer a platform that is safe with an environment that is highly controlled for the purposes of planning all aspects of the project such as assembly, logistics and manufacture prior to the start of the actual project. Such an approach makes is suitable for the contractors to track all components at every step involving manufacturing, package, logistics as well as delivery procedures (Pottle 2013).
In addition, there is an option for the involved parties to access the history of all components in the future whenever needed since the library objects allows recording of each component’s history (Marzouk & Abdelaty 2014). Recording of the component’s history is important in that such information is needed in the assembly phase for the purpose of linking the quality records, methods statements and assembly manuals to achieve maximum production as far as the site personnel is concerned (Cook 2011). This ensures that the project can rely on low-skilled labor for effective completion of all the required tasks for the project.
The use of standardized components in the operational phase of any given project is beneficial in aspects of replacement and maintenance in elements that require extension, refurbishment, reconfiguration, as well as assets re-purposing (Pottle 2013). This is possible in that the contractors get the chance to identify all the components which is important in ensuring that all data is created according to the required context (Cook 2011).
Thus, it can be seen that the library objects allows the creation and linking of assemblies and components in a building information modeling platform for the purpose of ensuring that the standardized designs can be reused for any given estate portfolio. Such strategy is convenient in that ensures improved design productivity, and the availability of the necessary project’s specifications whenever needed. There have been efforts to ensure the production of BIM libraries for the purposes of supporting the Highways England as far as the management or risk, efficiency and improved performance are concerned (Morecroft 2015). As such, the availability of the BIM libraries ensures improved collaboration and knowledge capture with the intent of supporting continuous improvement of projects.
Use cases
According to the Highways Agency business plan of 2014 and 2015, there are several activities and key use roles that are based on the needs for to adopt BIM libraries, as well as any other work in relation to supporting and facilitating improved performance, efficiency and productivity of highways projects (Kendrick & Taggart 2006; Pottle 2013). This section provides an overview of the themes forming the background of the business plan.
First, the roles of the Highways Agency included responsibility for operation, maintenance and improvement of the strategic road network of UK, overseeing the expenditure of funds meant for construction, as well as ensuring that there is increased capability and capacity in supply chain investment (Zhou & Wang 2009). Therefore, the goals of the Highways Agency revolve around supporting and facilitating the growth of the economy, ensuring that highways are in a condition that is safe and can be serviced, operating effectively and efficiently, minimizing adverse effects to the environment, local communities and the users, as well as ensuring the business and individuals’ needs are in a state of balance (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). Based on these goals, it is evident that the primary activities of the Highways Agency are to operate, maintain, and improve.
The collaboration between the Highways England and the BIM libraries hopes to provide the necessary support in order to enhance improved performance of major structures in the country as well as set up the required measures towards effective risk management (Pottle 2013). As such, the highways agency of UK gets a number of benefits through the adoption of the BIM technology in its operations. For example, building information modeling provides the agency with a platform for improved organization regarding the making of decisions that are based on predictable quality. This is enabled through live stimulations, as well as room for verification.
Secondly, the agency gets enhanced design upon adopting BIM tools in all its projects. This ensures that the projects carried out have few cases of rework and fewer errors. In addition, the design ensures sustainability of the constructed structures since a lot of focus is given on lifecycle and environmental assessment before carrying out any construction works (Kendrick & Taggart 2006).
Thirdly, the BIM tools are beneficial in that they enhance delivery of projects through predictability that is highly improved and efficient production. On the other hand, the building information modeling tools provides the contractors and project teams with a platform for effective maintenance of any given project (Pottle 2013). Generally, the use of BIM technology in the highways sector is very beneficial and very efficient in terms of reducing the cost of construction, faster delivery, and better quality of final structures. This is attributed to the fact that the tools are significant in streamlining the entire process.
Key performance indicators
The operational metrics manual that is followed by the Highways England has several significant performance indicators that ought to be facilitated and supported by the building information modeling technique upon its adoption (Pottle 2013). The proposed performance indicators are based on the need for safe network. As such, the key performance indicators adopted for the Highways England include contributory factors and incident numbers especially for all motorways, casualty numbers alongside contributory factors that are designed for trunks that are meant for all purposes, as well as accident frequency rate in accordance with the workers in various sections of the project.
To achieve the objectives of each individual project, the adoption of the BIM tools will enhance the visualization as well as analysis of any type of data needed for various projects in order to cite any areas and causes that require immediate action (Wong & Fan 2013; Kendrick & Taggart 2006). Secondly, the adoption of the BIM can be very instrumental in the success of any given project by allowing incident’s reproduction through stimulations for the purpose of ensuring that the project team and other players have full knowledge of the entire project right from the initial stages (Pottle 2013). On the other hand, the use of the BIM technology in the Highways England projects provides the project team with a number of lessons that they can transfer for the purpose of making progressive improvements.
Level of detail
During the design of any given project, it is important to put into consideration all the necessary details of the project to ensure that the final project matches the client’s requirements (Pottle 2013). The level of detail often increases according to the development of any given project. For this reason, there is a need for suitable design that captures every single detail of the project regardless of the complexity. The use of the building information modeling technology in the Highways England allowed effective description of the entire project graphically to ensure that the details at all stages were brought out as expected (Zhou & Wang 2009). During the initial stages of the project, simple boxes were used to represent several components of the project, while ‘coarse grain’ models are preferred in the final stages of any given project.
Chapter Summary
The review of the literature on the impacts of adopting the building information modeling technology has been comprehensive with a lot of effort in examining the potential of BIM in the highways sector of UK. From the literature review, it was evident that there have been demands for the improvement of the construction sector of UK for many years now. In addition, the development of business has been slow and employment also recoiled back.
In spite of this, the chapter has highlighted the various challenges that hinder the development and upgrading of highways in UK. A lot of government’s involvement in development of the highway sector has been evident in the recent years with huge amounts of money being spent towards the construction and improvement of the UK transport infrastructure. Additionally, the British Airports Authority has helped in the improvement interventions of the UK government through the expenditure of its money to support air transport development.
The review of literature also reviewed two case studies on the adoption of the BIM technology in the highways sector of UK. These two case studies have highlighted the significance of implementing BIM technology in major construction works in the country. The findings from the literature review are compared with th survey results and analyzed in chapter to ascertain whether or not the objectives of the research including understanding the relevance of Building Information Modeling for transportation projects, establishing some of the key drivers and barriers to the implementation of BIM in transportation infrastructure projects, critically examining case-studies of BIM implementation within transportation infrastructure projects in the UK; developing a set of guidelines for effective BIM implementation in the transportation infrastructure projects in UK, were achieved.
Research Resign and Methodology
Introduction
The success of any research study is largely depended on the methodology and research design that the researcher adopts. The systematic planning of actions that are applied in the collection of information and subsequent analysis of data in a logical manner that help in realization of the purpose of the study is called the study design (Creswell 2009). Examples of the study designs include descriptive, cross-sectional, experimental, and explorative researches. Research methodology refers to the principles and processes that are applied to collect data that can be utilized in decision making, in business and/or social setting (Kothari 2005).
This chapter concentrates on the research methodologies and design used in the research. Research designs, target population, sample frame, sampling techniques, methods of data collection and data analysis are therefore presented under this chapter. In addition, the chapter presents the aspects of data validity and reliability. A detailed explanation is provided for the strategy that will be adopted in the collection of the required data and information, the steps involved in the analysis and examination of this data. As such, the research methodology chapter provides a guideline that will be followed to achieve the aims and objectives of the study.
Research Strategy
Creswell (2009) asserted that a research strategy is very important in any study and ought to be selected during the initial stages of any study. In this section the strategies used for the different types of activities regarding the entire research study will be chosen. The alternative strategies will be discussed and then the justification of the selected strategies will be given in this section. The research will be conducted using two case studies. In order to collect the data of the research study, survey and interview will be used as the methods of primary data collection.
Research Philosophy
Research philosophy refers to the belief that researchers have regarding the method of collecting and analyzing data for any given study subject. The positivism and interpretivism are the two types of research philosophies that are commonly used in research.
Positivism
According to the positivism view, reality is considered to be stable, which makes it possible for a researcher to observe and describe it based an objective perspective. In such a case, the researcher does not interfere in any way with the subject under study (Klassen et al. 2012). This can be attributed to the fact that independent variables are used to manipulate reality for the purpose of identifying any changes in the study subject. In addition, any existing information, explanation or observation can be used to predict reality of the phenomenon under study.
Interpretivism
According to the interpretivism philosophy, reality can be explained through the subjective viewpoint. As such, in this approach, the interpretivism focuses on the examining a given phenomenon with respect to its natural setting (Leedy & Ormrod 2013). It is opposed to the positivism approach in that the interpretivism philosophy is based on the view that researchers have a lot of influence on the any phenomenon under study.
Justification of choosing both philosophies
Both the abovementioned philosophies can be used as part of the study. None of the two approaches is superior to the other; what brings the difference is the subject being examined. As such, the combination of both the positivism and interpretivism approaches can offer the research a better chance of collecting reliable data. For this reason, the research will make use of both philosophies for better results. By analyzing the concept of BIM in UK through the subjective and objective view, it will be possible to determine the impacts of BIM in the highways of UK.
Research Approach
There are two mainstream research approaches that are commonly used in research work. The two approaches are used for various types of research work. The choice of the research approach is determined by the topic and area of the research study. The inductive research approach portrays the components and occasions of the exploratory approach (Leedy & Ormrod 2013). This gives the room to define a theory for the study depending on the perception and the example of the occasions. The theory examines the hypothetical concepts of the study. In this study, the deductive methodology will be adopted. In such a study, a hypothetical system and theory are utilized to set up a relationship between the variables used in the study (Mitchell & Jolly 2013).
Justification for choosing the deductive approach:
In this particular research study, there is no need to test the existing theories and models. The impacts of one variable on the other will be analyzed with the help of the existing theories and models. Therefore, the deductive strategy will be the best for fulfilling the objectives of the study.
Research design
Three types of research designs are very popular in the area of academic research work. They are known as explanatory, exploratory and descriptive research designs. The descriptive design helps to identify the information that will be able to fulfil the objectives of the particular research study. Explanatory design helps to discover the problems and their alternative solutions. Exploratory design helps to conduct an in-depth analysis on the basis of the background information available in the area of the research work (Novikov & Novikov 2013).
The research on the impacts of BIM adoption in UK will focus on what has been achieved following the implementation of the Building Information Model, the associated benefits, and the constraints faced in the transport infrastructure of UK following the adoption of BIM. The study will also get quantitative data that relate to the performance from the necessary databases on transport and infrastructure.
Such information will be supplemented by interviewing employees and manager of the selected companies within the construction industry of UK. The interviews will focus on the overall performance of the selected companies following the adoption of the building information model. The research will be comprehensive following the combination of two study designs which include descriptive and cross sectional. The descriptive research design will apply to this study, as it is very crucial in assisting to provide answers relating to how research problem has affected a given societal situation (Mitchell &Jolly 2013; Leedy & Ormrod 2013).
In this case, therefore, the descriptive design will be useful in for example, helping to ascertaining the effects of the building information model in the infrastructure of UK. This can be attributed to the fact that the study will require offering a description of tangible impacts of BIM, as far as the performance of the selected companies is concerned. In addition, the decision to use the descriptive study design is very effective in any study due to its ability to provide indexes regarding given variables under examination in a study (Kothari 2005). As such, the descriptive study design is very effective in obtaining reliable data for the purpose of drawing the necessary conclusions regarding a given subject under investigation.
The research on the impacts of BIM in UK transport infrastructure will focus on a large geographical area, and hence the study will require the use of large data for reliable results. In the view of Mitchell and Jolly (2013), descriptive study design is very effective in studies that involve the collection of large amount of data. In spite of the suitability of the descriptive research design in the collection of data and ensuring reliability and validity of data, this type of research study has several limitations such as high dependence on instrumentation of measurements and observation. For this reason, there is a need for another type of study design to complement the descriptive study for the purpose of ensuring that reliable data is obtained. Thus, the cross-sectional research design was adopted in this study.
While the descriptive study will be used in providing an overview of what has been happening within the transport infrastructure of UK since the adoption of BIM, the cross-sectional study design will provide complementary platform to collect and describe the impacts of BIM on the performance of the selected companies.
Justification of choosing the descriptive design
In this research study, the suitable strategy for exploration configuration ought to be exploratory. The information has been gathered on the premise of the foundation study made, and the survey has been planned by making an inside out examination. The descriptive design will help to conduct the research work by collecting the information from the practical field and comparing this to the information gathered in the literature review, i.e., the research works of the previous researchers. This will be the most effective method to fulfil the objectives of the research study in a shorter time.
Secondly, the descriptive study design is very effective in any study due to its ability to provide indexes regarding given variables under examination in a study (Kothari 2005). As such, the descriptive study design will be used to obtain reliable data for the purpose of drawing the necessary conclusions regarding the subject under investigation.
Third, in the view of Mitchell and Jolly (2013), descriptive study design is very effective in studies that involve the collection of large amount of data. In this case, the study on impacts of BIM covers a large geographical area, which requires the collection of large data for the reliability of results.
Justification for choosing the cross-sectional design
In spite of the suitability of the descriptive research design in the collection of data and ensuring reliability and validity of data, this type of research study has several limitations such as high dependence on instrumentation of measurements and observation. For this reason, there is a need for another type of study design to complement the descriptive study for the purpose of ensuring that reliable data is obtained. Thus, the cross-sectional study design was used to as a complementary study to the descriptive research design.
The cross sectional study will help in analyzing the concept of building information model and offer snapshots on the achievements, failures and benefits of the building information model. Through the cross sectional studies, the researcher will be in a position to find out whether or not BIM has had significant impact in the performance of the transport infrastructures of UK. Creswell (2009) asserted that the cross-sectional studies can be carried out repeatedly to give pseudo longitudinal study.
The Research Process
For the required data to be collected there was the need for an effective research process to be followed. This process comprised of a series of steps to help the research collect all the necessary data on BIM, both from primary and secondary sources. The diagram (Figure 1) presents the research process.
Research Problem
The primary concern of this study revolves around the performance of highway transport systems in UK. As such, the study reviews the concept of BIM adoption in UK, in an attempt to highlight the significance of BIM in UK’s transport infrastructure, as well as any associated challenges. This study was motivated by the fact that there are limited studies covering the implementation of BIM in UK.
Research Methods
As outlined earlier, the study adopted the both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This involved an extensive literature review as presented in chapter two, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The decision to use interviews in this study was appropriate since they are considered effective data collection tools especially where in-depth data about a research topic is needed. In the case of the current study, it was necessary to use interview method since the study required to collect first hand data on the performance of transport infrastructure in UK.
As such, the interview design focused on establishing the level of satisfaction among the study participants as far as the performance of transport infrastructure in UK was concerned. The interviews also factored in challenges affecting the highways transport of UK, and suggestions on how such challenges could be addressed.
In addition, the study used questionnaires to help in the collection of the required data on the impacts of BIM in UK. The use of questionnaires in this study was based on the fact that questionnaires are effective data collection tools in studies that involve large sample sizes and large geographical data. The use of the questionnaires helped in identifying the level of awareness of the study participants regarding the use of BIM in infrastructural development.
Figure 1: Research Process.
Sampling
Sampling refers the methods used in a research to arrive at the required sample for a study (Salaberry & Comajoan 2013). It is used in the selection of study units or subjects to be used in data collection. There are two major sampling techniques that can be used in any study. They are the probability sampling technique and the non-probability sampling technique (Uprichard 2013). In this case, both of sampling techniques were used.
In order to select the population for the survey, the probability sampling will be used. A total of 150 employees of the UK construction industry were chosen randomly to collect the quantitative data. The selection of the 3 managers was done through the use of the non-probability sampling technique. A lot of focus during the selection process of the study participants was put on the experience and status of the company.
Methods of collecting data
The methods of data collection that a researcher adopts are very important in determining the validity and reliability of collected data (Creswell 2009). There are two types of data sources, primary and secondary, that can be used in any study (Popping 2012). In this case, both primary and secondary sources of data were used. Interviews and survey methods were used in collecting the required data for the study.
Practical Implementation
Survey Questionnaire
A consent form was provided to all the study participants before actual study was carried out in order to ensure their commitment (Thomas 2013). The form contained information on aim of the study and the terms of data collection that the participants would follow. The questionnaire comprised of four sections including the demographic characteristics of the study participants, level of awareness of the building information modeling, barriers of implementing BIM, and the opinions of the study participants regarding the BIM’s future. Table 1 below, is the sample questionnaire used for the study.
Part 1: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION
Please state the title of your job ……………………………..
How many years of experience do you have dealing with construction projects?
0-4 Years
5-10 Years
11-14 Years
15-20 Years
More than 20 Years
Which type of organization have you worked in?
Consultant/Civil servant/Contractor
Tick where applicable as far as your level of education is concerned:
Bachelor’s degree
Higher diploma
Master’s degree
Doctorate
Other (Specify)
SECTION 2: LEVEL OF BIM AWARENESS
Have you ever heard, and/or used BIM technology in any of your projects?
I have heard and used BIM/I have heard but not used BIM/I do not know BIM
SECTION 3: BARRIERS OF BIM IMPLEMENTATION
What do you think are some of the barriers of implementing BIM in the UK?
Frequency
Barrier
Very High
High
Moderately
Low
Very Low
Low level of BIM knowledge
Lack of the necessary expertise and skills
Inadequate training and education among staff
Lack of efficiency in existing methods
BIM technology is expensive
Lack of interoperability.
Issues of job insecurity
Impacts of government regulations and instructions.
Legal issues like copyright, ownership, etc.
Inadequate supply of data formats and standards
BIM technology is complex
Habitual resistance
Disagreement among top
What are some of the factors hindering your organization from adopting BIM in its projects
…………………………………………
…………………………………………
SECTION4: FUTURE OF BIM TECHNOLOGY IN UK
In terms of adoption of the building information modeling, how ready are the participants in UK?
Very High
Very Low
I am not sure
In your opinion how successful is the adoption of BIM technology in UK transport infrastructure likely to be?
Very High
Very Low
I am not sure
Please give a reason for your answer to the above question
………………………………………………………………………………………………
The implementation of building information model is the responsibility of? (tick where applicable)
Contractors
Design and consultant firms
Software developers
The government.
End. Thank you.
Case study
Chandra and Sharma (2013) asserted that the choice of a data collection method if often influenced by the suitability of the given method to collect the required data. In this case, case study method was considered to have a high potential of collecting data on the impacts of BIM implementation in UK. Two case studies were selected, which focused on collecting data on best practices of BIM implementation, and the development of a set of guidelines for effective BIM implementation in transportation infrastructure projects in the UK.
Interview
Three managers from three different constructions companies in the UK were interviewed. The interview focused on the effects of the implementation of building information modeling in the selected companies’ transportation infrastructure.
Data analysis
After collecting the data, it is very important to summarize the data and then analyze the data to achieve the desired outcome of the research work. The practical data analysis will be conducted with the help of statistical analysis tools. The data gathered through the survey will be summarized in tabular format and then the statistical analysis will be conducted by using MS Excel. The analysis of the qualitative data will be conducted by summarizing the interview transcripts in written format and analyzing the data by deep observation (Wang & Mao 2012).
Ethical Considerations
Every study has a number of factors to consider in order to ensure that the study achieves its objectives. For this reason, the current study was conducted by maintaining all the ethical considerations. For example, there was the need to maintain the Data Protection Act, 1998 during the process of gathering personal feedback from the participants of the study. As such, the participants of the study remained anonymous through the use of codes (Klassen et al. 2012). In addition, the participants of the study were awarded full freedom of withdrawing their participation from the research study (Brown & Stowers 2013). However, a consent form was necessary to ensure that only committed participants were considered in the study sample. The design of the questionnaires included simple and clear questions to ensure that all the participants understood what was required of them.
Finding and Analysis
Introduction
There have been numerous concerns in regards to the role of BIM in construction industry as well as the potential of such strategies in the highways sector of the United Kingdom. For this reason, the study on the impacts of building information modeling in the UK primarily focused on aspects of adopting and implementing BIM tools in the highways sector of the United Kingdom. The choice of this subject and the need to adopt BIM in the UK’s highways sector was based on the need to ensure effective organization of building and construction activities right from the initial stages up to the completed structure.
The construction of highways as well as any other structure has numerous challenges which are attributable to the complex details. Therefore, this study hoped to examine the potential impacts of adopting building information modeling in UK. This chapter presents the data collected, its analysis, as well as the results and findings based on the collected data.
Research Process and Data collection
The concept of building information modeling is wide and thus required suitable data collection approach to ensure comprehensive coverage of the research topic. For this reason, two case studies were used alongside an interview on selected individuals within the highways construction sector. The decision to use interviews as data collection method was based on the fact that there was a need to collect in-depth information on the impacts of BIM adoption in UK from people who have the potential of using or who have used such technologies in the construction of various structures.
As pointed out by Mitchell and Jolly (2013), interviews offer a researcher the opportunity to get firsthand information on personal opinions, perspectives and experiences regarding a given phenomenon under study. In this case, interviews were instrumental in the collection of data on respondents’ opinions on the impacts of adopting building information modelling in the construction sector of the country.
The focus of this study was on what has been achieved following the implementation of the Building Information Model, the associated benefits, and the constraints faced in the transport infrastructure of UK with respect to the adoption of BIM. The study relied on quantitative data that related to the performance of the sector from the necessary databases on transport and infrastructure. Such information was supplemented by interviewing employees and manager of a few selected companies within the construction industry of UK. The interviews focused on the overall performance of the selected companies following the adoption of the building information model.
The research was comprehensive since it was based on two study designs and two case studies. The descriptive research design was very instrumental in providing insights on the challenges faced by contractors and other stakeholders in relation to the lack of suitable technologies to enhance effective building of structures with careful attention to details. In addition, the descriptive design played a significant role helping to ascertain the effects of the building information model in the infrastructure of UK, by describing tangible impacts of BIM with respect to the performance of the concerned companies.
The case studies adopted in this study were very important since they provided firsthand data on the adoption and implementation of building information modelling technology in UK. This can be attributed to the fact that the case studies provided an avenue to describe the impact of BIM on the highways sector of the UK based on practical approaches.
The success of this study is attributable to an effective data collection process that, as pointed out earlier, focused both primary and secondary data. Based on the study’s need to understanding deeply the concept of BIM adoption in UK, in an attempt to highlight the significance of BIM in UK’s transport infrastructure, as well as any associated challenges, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used.
An extensive literature review was conducted alongside a survey that was based on questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The adoption of questionnaires and interviews helped to establish the level of satisfaction among the study participants as far as the performance of transport infrastructure in UK was concerned. The interviews also factored in challenges affecting the highways transport of UK, and suggestions on how such challenges could be addressed. Additionally, the use of questionnaires was significant in fulfilling all the study’s objectives as far as the use of BIM in infrastructural development was concerned.
Descriptive Data
The study used the probability sampling technique and the non-probability sampling technique in the process of obtaining primary data on the impacts of BIM in UK. The probability sampling technique was used to select the population for the survey whereby a total of 150 individuals within the UK construction industry were chosen randomly to collect the quantitative data. On the other hand, the study required input from 3 managers who were selected through the use of the non-probability sampling technique. This section describes the age, gender as well as any other relevant information on sample used for the study alongside a summary of the sample’s demographics.
Study’s sample population
The study targeted a total of 150 individuals within the construction sector of UK based on random selection. As such, questionnaires were distributed to the targeted population and collected back for analysis. Where there were logistic challenges, the questionnaires were emailed to the respondents. Out of the distributed questionnaires, only 125 were collected back since 25 selected individuals were not available at the time of the questionnaires were distributed.
On the other hand, only 100 questionnaires were used for the study for analysis. This was attributed to the fact that the rest of the questionnaires (25) contained parts that were left unanswered as well as other parts that had been marked more than the required times. As such, the exclusion of the 25 questionnaires from the analysis was informed by the fact that there was the need for an analysis of data based on equal number of responses. Therefore, the data analysis, results and analysis presented herein are based on a sample size of 100 individuals whose questionnaires were filled according to the instructions.
Age of the respondents (in years)
The study examined the ages of the respondents. This was aimed at analyzing how many of the study participants fell under different age brackets. Such examination was necessary to establish whether or not the opinions of the participants were based on their ages. It was found out that all of the study participants were above 18 years. In addition, majority of the study participants (45%) were between 31 and 40 years of age, followed by those aged between 41and 50 years, who accounted for 30% of the total study sample. On the other hand, those aged between 18 and 30 years, and above 50 accounted for 15% and 10% respectively, of the total study participants as presented in the table below.
Age in years
Count
Percentage
18-30
15
15%
31-40
45
45%
41-50
30
30%
Above 50
10
10%
Table 2: Showing the respondents’ ages in years.
Microsoft Word Excel was used to analyze the data presented above to produce the figure below.
Figure 2: Data on respondents’ age.
Gender of respondents
The gender identity of the study participants was significant in this study since there was a need to weigh the opinions of the respondents based on their gender. This would help to ascertain whether or not a particular gender was more knowledgeable about BIM impacts, challenges and benefits than the other. As such, the study found out that the sample comprised of more males than females, whereby the male participants accounted for 55% of the study participants while the female ones accounted for 45% of the total composition of the study sample as shown in the table below.
Gender
Count
Percentage
Female
45
45%
Male
55
55%
Total
100
100%
Table 3: Gender of respondents.
Further examination showed that majority of the females were aged between 31 and 40 years (20%), while majority of the males were aged between 41 and 50 years (28%). The study participants aged between 18 and 30 years comprised of one male participant and 14 female participants. On the other hand, those aged above 50 years comprised of one male and 9 female participants. The table below provides a cross tabulation of the ages and gender of the respondents used for the study.
Age in years
Male
Female
18-30
1
14
31-40
25
20
41-50
28
2
Above 50
1
9
Total
55
45
Table 4: cross tabulation of gender and ages of the respondents.
The above data was presented in a graph as shown in the figure below.
Figure 3: Ages and gender of respondents.
Level of Education
The level of education of the study participants was a significant factor of consideration in this study. It was important to analyze how knowledgeable the respondents were in terms of university, college and high school level. Such analysis would help to ascertain whether or not the level of education influenced the respondents’ opinions on the potential impacts of adoption and implementation of building information modelling technology in the highways sector of UK. For this reason, the questionnaire had a section whereby the participants of the study would choose their level of education.
According to the responses, most of the study participants (55%) had a bachelor’s degree, followed by those who had a higher diploma (30%). In addition, another group of respondents had a master’s degree (10%), and yet 5% of the sample composition had a doctorate as shown in the table below.
Level of education
Frequency
Percentage
Cumulative percentage
Bachelor’s degree
55
55%
55%
Higher diploma
30
30%
85%
Master’s degree
10
10%
95%
Doctorate
5
5%
100%
Table 5: Respondents’ level of education.
The implication of the analysis was that majority of the study participants (99%) were in a position to give feedback and opinions based on their level of education as far as the concept of BIM adoption, its implementation as well as the associated effects were concerned. The above data on respondents’ level of education was plotted in a graph as shown below for easy comparison and presentation.
Figure 4: Respondents’ level of education.
Nationality of the respondents
The nationality of the respondents was also examined in an attempt to find out whether or not the sample comprised foreigners. Such an analysis would help to determine the extent at which the UK was in terms of adopting and implementing BIM in comparison with other parts of the world. As such, it was found out that majority of the study participants were UK nationals with only an insignificant percentage representing foreigners as showed in the table below.
Nationality
Count
Percentage
Nationals of UK
89
89%
Foreigners
11
11%
Total
100
100%
Table 6: Nationality of respondents.
Since most of the respondents were from the UK, it was convenient to collect information that pertained activities within the country in regards to the potential impacts of adopting the building information models. On the other hand, the availability of a small section of the study participants who were not nationals of United Kingdom was important in that such participants were best suited to cite the potential impacts of BIM relative to their home countries. The graph below shows the percentage composition of the study participants in terms of their nationality.
Figure 5: Nationality of respondents.
Level of experience
The level of experience that the respondents had as far as building information modeling is concerned was a significant factor of consideration in this study since such experience was very important in the determination of the potential impacts that such technology would have in any region where it is adopted. As such, it was necessary to examine the respondents’ level of experience. The study found out that almost half of the study participants had high level of experience as far as the concept of building information modeling was concerned. This was a suitable revelation since it implied that the respondents would provide substantiated feedback on the potential impacts of BIM adoption in UK.
The study examined the concept of BIM level of experience among the study participants based on a time span of zero years to over 20 years. It was evident that majority of the study participants (75%) had experience of between 5 and 10 years. Secondly, there was a group of participants (20%) that had an experience of 10 to 20 years dealing with BIM technology. In addition, 5% of the respondents had experience of more than 20 years.
Level of experience
Count
Percentage
Cumulative percentage
1-5 Years
5
5%
5%
5-10 Years
70
70%
75%
11-14 Years
15
15%
90%
15-20 Years
5
5%
95%
More than 20 Years
5
5%
100%
Table 7: level of experience.
Evidently, having a considerable percentage of the study participants with many years of experience in building information modelling technology was very instrumental in achieving the objectives of this study. The above data was presented in the form of a graph as shown below.
Figure 6: level of experience.
BIM knowledge and awareness
It was important to examine the knowledge and awareness of the aspect of BIM among the participants of the study since such examination would reveal to what extent the participants felt that BIM adoption in UK would have some impacts. This analysis was also necessary to create a picture of the reliability and validity of the collected data. As such, the study participants were required to provide information about their BIM knowledge and awareness. It was evident that almost all the participants of the study had knowledge of the BIM technology as used in construction nowadays. Only an insignificant part of the respondents had little awareness of BIM. The degree of awareness was assessed in terms of use BIM. As shown in the table below.
Percentage
Cumulative percentage
I have heard and used BIM
65
65%
I have heard but not used BIM
34
99%
I do not know BIM
1
100%
Total
100&
Table 8: BIM knowledge and awareness.
The above data was presented in a graphical form as shown in the figure below.
Figure 7: BIM knowledge and awareness.
Respondents’ type of organization
The study also examined the respondents’ type of organizations where they work or have worked before ranging from civil services, contracts to consultancy. Such analysis was necessary as there was a need to compare opinions based on experience from various types of organizations. It was evident that all the three types of organization were represented in the study sample. However, majority of the study participants were contractors (60%), followed by consultants (30%) and lastly, civil servants who formed 10% of the sample composition. Such a representation was important in the comparison of experiences, opinions and perspectives of the respondents regarding the adoption of BIM in various types of organizations.
Results and Findings
The primary focus of this study was to establish the potential impacts that UK might experience following the adoption of building information modeling technology within the highways sector. As such, the results and findings herein are based on various objectives as outlined earlier. The research therefore, sought to find out the relevance of Building Information Modeling for transportation projects, the key drivers and barriers to the implementation of BIM in transportation infrastructure projects, critically examine case-studies of BIM implementation within transportation infrastructure projects in the UK, as well as to develop a set of guidelines for effective BIM implementation in the transportation infrastructure projects in UK. For this reason, the respondents were interviewed to gain more insights into the concept of BIM with respect to the objectives of the study.
Relevance of BIM in transportation projects
The survey sought the opinion of the respondents as far as the relevance of BIM in the transport and highways sector. The opinions of the study participants was evaluated based on a scale of 0 to 5, whereby 0-1 implied not relevant, 2-3 implied moderately relevant, and 4 to 5, highly relevant. Majority of the respondents (65%) felt that the building information modeling technology was highly relevant in the transport and highways sector of UK, while 28% pointed out that BIM is moderately relevant and the rest (7%) did not think that BIM had any relevance in the UK’s transport and highways sector. The table below provides a summary of the respondents’ opinions.
Scale
Percentage Response
Cumulative Percentage
0-1 (Not relevant)
7
7%
2-3 (Moderately relevant)
28
35%
4-5 (Highly relevant)
65
100%
Table 9: Relevance of BIM in transportation projects.
Evidently, more than half of the study participants pointed out that there was some level of relevance in adopting building information within the highways sector of UK.
Barriers to the implementation of Building Information Models
There are several barriers that affect the implementation of BIM in UK which include low level of BIM knowledge, lack of the necessary expertise and skills, inadequate training and education, lack of efficiency in existing methods, job insecurity, and perspective that BIM technology is complex among many more. As such, the respondents were asked to rate the frequency of various barriers in terms of how they influence the implementation of BIM in UK. From the analysis, majority of the respondents pointed out that low level of BIM knowledge, expensiveness of BIM technology, complexity of BIM technology, inadequate supply of data formats and standards had very high frequency as far as hindering the implementation of BIM in UK was concerned. However, low level of frequency was evident issues of job insecurity, legal issues like ownership and copyright, habitual resistance as well as disagreement among top personnel in various organizations.
The table below provides a summary of the survey results regarding some of the barriers of implementing BIM in UK.
Frequency
Barrier
Very High
High
Moderate
Low
Very Low
Low level of BIM knowledge
75%
20%
5%
0%
0%
Lack of the necessary expertise and skills
68%
30%
2%
0%
0%
Inadequate training and education among staff
50%
40%
7%
3%
0%
Lack of efficiency in existing methods
0%
1%
2%
19%
78%
BIM technology is expensive
58%
28%
22%
2%
0%
Lack of interoperability.
40%
23%
15%
20%
2%
Issues of job insecurity
1%
2%
5%
17%
75%
Impacts of government regulations and instructions.
60%
20%
10%
5%
5%
Legal issues like copyright, ownership, etc.
4%
25%
40%
20%
11%
Inadequate supply of data formats and standards
70%
26%
4%
0%
0%
BIM technology is complex
71%
25%
3%
1%
0%
Habitual resistance
5%
10%
12%
13%
50%
Disagreement among top managers
1%
1%
5%
13%
80%
Table 10: Barriers of implementing BIM in UK.
Some of the factors hindering organization’s adoption of BIM
The study narrowed down to individual organizations to examine the factors that were preventing the adoption of BIM. Majority of the study participants blamed low rate of BIM adoption in their organization on low level of BIM knowledge, expensiveness of BIM technology, complexity of BIM technology, inadequate supply of data formats and standards and small scale of projects undertaken by the organizations.
Future of BIM technology in UK
It was important to find out the state of BIM technology as far as its future in UK was concerned. For this reason, the study participants were required to provide their individual opinions. The assessment of the future of BIM technology in UK was based on the readiness of participants in adopting BIM, as well as the likely level of success in adopting BIM in UK.
Most of the study participants revealed that many stakeholders are ready to adopt BIM technology. However, even though the respondents had very high hopes in the success of the adoption of BIM technology in UK, most of them pointed out that there was a need for increased level of BIM knowledge and awareness in UK for the purpose of ensuring that all involved stakeholders have the necessary knowledge, skills and expertise as far as BM technology is concerned.
BIM’s implementation responsibility
The respondents were asked to offer their opinion regarding who they thought was responsible for the implementation of building information model. There were various responses for this question with most of the study participants (49%) pointing out that the government was responsible for BIM implementation. On the other hand, 30%, 19% and 2% of the respondents reported that the contractors, design and consultant firms, and software developers were responsible for BIM implementation respectively.
Case studies’ findings
The study reviewed two cases studies; one on the use of BM in the highways sector and the other on the Highways England-‘digital delivery’ strategy, with a lot of emphasis on the development of a ‘digital delivery’ strategy. Basically, the two case studies focused on showing the various applications of BIM. Therefore, there were a number of findings that arose from the two case studies as highlighted below.
First, it was evident that there are several construction projects in United Kingdom that use the building information modeling in the highways sector.
Secondly, many construction projects are faced with numerous challenges due to lack of appropriate building and construction technology that can reduce cost of operations, and provide safe storage of projects’ data for future use.
Thirdly, the case studies revealed the efforts of the highway agency of UK towards the development of an advanced asset management system, which can effectively store all projects’ information for future use.
Fourth, it was evident that there is a high demand for the adoption of BIM in UK. However, the lack of effective guidance has affected its adoption and implementation.
Fifth, the case studies showed that BIM has been used in various successful projects in the UK; a factor that shows that there is a need to set up the necessary measures to have BIM implemented in almost all projects in the country.
Sixth, there are various areas where BIM tools can be used in construction projects such as in detecting clashes in a construction project, reviewing design, as well as the transfer of project’s information.
Seventh, it was evident that the major problems that major construction projects face in UK are related to asset management.
Guidelines for effective BIM implementation in UK.
Empirical literature showed that the implementation of building information modeling is faced by numerous challenges especially in the transportation sector. As such, there was a need to examine the possible guidelines that can be followed to effectively implement BIM tools in the transportation sector of the UK. According to the survey, it was evident that the implementation of BIM in UK suffers from numerous challenges such as resistance to change, lack of the necessary knowledge and awareness of BIM, inadequate training of people in BIM, lack of the resources required for BIM implementation such as high-end hardware and other facilities used in running BIM applications.
In addition, the interviewed study participants pointed out absence of interoperability, integration and the required collaboration among stakeholders to hinder the implementation of BIM in UK. For this reason, for effective implementation of building information modeling tools, there is the need for suitable measures to be put in place that bring the involved stakeholders together for a chance to adopt BIM in UK.
First, knowledge and awareness campaign are necessary as a means of ensuring that majority of the people understand what BIM entails, as well as its significance in transport and construction projects. Secondly, there is a need for the establishment of BIM training institutions to equip contactors and other stakeholders with the necessary knowledge and skills on BIM. Based on these findings, it can be considered that effective adoption of BIM requires reinvention of the workflow, training of staff and the assigning of responsibilities, as well as the instilling a change in the process of construction model. For this reason, there ought to be a clear outline that features suitable strategies as well as robust methodology for the implementation of BIM.
Chapter Summary
The primary objective of this study was to provide a critical analysis of the concept of BIM adoption and implementation in the transport and high sector of UK. Particularly, the study hoped to establish the potential impact of implementing BIM in UK. As such, this section of the dissertation focused on the data collection and analysis, and findings. The study used the MS Excel software to present the collected data on graphs and charts for easy understanding of the results and findings from the study.
The chapter provided results on the relevance of BIM in construction projects, barriers of implementing BIM in UK, factors that hinder the adoption of BIM among various organizations, BIM implementation responsibility, the future of BIM in UK, as well as guidelines on effective implementation of the building information modeling technology in UK. The analysis of the collected data showed that the adoption and implementation of BIM has several benefits in any country. In spite of this, it was also evident that there is a slow rate of BIM adoption in the UK due to numerous challenges as cited in the findings section above. Nevertheless, majority of the study participants pointed out that there is still some hope as far as successful adoption and implementation of building information models in the country is concerned.
The results and findings in this chapter are discussed extensively in the next chapter, with a comprehensive comparison between the survey results and the findings from the two case studies and the review of literature.
Discussion, Conclusion and Recommendations
Introduction
This study was primarily focused on analyzing the aspect of building information modelling technology used in construction in an attempt to find its potential impacts upon adoption and implementation in the UK. For this reason, the study aimed to review the existing literature, carry out analysis of various case studies on the use of BIM in the construction sector, as well as carry out a survey to examine the opinions of selected study participants as far as the potential impacts associated with the adoption of BIM in UK are concerned. As such, this chapter provides a summary of the entire study, in-depth discussion of the study results and findings, conclusion and recommendations based on the findings from the survey and literature review.
Summary
The primary motivation of this study was based on the fact that even though the NBIM technology has been in existence for quite some time now, its awareness among people is low, a fact that is attributable to limited studies on BIM implementation. For this reason, this study hoped to provide the necessary insights into the concept of BIM technology in construction projects. Therefore, the study focused on the potential impacts of adopting BIM in UK, and had various objectives to achieve including establishing the relevance of Building Information Modeling for transportation projects establishing some of the key drivers and barriers to the implementation of BIM in transportation infrastructure projects, examining various case-studies of BIM implementation within transportation infrastructure projects in the UK, as well as developing a set of guidelines for effective BIM implementation in the transportation infrastructure projects in UK.
The study used qualitative and quantitative research methods, whereby various studies on the implementation of BIM were considered for secondary data. On the other hand, the primary data involved a survey whereby data was collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The use of interviews in this study allowed the researcher to collect in-depth data on the impacts of BIM implementation in UK by examining the opinions and perspectives of study participants on this concept. This was based on the fact that the study required the use of reliable and valid data on the performance of transport infrastructure in UK.
The study participants were selected through the use of both the probability sampling technique and the non-probability sampling technique, whereby the study’s population was reached through the probability sampling while the non-probability sampling technique was used to determine the individuals to be interviewed.
It was also important to consider a few factors while carrying out the study to ensure that all legal aspects of data collection, recording and analysis, as well as the necessary permission requirements were followed. First, the Data Protection Act of 1998 was maintained during the process of gathering personal feedback from the participants of the study. The participants of the study were given codes, which ensured that they remained anonymous throughout the study.
The researcher ensured that all the study participants were briefed on the objectives of the study, as well as awarded full freedom of withdrawing their participation from the research. As such, a consent form was necessary to ensure that only committed participants were considered in the study sample. Lastly, all the questions used in the questionnaires were clear and simple for the purpose of ensuring that all the study participants understood what was required of them and that they provided valid feedback for all questions.
All the collected data was analyzed using MS Excel software and presented in graphs and charts. The next section provides a critical overview of the results and findings from the survey as compared with literature review findings.
Discussion of results and Findings
The study examined the level of experience of the study participants as far as the use of BIM tools in construction projects was concerned. According to Brown and Stowers (2013), experience in BIM use is a very important aspect of consideration when it comes to the determination of the potential impacts that such technology would have in any region where it is adopted. According to the survey carried out, half of the study participants had high level of experience in the building information modeling concept. The implication for such findings was that the collected information was reliable as the study participants could substantiate their opinions based on experience. There was a case of low number of participants with little experience in BIM, which was attributable to the fact that BIM technology is a new concept in the UK, whose rate of adoption is very slow given the reluctance of many people to change from old methods of construction.
Secondly, the study examined the level of BIM knowledge and awareness among the study participants in an attempt to find out to what extent the participants felt that BIM adoption in UK would have some impacts. The study found out that almost all the participants of the study had knowledge of the BIM technology as used in construction nowadays. Only an insignificant part of the respondents had little awareness of BIM. The degree of awareness was assessed in terms of use BIM.
In spite of such findings, Cook (2011) noted that not many people have used BIM tools in construction projects. According to the study results, about 35% of the interviewed respondents reported that they have never used BIM in any construction projects. Such findings align with the assertion of Kendrick and Taggart (2006), that there is a slow rate of BIM adoption and use in the United Kingdom. Teicholz (2013) attribute the low level of BIM use in UK to the fact that the technology is quite complex and mainly used for large construction projects.
It is quite impossible for contractors who are involved in small projects to use BIM in such projects given that it can be relatively expensive (Brown & Stowers 2013). According to the study’s results on the type of organizations where most of the study participants work or have worked before ranging from civil services, contracts to consultancy, it was evident that all the three types of organization were represented in the study sample. However, majority of the study participants were contractors (60%), followed by consultants (30%) and lastly, civil servants who formed 10% of the sample composition. Since most of the projects that use BIM are the large and complex ones, Liapi (2008) noted that BIM is often used in projects that are undertaken by the government.
Thirdly, the survey sought the opinions of the respondents as far as the relevance of BIM in the transport and highways sector. According to the evaluation of the responses from the study, it was evident that majority of the respondents (65%) felt that the building information modeling technology was highly relevant in the transport and highways sector of UK, while 28% pointed out that BIM is moderately relevant and the rest (7%) did not think that BIM had any relevance in the UK’s transport and highways sector. On the other hand, the review of the literature showed that the use of BIM in building and construction projects is very relevant for any country. Several researchers and scholars have spent a considerable high time in evaluating the relevance of the building information modeling technology in the construction sectors.
Thirdly, it was evident that the implementation of the BIM technology in UK is affected by a number of factors such as low level of BIM knowledge, lack of the necessary expertise and skills, inadequate training and education, lack of efficiency in existing methods, job insecurity, and perspective that BIM technology is complex among many more. According to the survey results, the respondents pointed out that the concept of building information modeling is not common in UK. This has led to the low level of BIM awareness and hence, a lot of resistance among various people as far as its implementation is concerned. In addition, the respondents cited other factors such as high cost of adopting and implementing BIM tools, lack of the necessary resources, and complexity of the technology.
According to the review of the literature, it was evident that the slow adoption of BIM is attributable to numerous challenges experienced by the building and construction individuals and the government (Kendrick & Taggart 2006). As pointed out earlier, BIM is commonly used in big projects. Liapi (2008) added that most of the big projects in which BIM tools are used are run and financed by the government since a lot of capital is involved, which cannot be afforded by some of the private contractors. The implication of this assertion is that although BIM is very advantageous in construction projects, it is quite expensive; a factor that tends to slow is implementation in the UK.
On the other hand, empirical literature showed that there is a lot of resistance among the involved stakeholders to change from the traditional methods of construction in order to pave way for the adoption of BIM. Such habitual resistance is directly linked to issues of job insecurity, and legal issues like ownership and copyright as well as disagreement among top personnel in various organizations. However, Kendrick and Taggart (2006) noted that such challenges can be overcome through vigorous awareness campaigns on the concept of BIM technology. In addition, offering the necessary training and education to contractors and any other involved parties can have significant impact as far as eliminating various barriers of BIM adoption in UK is concerned.
On the other hand, it was discovered that the adoption of BIM is faced with various challenges at the organizations’ levels. According to the survey conducted, most of the study participants blamed low rate of BIM adoption in their organization on low level of BIM knowledge, expensiveness of BIM technology, complexity of BIM technology, inadequate supply of data formats and standards and the scale of projects undertaken by the organizations.
Such findings aligned with the literature review’s findings whereby it was evident that various organizations use different building technology depending on construction objectives, urgency, available resources and the scale of operations. For large projects, Cook (2011) pointed out that BIM becomes very useful, while its use is considered uneconomic in the case of small projects. Most small projects not have adequate resource which thereby, account for inadequate supply of the required data formats and standards for BIM.
Fourthly, the study examined the future of BIM in UK and found out that there is a high demand for advanced building and construction technology in UK that can reduce the negative impacts of construction and involved cost. For this reason, BIM being an example of such a technology has a lot of use in UK. The surveyed study participants revealed that many stakeholders are ready to adopt BIM technology. The lack of awareness on BIM and the cost of implementing such technology have proved to be a real threat as far as the future of BIM in UK is concerned.
Nevertheless, it is expected that the government’s efforts to have BIM adopted and used in UK’s building and construction projects have positive results. Such assertion is based on the fact that there is a high demand for a building and construction technology that can bring efficiency in construction, as well by reducing errors and involved costs.
According to the study reviewed, majority of the construction projects in UK are operated by the government, and so is the responsibility of the government to implement BIM in the country. Although the private sector has a significant impact in the constriction of various infrastructures, the government has the upper hand in championing for the implementation of such tools. This was depicted in the respondents’ feedback whereby, most of the study participants (49%) pointed out that the government was responsible for BIM implementation. On the other hand, 30%, 19% and 2% of the respondents reported that the contractors, design and consultant firms, and software developers were responsible for BIM implementation respectively.
Findings based on the case studies
Two cases studies were used in the examination to the concept of BIM adoption in UK. From, the case studies, it was evident that BIM has several applications within the transportation sector of the country. The case studies highlighted that there are several developments in United Kingdom that use the building information modeling in the highways sector. Pottle (2013) noted that the construction sector of the UK is faced with challenges of data storage as there is a lot of information that ought to be stored both for large and small projects. In most of the cases, information is lost and sometimes mixed up such that contractors use incorrect information on a given project.
Cook (2011) attributed such situations to the lack of a suitable asset management information system and the availability of multiple systems that are used for the storage of information. However, the case studies highlighted that the highways agency of UK has integrated asset management information system, which according to the Highways Agency (2008) is used in the storage of construction projects’ information for future retrieval whenever needed.
There is a need for all construction projects to have an advanced asset management system, which can effectively store all projects’ information for future use. As evident from the case studies, the highway agency of the UK has set up the necessary measures towards the development of an improved asset management system.
For this reason, and depending on the increased demand for technologically-compliant systems, the agency is required to develop an information system that is compatible with the building information modeling technology. The advantage of having a BIM-compliant system is to ensure ease of operations whenever BIM tools are used for any given project in the future. With such a system, Kendrick and Taggart (2006) pointed out that the agency will not have any challenges when transferring information from the BIM models to the new integrated asset management information systems.
Notably from the case study analysis, many projects suffer from increased costs of operations. As pointed out by Cook (2011), such costs escalate when contractors fail to detect crashes or provide a wrong design that results to the need to change the design at advanced stages or to completely start over the entire project. However, the use of building information modeling tools avoids such cases of increased costs and the associated inconveniences brought about by poor design and failure to detect clash in the projects.
According to the Highways Agency (2008), BIM is very effective in reviewing construction designs and detecting flaws in designs and structures. Secondly, many construction projects are faced with numerous challenges due to lack of appropriate building and construction technology that can reduce cost of operations, and provide safe storage of projects’ data for future use.
The analysis brought out the picture of a high demand for the adoption of BIM in UK. However, the lack of effective guidance has affected the adoption and implementation of BIM in UK. Eastman et al. (2011) pointed out that most of the projects carried out nowadays in UK are based on contracts. Although such a methodology does not have a negative effect on the adoption of BIM in the highways sector, there is a need for the UK’s government to ensure that competitive forces do not hinder the implementation of BIM. As such, the government ought to provide the necessary leadership and guidance towards successful adoption of the BIM tools.
Kendrick and Taggart (2006) noted that one of the challenges affecting the adoption process is lack of effective guidance due to competition between various stakeholders. For example, the highways agency of the UK has faced numerous challenges in the development of an extensive asset management system due to the fact that its system depends on the proposed BIM solutions which are yet to be implemented.
According to the case studies reviewed, BIM has been used in various successful projects in the UK; a factor that shows that there is a need to set up the necessary measures to have BIM implemented in almost all projects in the country. for example, the use of the building information modelling tools has been beneficial in the highways projects undertaken by the highways agency, as witnessed in the M25 widening project. In this case, the BIM tools were in the upgrading of the initial sections of the M25 widening project, whereby the carriageway needed to be extended and the installation of effective drainage system.
As such, the contractor adopted 3D BIM model in the development of a suitable design for the project (Liapi 2008). According to Rainer et al. (2013), the use of 3D BIM model was instrumental in the detection of clashes in the process of developing the design and reducing cost of operations. As evident in the case of M25 widening project, BIM tools ensured helped the achievement of the project’s objectives even before the projected time and budget.
In addition, BIM tools were used in the A556 improvement project, which required an upgrade involving the construction of a bypass at Mere for the purpose of preventing a lot of damage to the environment (Wong & Fan 2013). Using BIM tools in this project allowed the project team to detect any inconsistencies in the project and offer the necessary solutions.
Conclusion
The study has thoroughly examined the concept of BIM adoption in UK, the applications of such technology, as well as the associated challenges and benefits. For this reason, it suffices that the objectives of the study were met. The aim of this study was to establish the effects of Building Information Modelling on the performance of transportation infrastructure in the UK. From the analysis, it was evident that the adoption of BIM tools in eth transportation infrastructure would increase the efficiency of construction projects as evident in the cases of M25 widening and the A556 improvement project. In addition, adopting BIM in the construction of transport infrastructure would reduce the costs of operations and the duration of such projects thereby saving on time and resources.
As evident from the survey results, case studies and the literature review, the BIM tools and processes are very important elements in any construction project. This can be attributed to the fact that such tools have a high potential of increasing project’s efficiency and saving cost of operations. The government of the United Kingdom has been working towards a reduction in the amount of capital allocated on construction projects (Wong & Fan 2013). For this reason, the adoption of building information modeling appears to be a suitable approach towards achieving the reduced amount of capital allocation and increase of projects’ efficiency.
The literature review findings showed that there have been a lot of towards the implementation of BIM and incorporating such models in the supply chains of the highways agency of UK. For example, the various studies consulted showed that the projects undertaken by the highways agency of UK take into consideration the major part of the government expenditure on infrastructure. Based on such findings, it was evident there is a need for strategies that can constantly provide updates on the progress of the implementation of the BIM through improving the used design, detecting clashes and making huge savings in terms of both time and money.
The high demand for BIM compliance in most of the agency’s operations provides evidence on the need for BIM solutions in UK. In spite of this, the literature review, case studies reviewed as well as the survey results showed that the government of UK has a lot to do towards enhancing the efficiency of infrastructure projects in the country. Evidently, there is a need for an updated asset management system that effectively integrates the BIM model’s information with that in the IAM information systems of the HA. Presently, the government of UK has not approved the addition of information to personal projects within the models of BIM. In spite of this, empirical literature showed that in the future such provision will be available to enhance the integration of the HA to the strategies and models of BIM.
As evident in the findings, the process of adopting building information modelling tools in UK has been ongoing. Nevertheless, as evident from the survey results there is need for knowledge and awareness campaigns, education and training to ensure that the involved parties have the necessary information on the role of BIM in transportation infrastructures. Such an approach is likely to eliminate the challenge of lack BIM knowledge and awareness that has been affecting the implementation of BIM in UK.
As evident in the literature review findings, implementing BIM in UK will have enormous impact as far as the efficiency, cost of operation, and resources are concerned. The review of the M25 widening project and the A556 improvement project showed building information modelling technique is very efficient in areas where a large project is to be developed on a small area. Such benefits are achieved since BIM tools have the ability of highlighting the specifications of any projects, detect clash, and reduce cost and resources used in any given project.
Furthermore, the study findings showed the benefits of using BIM in availing all the details of any given project, which makes it possible for such details to be retrieved any time. Evidently, BIM adoption and implementation in UK will have a lot of impact as far as the efficiency of construction projects, cost of construction, duration of projects, and other resources are concerned.
Recommendations
Even though many researchers and scholars have provided evidence of the challenges that affect the implementation of building information modeling, it was also evident that such a technology can be very useful in the building and construction industry of the United Kingdom. For this reason, the government of UK ought to enact robust strategies to effectively ensure successful implementation and operation of BIM tools in the transportation sector of the UK.
Based on the findings from the review of the literature and the survey, this study recommends the introduction of knowledge and awareness campaigns to spread information about BIM and its significance in transport and construction projects. Such campaigns are meant to eliminate the challenge of low level of BIM knowledge and awareness among UK’s citizens. Such campaigns can occur alongside the establishment of BIM training institutions to equip contactors and other stakeholders with the necessary knowledge and skills on BIM.
Secondly, according to the study’s findings, it can be seen that there is a need to reinvent the flow of building and construction work, improve the training offered to staff and other stakeholders to feature the modern needs for building and construction such as sustainability in construction projects by instilling a positive change in the process of construction. As such, the study recommends the availability of a succinct outline that involves the appropriate strategies as well as robust methodology for the implementation of BIM.
Thirdly, based on the need for effective BIM technology in UK, the study recommends that individuals who are given the responsibility to ensure the implementation of the BIM projects ought to be careful with all the stages. For this reason, it is important for the concern parties to ensure that they identify any existing incompatibilities between the format used by the BIM model and the one that can be accepted by the asset information modelling system. As such, the team of project managers ought to ensure that the system is operational from the initial stages so that any problematic issues can be solved during that time.
Lastly, the study recommends government to take the initiative of implementing BIM by providing the necessary incentives to construction companies and contractors as a way to encourage such parties to adopt BIM technology in their construction projects.
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Green is the hot word today. All the efforts to minimize Green House Effect and thus keep the environment green for our generations to come; comes under the term Green today. So, how a lightning solution makes a building green or otherwise? It is related to the energy consumption of the lighting solution. Let us take the example of an incandescent bulb. It consumes electrical energy to give light and the electrical energy it consumes comes from thermal power plants which burn fossil fuels and produce greenhouse gases – CO2, NOx, etc.
The conversion of electrical energy to light is never 100%; instead, part of the electrical energy is converted to ultraviolet and infrared radiation as well and these radiations are not useful as far as a lightning solution is concerned. So that part of the electrical energy is literally wasted. Now better is the efficiency of electricity to light conversion, lesser is the electrical energy wasted and lesser is the amount of fossil fuel burnt and greenhouse gases produced to get the same amount of light.
This essentially leads to the fact that a lightning source with greater efficiency is the best lighting solution for a green building. In light of this background, the main question guiding these experiments was to determine the spectral efficiency of different light sources like an incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp (CFL), and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of different colors (Blue, Orange, and Red).
Safety Considerations
The experiment involved required handling electro-optical appliances like different light sources. Therefore, all the precautions related to the handling of electrical appliances were adhered to. As an electrical safety shoe was used, all the electrical points and appliances were handled carefully. To protect the eye from ultraviolet (UV) rays UV protection glasses were used. To ensure the safety of the equipment the spectrometer was used as per the laid down procedures.
Procedures and Tests
In line with the main objective of this experiment spectrum of the five different light sources namely incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp (CFL), and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of different colors (Blue, Orange, and Red) was recorded using Ocean Optics Spectrometer one after another. Distance between the light source and the spectrometer was kept the same for all the different light sources.
Data, Calculations, and Representations
The electromagnetic spectrum of different light sources was recorded. This spectrum is presented in figure 1, below:
It can be seen from this spectrum that the spectrum of the incandescent lamp is very wide, spread over the almost entire optical spectrum, and has a single peak. The fluorescent lamp has many peaks in its spectrum and the majority of the peaks lie in the optical spectrum. Different colored LEDs have peaks in respective wavelength regions like Blue LED near 450 nm, Orange LED near 600 nm and Red LED near 650 nm.
The Energy Spectrum of different light sources is presented in figure 1, below:
This spectrum is also very similar to the spectrum in figure 1 with the difference that the left tail of the curve is raised upwards and the right tail is shifted downwards this is because the energy of each photon is inversely related to its wavelength.
The area under this curve in the optical region (400 nm to 700 nm) when divided by the total area gives the useful efficiency of this light source. These values are presented below in table 1, below.
Table 1: Energy output of different light sources.
Light Source
Total Energy Output (J)
Optical Energy Output (J)
Spectral Efficiency
Incandescent Lamp
5.62*10-14
3.24*10-14
57.65%
Fluorescent Lamp
7.18*10-14
5.10*10-14
71.03%
Blue LED
7.95*10-14
5.86*10-14
73.71%
Orange LED
6.41*10-14
4.46*10-14
69.58
Red LED
1.05*10-13
8.46*10-14
80.57%
From this table, it can be seen that the spectral efficiency of red LED is greatest (~80%) and that of the Incandescent lamp (~ 58%) is the least. This means only 58% of the total output of an Incandescent lamp is useful while this ratio is as high as 80% for Red LED output.
Discussions
From these experiments, it can be claimed that LEDs are the best solution for a Green. The experimental findings support this claim, as efficiency is greatest for LEDs. However, only spectral efficiency is not everything. Others factors are also important. One important factor is the wavelength itself. Though, the human eye can sense the entire optical spectrum (400 nm to 700 nm); its sensitivity is greatest in the mid-range i.e. ~ 550 nm. Therefore, orange LED will be a better solution than Blue and Red LED despite having lesser spectral efficiency. Going by the same argument even the fluorescent lamp is a better solution.
Reflections
From these experiments I could learn the spectrum of different light sources and importance of this spectrum in selecting a suitable light source for a particular application.
What I could not understand is the relationship between the input electrical energy and output electromagnetic energy. I think I need to multiply the power rating of the light source with the time of measurement to calculate the electrical energy input.
As a result of this lab my ideas about selecting a light source has changed. Earlier only price of the light source was important for me, now I have come to appreciate that spectrum of light source is much more important.
I am not able to connect the total electrical energy input to the electromagnetic energy output. So I would like to improve upon this point. Also, I would like to incorporate the sensitivity of eye for different wavelengths to modify the formula of efficiency as that will be more relevant.
This report is a review of an Australian architectural contemporary work. This work reviews an Audi car dealership building that is situated at Philip Canberry in Australia. The main focus of this report is the engineering work performed on the building and how the various parts of the building were joined together to produce an outstanding and well co-ordinated structure. Apart from the structural outlook of the building, this paper also addresses its historical and cultural aspects. Other issues discussed include:
Site selection for the building.
Role of the building and the challenges encountered during the entire process of coming up with the wonderful structure.
Relationship between design, materials used and structural systems.
The two main details that perfected the works of engineering.
Finally, this paper also reviews the words of the main architect, Mr. Eric Martin. He commented about the issue. Mr, Eric Martin is responsible for designing the building. This paper also reviews many other articles that helped in the analysis of the engineering process that was undertaken in order to come up with the building.
Figure 1: Audi dealer ship located in Phillip, Canberra, Australia1.
Construction of the Audi car dealership building
The building was built based on a new concept that the corporate company had adopted. This concept is referred to as ‘Terminal’. This concept was developed as a new strategy for building a successful marketing strategy for the company’s vehicles. Basically, it entailed satisfying the customers’ needs for sporty and luxurious cars1.
The issue was to not only express perfection in their vehicles but also to have a surrounding or rather an environment where the vehicles were displayed. This had to possess the same characteristics. In order to reflect luxury, high performance and serenity in appearance and architect, it had to design a structure that incorporated the element of ‘Terminal’.
The architect that was chosen for this demanding art was Eric Martin. He was to be the Chief architect. Mr. Martin was faced with the task of designing a showroom that reflected all that the company was about, which is excellence in performance.
The company also wanted to use the building to send a message to the whole world that they are a company that provides fast, classy and sporty cars. The company also intended to make its reputation uniform in every country. The building’s outlook was to be a marketing strategy intended to enhance the appearance of the cars as they were in the show rooms.
The design of the new showroom was restricted to the standards and requirements of the corporate company to achieve its goals. The company required a unique building. It needed a building that would stand out from the surrounding environment. The building would have to constitute large windows that would enhance appearance of the cars.
The showroom would also have to reflect a sophisticated and ‘high-tech’ image. The walls were to be curved to represent the track for racing cars, which is a concept that is related to the Audi cars. The building was to be made of concrete and steel as demanded by the company’s heads.
Steel
The main structure and the roof were to be exclusively made of steel. Steel was chosen since it was regarded as relatively cost effective and unique in terms of final structural outlook (Baddoo, 2008). Before steel is availed for commercial purposes, it has to undergo a number of processes and treatments.
There are actually various ways of treating steel and one of these ways is heat treatment. Heat treatment of steel entails the most common processes of annealing, quenching and tempering. In annealing, steel is heated to quite a high temperature (Paola, 1986). This is done in an effort to soften it. An example of this process is tempering. Temperatures required for this process depends on various characteristics.
These include type of alloy and the specific type of the process. Tempering and quenching involve heating the steel to a certain phase known as the austenite phase. Quenching is done in either water or oil. When it is cooled immediately, it forms a brittle material. It is called martensite.
In this process, the martensite obtained from the quenching phase is converted into a cementite or spheroidite. This is done to minimize internal stresses and faults. This eventually results in a fracture-resistant and ductile piece of metal (Stevenson and Neal, 1996).
Steel metal is known to be extremely strong and of high tensile properties. Thus, it is able to resist bending. As much as metal cannot easily bend, it is quite flexible and can be shaped into different forms. It is the strongest of the materials commonly used (Stevenson and Neale, 1996).
The common ones include wood and concrete. It is twenty times stronger than timber and ten times tougher than concrete in terms of the strength to weight ratio. This property makes steel appropriate for making strong frameworks such as roof structures2. Steel was the most desirable material for this project because it can easily be shaped into different forms and with a lot of precision.
Fig. 2: Illustrating a quality steel framework.
These properties of steel helped to produce a building of great elegance. It reflected a ‘high-tech’ sense of modernity. The surface appeared smooth and the edges were sharp and articulately straight. All these features integrate the demands and expectations of the building3. The windows were constructed in such a way that they had no frames at the bottom. This is a feature that gave the whole structure a crispy finishing detail.
The metal components of the structure were constructed, detailed and assembled off-site. In this way, the structures could be made more precise in dimension and fit. The offsite constructed metal components could then be easily moved and fitted into the construction. Dimensioning and adjusting these materials on-site is quite a difficult task if not impossible.
Another advantage of choosing steel for building is because it makes the work of the engineers easier since they can easily try out the materials and see how to join them and determine whether they are statically determinate. This means that the most challenging stage in the process of building the structure would be detailing the structure to join it wholly using different methods including hot rolling and cold forming processes.
Steel is a tough material that is difficult to shape into different forms. Transporting it to the site and using it for construction is rather a hectic process that demands patience since it takes quite some time4. Constructing the framework out of steel and then ceiling the structure using plaster boards make it more cost effective. One disadvantage of using steel in building is its durability issue. In order to keep it in good condition, a protection scheme needs to be applied over it in a regular basis.
Another issue is its performance under the effect of fire or strong heat conditions. It loses its ability to carry heavy loads quite easily and at very high temperatures. This weakness of steel can be solved by applying a thick coat of fire resistant and insulating material or some other sophisticated methods such as installing water-cooling systems.
However, there were some challenges experienced during the construction of the showroom building. The first challenge was constructing a rectangular-shaped building on a triangle-shaped site. The architect Mr. Eric managed to divide the spaces in the best way to suit the purpose of the building in terms of the car park, storage and even circulation around the building (Figure 2). Another challenge was the landscape of the building since it slopes down in a length of one metre. It can generally be stated that only a few more difficulties that are serious were encountered during the construction work other than satisfying the standard requirements for energy2.
Figure 3: A plan showing the triangular shape of the site. It also shows Eric Martin’s proposal for the layout of the spaces in the structure3.
The building is divided into two sections. The first section is the Showroom structure and the second section is the service structure. The showroom structure is the largest portion of the building. It is larger than the service area.
In order to successfully come up with a solid structure that is very stable, each component that forms part of the system has to be designed to play a role in achieving equilibrium in the whole structure (figure 3). The engineering requirements for the design involved combining the structural elements in a way that created a structure that can withstand two load types. These include the static load and the Dynamic load.
The static load is the force acting on the structure from its weight. On the other hand, Dynamic load is the ability of the structure to sustain the external loads applied. These include wind, thermal force and even gravitational force. The forces applied on the roof beams and those acting on the supporting beams are considered external forces on the wall. However, the force exerted on the wall and created from its own weight and properties is termed an internal force4.
Figure 3: The structural image of the steel building.
There are some processes that steel goes through in order to form the components that are used in construction. These processes include casting, which involves shaping the molten metal by pouring it into a suitable-shaped mould, forging using solid metal and applying force on it to take a particular shape. It also involves machining whereby a material is cut away through various means from a basic block of metal to form a particular shape.
Forging is a procedure used to produce most structural frameworks of large metals. This is because it produces large pieces that are accurately shaped and are straight. It follows two processes, which include hot rolling and cold forming.
However, casting is used during the preliminary stage in the formation of small jointing components. Finally, machining is the method that is used to shape the metal structures as it is used both in the final stages of the production of small metal components such as details. It is also used in the final stages of making the large size steel elements5.
I-beams
I-beams, also known as ‘Universal beams’, are the components that were constructed using the hot rolling method. The I-beams were placed along the perimeter of the structure with freestanding ones within the building placed to support the roof structure and the whole building. I-beams consist of two horizontal flanges that are separated by a vertical web. They are known as I-beams because they resemble the letter ‘I’ in terms of their shape (figure 3)6.
The columns were formed through welding (figure 5) the intersection point between the horizontal flanges with the vertical web together. Welding is the process of joining two pieces of metal by heating both objects to attain a certain temperature until the two heated ends eventually start to join7.
The front façade has less density of I-beams due to the use of glass from the ground upwards. A structure was constructed to be placed just above the glass frames. This is called a truss (figure 6). A truss is composed of a combination of steel members that are usually in some form of triangular arrangement to make up a rigid frame-work8.
Trusses were welded throughout the perimeter of the façade just above the glass to provide a solid support to sustain the tension that comes from the roof. It also aids the glass to sustain the force. A Truss consists of two beams that are connected through Web Members. Web members are the elements that join the top and bottom chords9. It is very efficient in resisting load and it is also light in weight. This is why it is preferably used in roof structures.
The roofing
The roof was constructed to be a one-way spanning system that was used throughout the whole roof structure. The spanning system includes two types of beams that support each other. These are the primary and secondary beams. Secondary beams are closely spaced and placed close to each other in a parallel manner. The primary beams work as supporting material, which in turn are supported by columns (figure 7).
This justifies why the primary beams for the façade of the building were trusses. The structure also constitutes of a second floor. Nevertheless, the roofing system was constructed in a layout that is often constructed for a single-storey frame structure. The primary elements were arranged with a wide spacing. The secondary beams ran across at right angles on which the roof cladding was mounted10.
Figure 4: The shape of an I-beam section.Figure 5: Welding.Figure 7: Picture of a truss that was used on top of the glass in the main facade11.Figure 8: Secondary and primary beams12
Showroom construction
The steel components that were used to construct the showroom were either joined using butt or by fillet welding. Fillet welding (figure 8) is the method used to join triangular cross-section of two surfaces by welding them at right angles to each other just as in a lap joint. The Butt-jointing (figure 9) is a square plain joint that is located between two members. In Butt jointing, the contact surfaces are cut at right angles to the faces of the pieces. The two pieces are fitted squarely against each other rather than being lapped13.
Figure 9: Image showing two pieces of metal after being fillet-welded together.Figure 10: Image showing two Metals after being butt-joint together.
The second storey was constructed in a way that it covered part of the ground floor. It was constructed using steel rods that channelled horizontally. In the corners of the showroom, there are two sets of steel beams that were placed on an angle in two corners. There are also single ones that sit in between the two sets.
They were constructed to connect from the ground floor to the second floor in order to act as a support for the second floor (figure 9). The curvy set of steel frames has an aesthetic value. They play a role of decorating the showroom to satisfy the needs of the corporate company as well as to provide support for the steel rods holding the second floor.
Figure 11: Showing the beams that were placed at an angle within the main showroom.
From the showrooms, there are windows that expose the service part of the building. The second section of the building is lower in height compared to the main showroom. The structure was built using steel in the same method as the first section.
The terminal wall
The I-beam steel columns were placed on top of the reinforced concrete that the site was built on (See figure 11 below). The beam helps in supporting the structure by connecting the ground to the roof beams. Traydek metal roof sheeting was then used at the tip of the column.
Right beneath the joinery, suspended plasterboard panels were placed to fill up the ceiling. This was in addition to insulation. Parapet detailing was constructed and placed in a 90-degree angle to the plasterboards. A Stiffener beam was placed horizontally to support the vertical columns. A stiffener is a secondary member in a structure that is made out of iron. It is attached to a plate or sheet to increase the material’s stiffness and to prevent buckling14 (Harris, 1976).
Figure 12: The detailing of the terminal wall, which is located on the southern section of the building.
Main entrance door
Figure 13: The detailing of the main entrance door.
This figure shows a detailed image of a section of the main entrance door. A steel column and beam were used to construct the main entrance door and a wall stiffener was used to provide support.
For the detailing, Aluminium crate was used for the following reasons:
The roofing.
The sheet cladding of the entrance.
Framing the double glazed window section.
Covering the ceiling of the door.
Although the structure encompasses many beneficial qualities such as the crisp detailing of the windows, the linear formation of the facades and very spacious working areas, the design did not completely exploit the site space.
Conclusion
This report addresses the historical and cultural references of the building as well as the site context and purpose of the building. It also addresses the challenges that were faced throughout the construction process. This report also highlights the relationship between the design, the selection, use of materials and the structural systems used.
Finally, it analyses the two details that contribute to the quality of the work with reference to notes from the interview with architect Eric Martin. With all these details in mind, one gets the true perception of the building and understands what it actually stands for. The steel components that were used to construct the building integrated gracefully to give an outstanding structure.
The building is a great success judging by the prior requirements and intentions of Audi corporate Company. Long ago, steel was produced using some crude and inefficient means. However, this was before renaissance. Its was used more often after introduction of various effective methods of use.
This was in the 17th century (Aubrey, 2004). At the present day, steel is one of the most commonly used material in building and construction works. The Audi car dealership building is a great manifestation of how steel can be used to produce great structures when applied in building and construction.
References
Aubrey, D 2004, ‘Steel as an alloy: Great building and Construction Materials’, Journal of architectural works, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 16-18.
Baddoo, NR 2008, ‘Stainless steel in construction: A review of research, applications and challenges’, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, vol. 64, no. 11.
Harris, CM 1976, The dictionary of architecture and construction fourth edition, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Paola, V 1986, The structuring of labor markets: A comparative analysis of the steel and construction industries in Italy, Clarendon Press, New York.
Stevenson, E & Neale, MA 1996, Industrial and domestic Application of steel, Prentice Hall, French Forest.
Footnotes
.
Interview conducted with Eric Martin on 4/4/12.
Eric Martin Architectural drawings.
Notes from 1st year.
See Angus j Macdonald, 1997. Pg 63,64
Australian institute of steel construction, how to use steel in homes, 1978, national library of Australia. Pg 2.
The dictionary of architecture and construction fourth edition. Cyril M. Harris. 1976 McGraw Hill companies. Pg 1065.
This work seeks to provide a working report on the enunciation of a start-up car showroom with servicing and repair facilities in the country. There are many aspects, financial and non financial, to be considered and also to ensure that all activities are bound by the WBS in terms of cost and time frames.
Description of the project
The project deals with the report on the setting up of a car showroom; which is not a complex task, but the task that requires essential planning and extensive research before the setting of the showroom and after the idea generation about the showroom. The project report consists of the use of Microsoft project 2007, due to the extensive benefits provided by them in the car industry. The automobile industry is one of the most attractive and profit reaping industries in the current scenario, where there are much possibilities for growth.
The project description in the setting up of the car showroom includes the scope in the setting of the showroom, the extensive reason for selecting such an industry, the benefits of the project by the setting up of the industry and the key benefits of the project by using the Microsoft tools. It also deals with the numerous deliverables in the showroom and how they have a positive effect in the business, the risks associated with the project and the various methods of analysis like event analysis, the diagrams that need to be incorporated for the allocation of the resources and the risk analysis which needs to be conducted.
Introduction to the project: The car showrooms
Any car is an expensive product that deals with the comfort of a family. Automobile industry is an increasing segment where they need a large range of the customers with diverse preferences. The car purchase has much effect on the sales environment and has many positive driven results in the society; the car showroom can be a well flourished one in the market when they have a wide range of customer services and customer relationships.
Scope of the project
As the start-up company, the scope has to relate much to the location, investment, infrastructure, brands and the quality in the customer services.” Car showrooms need to be located on highly visible sites with good access to main transport routes and an eye-catching frontage. Display of the car range is paramount and the layout and orientation of sites and display areas will have a major impact on sales” (Langdon).
Various other attractions that make the car industry a success are, the cars have a very prominent role in the economic cost, efficiency and effectiveness in the dealing. The study will provide solutions to the management by considering customer response, and the level of fulfillment towards the service provided by the management or organization. The main scope of the project is the extensive coverage of the various areas of the project like identifying various areas and the key deliverables that can make the business flourish and identifying the different kinds of the functional areas that need to be focused on. Various kinds of setting is needed in the car showroom where there are a lot to do with the new setting up of the industry. The main scope of the project relates with the placing of the market sales, the market policies and reaching up the desirable targets in making the firm a success.
Reasons for taking up the project
The main reason for taking up the project is the attraction towards car industry, the profitability that can be earned from the business, the everlasting growth in the industry and the success in the automobile arena. The UK industry has its attention in the streamlined car showroom, which is its dissonance in the new market. The extent of the internet also boost up sales of cars,” One recurring theme, constantly reverberating throughout the trade at present, is the growth of the internet. We know that 80% of car buyers use a search engine to investigate a potential purchase. We also know that customers are 10 times more likely to look at a car advertised” (The Future for Car Dealer Marketing?).
Anticipated benefits or justification of the project
Anticipated benefits or justification of the project by way of using Microsoft Project 2007 for the project related to car show room helps to understand the various anticipated benefits of the project undertaken for Car showroom. Microsoft Office Project 2007 provides a healthy project organization apparatus with the correct mix of usability, authority, and elasticity to build the Car showroom. So that, it will assist to supervise projects more professionally and efficiently. It is necessary to keep a well planned and studied project reports, agendas, and funds for the setting up of a new car showroom.
The main benefits of the project
Efficiently handling and recognizing project agendas: It will help to set a practical route with project panel, organization, and consumers by means of Office Project 2007 in the Car showroom to construct timetables, assign resources, and organize funds.
Get creative rapidly : The Project channel and an interactive scheduling assistant assists the project organization procedure in order to develop the new car showroom. Customizable methodologies help properly allocate the various activities in the project.
Control existing information: Office Project 2007 incorporates other Microsoft Office schemes and agendas effectively. This will help to efficiently manage all the areas to develop new facilities.
Construct specialized charts and drawings: Examine and account project information in specialized reports and diagrams by way of making use of the visual information engine, which produces templates for Visio figures and charts in Excel on the information related to the project.
Successfully converse information: It will help to simply present all the information in a variety of designs according to the requirements of stakeholders. Make use of the photocopy image to Office Wizard to easily sell abroad Project information into Microsoft Office 2007 for official papers, Office Excel 2007 for tradition diagrams or worksheets.
Grow superior power of resources and funds: With Office Project 2007 in car showroom, it helps to effortlessly allocate resources to responsibilities and alter their assignments to identify solution for the troubles occurring in the over all allocation of projects.
Rapid access of data required: It helps in easy and rapid access of all the information and also it will help to save the time needed as well as in combining information so that it will help to rapidly place and examine exact information.
Obtaining Office Project 2007 offers prosperity of help to learner and knowledgeable users. It comprises a healthy assistance of search engine, elegant tags, and wizards.
Start and finish points of the project
Identifying start and finish points of the projects reflect the means of identifying the start and end points to carry out to complete the construction of the new car showroom. Construction of the new car showroom by way of using Microsoft Office Project 2007 helps in easy identification of the start and finish point of the work.
For every organization, there will be a set of team responsible for particular project activities within the organization. Some of the organizations use Gantt chart for the easy identification of all the activities carried out to construct the new car showroom. Gantt chart also demonstrates the beginning and finishing time of each activities of the project. It is one of the commonly accepted methods for arranging various activities of the project. Every firm is using Gantt charts for arranging the aim at a particular period. The Gantt charts are calculated to demonstrate the criteria that are aimed at achieving in a definite phase. Gantt chart helps us to understand the time taken to complete each phase. Gantt chart for the paper is shown below. The project team stands for a set of inhabitants working together towards achieving a set of predetermined aims and goal. The industry’s risk manager for the project of today faces many novel and thrilling challenges. Traditionally, the work is centered on guaranteeing financial integrity of the institution and maintaining a secure environment. Today, the focus has broadened to include preventing patient injury and improving the quality of service. The administrator and physician must now respond and increase the emphasis on a system that can monitor, promote and guarantee the quality of service. Microsoft Office Project uses a influential setting up of engine to assist and align new car showroom industries projects and assignments with available resources.
Any constraints or risks likely to affect the execution of the project
The project of building a car showroom was a turnkey one. For the completion of the project there were many constraints. The project needed to have aesthetic value and a very stylized modern car showroom. The execution the project management consisted of co-coordinating the project from the time of planning to the final stage of successful completion of the project.
The constraints were of many types like:
Financial constraints:
During the execution of the project, we faced many constraints; the most important was the financial constraint or the funding. Even though all the banks were ready to finance for the project, due to the sudden world wide recession the bank loans were not easily available. And even though we got the approval from three financiers, it still took time to finally use the finance in the project because of other legal problems. Similarly the rise in the price of materials also affected adversely the budget that was prepared for building the car showroom.
Availability of materials:
The materials needed for building the car showroom like concrete, steel frames, iron bars, cement, bricks etc soon became insufficient. At the beginning of the project itself a proper material requirement plan was drawn in order to ensure the availability of materials through the present supply chain. But the sudden problems in the supply chain created a lot of constraints in the project due to the unavailability of materials at the right time and at the right place.
Less availability of internal resources (specifically technical staff):
The irregular availability of the internal resources like technical staff and plant and machinery created a lot of constraints in the execution of the project. The technical staff was irregular at their jobs and did not attend to work properly. This resulted in delay of the work at individual stages and in the execution of the project. Another internal resource constraint was the sudden breakdown of the plant and machinery.
Climatic and site constraints:
Climatic and Site constraints like making available the materials during the rainy and winter season created a lot of constraints in the execution of the project. The site location was a little interior and so the transportation of materials to the site became a problem.
Local constraints:
A local constraint was mainly the competitive factor. There were other car dealers’ showroom and they tried to create troubles in the execution of the project like trying to canvas our special manpower like the technical staff and the local laborers which resulted in shortage of manpower for our project. Then the locals created a problem in the execution of the project by blocking the water supply in the site.
Activity list (briefly discuss each project activity)
Project management requires careful planning and organizing efforts in order to achieve the specific objective of constructing the car showroom. The first activity that our project team did was to appoint a planning committee. The second task that we did was to prepare a project plan in which we calculated the budget of the project, the resources needed for the implementation of the project, the risks associated with the project etc. The next task was the evaluation of the project at the site and the planning committee prepared the materials’ requirement plan. The next step was to divide the project into stages and for each stage of the project a specific project team was formed. Bank loans were arranged and the funding process was made smooth. The next stage was detailed with staffing which included the finalization and procurement of laborers and technical staff. Our team appointed a project manager and also managers at each stage. Finally building materials were procured and the building project started. The team members reported to the project managers about the completion of the work at stages and provided an accurate and timely report. The other activities included the combating of the constraints when they rise and trying to find alternative solutions so that the project is executed within the stipulated time and cost. The project manager dealt with several issues and managed the whole team.
Work Break structure (WBS)
The Work Break structure (WBS) could be seen as below:
1. Total Project Summary: 720 hours with Budget of $400,000
1.1. Design phase: 320 hours – outlay of $160,000
1.2. Programme phase: 140 hours-outlay of $ 40,000
Program Task 1: 80 hours – $30,000
Program Task 2: 60 hours- $10,000
End Programme milestone:
1.3. Testing Phase – 120 hours- outlay of $60,000
Program Task 1: 40 hours – $20,000
Program Task 2: 40 hours – $20,000
Program Task 3:40 hours- $20,000
End Programme milestone:
1.4. First Design of car showroom Phase: 70 hours: outlay of $100,000
Start Milestone
Design task one:
1.5. Second and Final Design Phase: 70 hours: outlay of $40,000
Design Task 2
Design Task 3
Design Task 4
End Design Milestone
In addition to being the recipient of high class cutting-edge design and a heap of comfortable furniture, a car showroom must be arranged to please the tastes and fancies of even the most difficult customer. While in the past it was possible to design and run a car showroom with old fashioned desks and tables, now the entire concept of a car showroom has changed. It has to have a spruced up look, clean, hygienic and well maintained, and there needs to be a large number of cars on display, preferably on a ramp. Nowadays, customer servicing plays a critical role and it becomes necessary to consider such aspects as play areas for kids, Wi-Fi, lounge areas and so on. The place needs to be conducive for business and also for visual effects of seeing and inspecting cars on display. Personnel manning such high range car showrooms should be in a position to offer state-of-the-art customer services through incomparable levels of thorough knowledge of the cars that are being sold and serviced.
The members of staff should comprise of automotive professionals who are well versed in all aspects of automobile engineering and technical intricacies of various car brands, innovative design, advanced technology and superior brand performance.
A WBS is the functional decomposition of a system which seeks to break the project into chunks of work at a level of detail that meets planning and scheduling needs.
Some of the main advantages and benefits that would accrue through deployment of a good WBS are as follows:
Accountability and responsibility could be easily identified since the work allocations is matched with the corresponding employee
The position of work, stage of completion and budget use vis-à-vis allocation is quickly and easily discernable, in the event of any changes prompt action could be taken
All the mutually supporting parts of the project are linked and very transparent. Each cog in the wheel knows what it needs to run.
All start and end events are clearly defined- leaves no room for ambiguity or double purposes- responsibility, accountability and performance can be easily gauged
Work assignments are all independent in nature and thus, one phase could commence without really waiting for the next to end, all tasks are well coordinated and structured to meet overall corporate goals and objectives.
Conclusions
In simple terms, work break structure breaks down the task or even the project to its least and minimum, basic levels. Since all constituents of a task are well known in advance, it begins easy to allocate and enforce them at the implementation stage. For instance, in the case of the Car Showroom, one of the most vexing angles that could come up are in terms of which vehicle dealerships and authorized agencies to take up, Hyundai, BMW, Nissan, Ford or Skoda. What are the relative financial and non-financial benefits and threats under each dealership- should we go in for used cars also. Do the companies bear cost of upkeep and showroom maintenance etc – How to advertise and gain customers- etc these are all aspects that could be gained and controlled.
In real terms, the WBS is like a roadmap for travelers traversing unknown territories- it helps to pin down individual accountability and responsibility and make the project very efficient, time bound and effective.
Works Cited
Langdon, Davis. Cost Modal: Car Showrooms. Building Magazine. 2007.
The Future for Car Dealer Marketing? Motor Trade Insider. 2009.
Fire is one of the catastrophes that pose one of the greatest risks not only to peoples’ lives but also to property and business premises1. The fire risk index is also to a great extent compounded by the fact that the fire-causing risk factors are many, diverse, and complicated making the degree of fire risks vulnerability very high2. Such causing factors of fire especially in buildings include terrorist attacks, bombs explosion, earthquakes and other natural catastrophes, electricity faults, as well as natural fire accidents in the dwelling units and all of which makes buildings and premises particularly vulnerable3. As a matter of fact, fire in buildings can be accidental or deliberately caused by enemies or terrorists. Irrespective of whether the fire in the building is accidental or deliberate, its immediate repercussions and the aftermath are equal in intensity ranging from deaths out of burns and chocking by smoke, non-fatal injuries as a result of the same and extensive to the total destruction of property either by the fire itself or by the rescue operations at times4.
All over the world, cases of fatal fire incidents in buildings, resulting from one of the multi-diverse causes have been reported. For instance, the fire that resulted from the terrorist attack on the world trading center in New York; the United States of America on September 11, 2001, is reported to have had many fatal and non – fatal casualties and extensive devastation of property. This paper, therefore, analyzes the issue of fires in a building while using detailed examples of large – and medium-scale fire and explosion disasters across Europe with a bias to the United Kingdom. In addition, the paper discusses safety engineering issues in relation to fire disasters in the built environment regarding the case studies that form the basis of analysis and give recommendations for improvement and prevention of such disasters for the future.
Fire accident statistics in the United Kingdom
According to a report presented by United Kingdom fire services, 2004 as presented to the office of the prime minister5, it was reported that in 2004 alone, the local authority fire and rescue services had virtually reacted to and attended to approximately 0.9 million fires and false alarm incident across the United Kingdom (basically England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland). Irrespective of the fact that this was 18% fewer such cases relative to the previous year (2003) the number of fire incidences were termed as high and a clear indication that the fire incidence ware still widespread irrespective of the countering measures that the local authority fire and rescue service departments had instituted. However, most (in fact three quarters) of the fires cases that the fire and rescue services authority had attended to were outdoor fires with the rest of the cases constituting fire in buildings and dwelling places6. According to the report, the number of deaths as a result of fire incidence across the United Kingdom was reported to be five hundred and eight in 2004 representing a slight reduction in the number of such cases in the previous year which were reported to be 593. The report also revealed that most of the fire incidents reported fatalities occurred in buildings and in people living places with the highest number being the aged and elderly (eight years of age and over), particularly in Wales and Scotland. At the same time, the non-fatal casualties of fire-related incidences in the United Kingdom in 2004 were equally high hitting the highs of 14600 in 2004 alone including 398 cases of firefighter casualties as well.
Fire disaster cases in the United Kingdom
England
King’s Cross fire – 1987
This is a flash fire that engulfed an old wooden escalator at the King’s Cross underground station on the eighteenth of November 1987 at 7.45 PM7. The incident culminated in thirty-one people losing their lives in that catastrophe together with a firefighter a Mr. Colin Townsley while on duty for the Soho Fire Station in central London. In the incident, the two other firefighters who were working with Mr. Colin Townsley and who had initially been trapped on the station’s platform specifically at the verge of the fire escalation miraculously survived. According to sources8, the fire was initially caused by a used and carelessly disposed of match stick by a reckless smoker irrespective of smoking in the London underground having been revoked following the oxford’s circus station fire a few years earlier. Sources, therefore, suspected that the match stick ignited oil and rubbish in a machine room underneath the escalator that used to serve the Picadilly Line.
The cause of the fire was exposed by London Fire Brigade investigators to have resulted from the most likely careless disposal of a lighted match by a lackadaisical smoker (smoker’s material), by a passenger on exit from the system.9.
Following the funnel’s investigations into the king crossfire incident, new fire precautions particularly in the stations were introduced as part of a measure to preventing such fires in the future. As a result, Fire Precautions (Sub-surface Railway Stations) Regulations 1989 were introduced the latter of which are habitually referred to as the Section 12 Regulations since they were initially enacted under section 12 of the 1971 Fire Precautions Act. Consequently, all wooden escalators on the Underground were replaced and the stations were prompted to install automatic sprinklers and heat detectors in escalators. In addition, the new safety precautions prompted that all the station staff be trained twice a year on fire safety and precautionary measure as well as to greatly improve their emergency services cooperation
Scotland
The Bradford City Stadium fire Tragedy
The Bradford City disaster is a horrific fire tragedy that occurred on Saturday, May 11, 1985, when a flash fire arose at the Valley Parade stadium in Bradford, in Scotland UK. According to sources, the fire incident ensued during the proceedings of a football match between Bradford City and Lincoln City in a third division cup final in brand ford. Sources reported that Branford city fans had degenerated into celebrations upon their win when one of them carelessly disposed of a lit match stick in a plastic cap and led to the inferno after it fell on the papers that had piled from below the stands for many years. Consequently, a huge fire arose from the stands and quickly escalated to the rest of the stadium making it impossible to contain it. Ideally, the nature of the material that had been used in the construction of the stadium led to a quick spread of the fire and hindered the efforts to control the inferno since wood and asbestos were the main material used in its construction. As a result, the stand was completely gutted down into flames resulting in 56 fatalities and well over 100 non-fatal casualties.
The result of the Popplewell Inquiry, the latter of which sought to find out the root of the inferno and make a recommendation on how such disaster could be prevented or mitigated in the future culminated in the establishment of new laws that aimed at enhancing safety in the sporting facilities across the United Kingdom and whose progress in achieving of these objects are rather impressive.
Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland parliament fire: 1995
In January 1995 a fire, caused by an electrical fault, struck the Northern Ireland parliament burning it to ashes. In fact, this inferno goes down in the books of history as one of the most devastating building fire disasters to hit Northern Ireland since it completely razed the Northern Ireland chambers; the latter of which forms the most significant chambers in Northern Ireland political environment. Although no fatalities were reported as a result of the disaster, the complete destruction of chambers by the fire out of the electric fault opened the eyes of the northern Irish fire disasters management institutions as well as fire safety engineers in coming up with effective measures to prevent such disastrous events in the future. As a result, authorities and Northern Ireland related departments seized the tragedy as an opportunity to not only rebuilding the parliament chambers to their original magnificence but as an opportunity to upgrade it to an even better facility with fire safety precautions rooted in the deployment of safety engineering measures in the construction of the new chamber.
Wales
Peckham construction site fire (November 28, 2009)
The North West wale is one of the most recent places to be hit by a built environment fire disaster that put the lives of more than three hundred people in very great danger. The inferno that is reported to have ensured from a construction site in Peckham southeast of London in the wee hours of the morning on the 2nd of November 2009 and quickly spreads to the nearby residential flats threatening the lives of over three hundred residents and calling for the reflex actions of the fire emergency services to evacuate people from the infernal10. The early morning hour completely destroyed a fleet of mansionettes and a pub. Fortunately, there was no reported fatal casualty in excess of 10 people together with two policemen who were taken to hospital having suffered minor burns injuries, and chocks out of inhaling smoke. According to the local MP Harriet Herman, she described the evacuations of more than 300 residents as a miracle that no death was reported in the early morning inferno. The 310 people that were evacuated from the fire were temporarily accommodated as the firefighters jammed the fire site to help fight the fire and preventing its possible escalation and more devastation. After witnessing the inferno, the North West Wales emergency services provider spokesman said that the incident served as an eye-opener for the departments not only in Wales but in the whole of the United Kingdom to enhance their disaster preparedness, especially in relation to fire incidents. In addition, he indicated that safety engineering measures especially in construction were critical in order to either prevent or mitigate fire in building as the mode of construct, use of highly inflammable materials, and lack of fittings to promptly react to fire emergency to a greater extent increased the building’s vulnerability to devastating fire incidents.
Building safe from fires
Irrespective of the fact that it is near to impossible that the fire in building risks can be fully alleviated, a measure can be put in place to reduce the vulnerability or to effectively react and handle fire disasters, as well as reduce the fire devastating effect. This therefore can be achieved via what11 refers to as creating a safer building in relation to fire risks management. As such, detailed fire risk assessment followed by initial mitigation of fire risk vulnerability via safety materials engineering coupled with beefed-up preparedness to handle fire incidents eventuality forms the fundamentals of building fire risks management of vulnerabilities.
Fire safety engineering
Fire safety engineering measures that buildings engineers and constructors put in place in an attempt to reduce the building fires risks and which ranges to use of anti-fire risk materials in the construction of building to the inclusion of the fire safety features in the architectural designs and fittings of the building12. These included the use of non-combustible materials in construction such as glass, use of antimissile building materials, well-fitted fire alarms, emergency call lines in building to effectively and within the shortest time possible, fitting buildings with firefighting equipment, fire safety nets, the building of spacious and well-ventilated rooms, flexible and wide exit doors and alternative exit stairs to lifts among other measures.
Following the realization that fire risk indices are high and those fire incidents in building most of which were caused by occupants’ carelessness and reckless disposal of fire by smokers, authorities in many countries particularly the United Kingdom have reacted by enacting respective registrations to counter the fire risk factors. As such, registrations have been introduced that: –
Bans smoking in areas that are termed as highly vulnerable to a fire risk and: –
Entrench all aspects of fire safety engineering in relation to building construction materials and other fire safety measures i.e. fire fighting skills by the staff members and users requiring buildings to meet specified standards of fire risk safety and disaster preparedness. For example, the existing fire safety laws in the united kingdom directs that all those responsible for the prevention of fire in buildings and taking actions in events of fire incidents – including the owners, employers, and buildings occupiers-to continuously undertake fire risk evaluation and institute appropriate preventive measures to reduce fire in buildings risk. In addition, the statutes direct that such persons must have an appropriate fire management plan as a central constituent of the required fire safety management. In the UK fire safety in buildings, both residential and business premises are regulated by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (‘the Order’)13.
In Scotland and wale, fire safety duties and responsibilities on the part of all responsible persons are contained in Part 3 of the Fire Scotland and Wale Act 2005, as amended, and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006.
Fire safety engineering recommendations
The paper recommends the following fire safety engineering measures to mitigate the fire risk in building in relation to fire safety.
The constructors and builders should use certified anti-fire and antimissile materials in buildings constructions that go beyond compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (‘the Order’). And other such fire safety regulations are not only in the UK but all over the world to prevent both escalations of fire and movement of smoke the latter of which is equally hazardous to casualties.
The governments and authorities should embark on training both the public users and staff in all the buildings about fire safety so as to equip them with adequate skills to effectively and efficiently react to fire incidents.
All buildings should be spacious and be restrained from overcrowding and fitted with both wide exist doors and alternative emergency stairs so as to prevent cases of fire outbreaks and allow ease in escape in cases of fires eventualities.
Strategic fire fighting departments especially in all the local authorities should be established and fitted with world-class equipment for effective reaction to fire incidents.
Conclusion
The various fire risk factors are responsible for high vulnerability to fire hazards both on the part of human life and property. The major concern on fire in buildings however is the danger that fire incidences pose to human life mainly the fatalities and non-fatal casualties. Example of historical fires in buildings across the United Kingdom includes the king crossfire of 1987 in England, the north highland parliament fire of 1995, Peckham construction site fire of 2009 in Wales and the Bradford City Stadium fire Tragedy of 1991 in Scotland. Ideally, Fire safety engineering forms and regulations governing fire safety measures in a building are the most ideal measures to guard buildings against fire risks and reacting effectively in cases where fire accidents arise and where such are inevitable.
Footnotes
Cecile Grant & Patrick J. (1986) Fire safety science: proceedings of the first international symposium: Hemisphere Publishing Cooperation.
Peter E. Hodgkinson & Michael Stewa (1991) Coping with catastrophe: a handbook of disaster management: Routledge.
Marcelo. M. Hirschler (1992) Fire hazard and fire risk assessment: American society for testing and materials special technical publication.
Peter E. Hodgkinson & Michael Stewa (1991) Coping With Catastrophe: A Handbook of Disaster Management: Routledge.
Office of the prime minister (2004) Fire statistics in the unite kingdom 2004. Web.
Office of the prime minister (2004) Fire statistics in the unite kingdom 2004. Web.
Ronald Hewlett (2002) Uk Disasters And Emergency Service Communications: Uk Home Office.
Gabby Logan (2003) Day That Will Live With Me Forever, Times Online. Web.
Ronald Hewlett (2002) Uk Disasters And Emergency Service Communications: Uk Home Office.
Weekly news (2009) Hundreds evacuated after flats fire. Web.
Peter E. Hodgkinson & Michael Stewa (1991) Coping With Catastrophe: A Handbook of Disaster Management: Routledge.
John A. Purkiss (2007) 2nd ed: Fire safety engineering: Design of structures, Elsevier ltd.
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2006) Fire and explosions: Workplace fire safety; London. Web.
In building design, there are very many aspects that have to be considered when coming up with an appropriate structure that follows all the basic rules of design (Allen & Iano, 2008). A perfect example of one aspect that many architects, engineers, and designers think about when designing buildings is saving power.
There are several devices that can be used for the purpose of saving power and energy. However, for the purpose of this paper, I introduce a natural way with which power and energy can indeed be saved. This paper discusses the use and design of the green building as the best aspect with which energy and power can be efficiently sustained.
The green building is technically referred to as green construction in building design. Other people call it a sustainable building. It essentially revolves around construction and utilization of procedures which are environmentally conscious and use of resources effectively in all the stages of construction.
This starts from the selection of a proper site, the architectural design, building, tasks, care, repairs, and even flattening down of a structure. These procedures require the collaboration of the team of designers and architects as well as the owner of the building at all the phases of the project. This practice of green building enhances and supplements the classical processes of building design relative to factors such as the economy, use, resilience, and coziness.
In as much as emerging technologies are continually being created to supplement the existing trends in developing greener buildings, the mutual goals is that such structures are designed to decrease the general effect of the built atmosphere on the occupant’s health and the natural surrounding through:
Effectively utilizing available energy and other resources such as water
Safeguarding the health of the people and enhancing worker’s performance
Decreasing the amount of waste, effects of pollution, and the general degradation of the environment
The model of ecological development finds its way back to the fossil oil and pollution of the environment crises in the 1970s. The green building caucus in the United States of America arose from the massive call for more energy efficient and building practices that were also environmentally conscious.
There are several reasons for having green structures. These include environmental, economic as well as social considerations. Nevertheless, contemporary sustainability practices require cohesive and synergistic structural designs. This is in relation to new buildings as well as repair of old structures. This model combines the building phases with every green exercise used with a design goal to develop a synergy in all the processes used (Yan & Stellios, 2006).
Choosing to build green combines an array of procedures, styles, and skills to eradicate and eventually finish the effects of building structures on the environment as well as the well-being of the people. It normally puts an emphasis on making good use of the opportunities offered by renewable sources such as utilizing energy from the sun through techniques like passive solar.
Other ways are using the active solar as well as photovoltaic methods to save power. Compared to modern power saving devices, it is important to observe that natural energy can indeed be saved through power saving devices such as solar panels for later use. This is a green way to save power.
The design of green buildings normally incorporates efforts to minimize the use of energy. This includes the embodied energy needed to remove, progress, carry, and fix building tools as well as the operating energy needed to offer services like heating and powering of the building equipment.
Since most high performance structures make use of little operating energy, embodied energy has become more significant and important for use. This energy could sum up to 30% of the total energy used in a single life cycle. In fact, several studies have proven that buildings constructed basically with wood materials possess lesser embodied energy compared to those constructed basically with brick or materials that are concrete in nature. This also includes steel.
To minimize the use of operating energy, building designers make use of specific details which decrease the release of air through an element known as the building envelope. The envelope refers to a hurdle found between the conditioned and the unconditioned area.
They also advice that high-performance windows be used in addition to more insulating materials in wall areas, ceiling boards, as well as floors of the buildings. The passive solar building design is an approach which is often executed in homes with low energy levels. Building designers position the windows and building walls and place sunshades, verandahs, and tree coverings to cover windows and the roofs when it is summer season.
The aim is to maximize the capturing of solar energy in the winter season which is saved in summer. Moreover, efficient positioning of the window helps give more natural lighting into a building and reduce the need to have electric lighting in the daytime. Costs associated with energy use can also be minimized through heating water by solar (Kats, 2003).
References
Allen, E & Iano, J 2008, Fundamentals of building construction: materials and methods. John Wiley & Sons Inc, New Jersey.
Kats, G 2003, The cost and financial benefits of green buildings, McGraw Hills, New York.
Yan, J & Stellios, P 2006, Design for sustainability, China Architecture and Building Press, Beijing.
The mall investment Limited is an investment company specializing in retailing and the establishment of shopping malls. The company has been in business for a long time and its mission is to lead in the provision of shopping facilities in the whole of United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Al Qir shopping center project is a project for the current year in the Mall investments and is aimed at diversifying their business in fulfillment of the company’s growth strategy enshrined in the company’s visions. This project will set up a modern medium-size shopping center at the Ras Al Khaimah emirate of UAE thereby increasing the portfolio of products for the Mall Investment limited.
Business Objectives
Al Qir’s shopping center project is not only in fulfillment of the growth strategy of the Mall Investment Limited but also responding to the business needs in Al Qir city. The following are the project objectives;
To tap on the growing commercial opportunities in the city of Al Qir. This will increase Mall investment’s assets base and profitability.
To increase the company’s profitability. The projected increase in profit is 20%; consequently, this will reduce the risk profile of the company.
To stir commercial activity by bringing all business entities under one roof hence increasing money in circulation.
To diversify the company’s risks to different emirates (areas) so that in case of any downtime in one emirate, the company’s profitability will not be compromised.
Project description
Scope of the project
Al Qir Shopping center project will include the establishment of a big shopping center that will host different business units. The project will therefore facilitate the development of independent business units under one roof. The project will take in establishments of a banking hall, supermarkets, restaurants, supply chain retail stores, boutique, movie theaters, and other service shops. The shopping center will have all the telecommunication facilities, money transfer services, computer technology vendors, and commercial insurance agencies. The availability of all these business entities and service providers in one shopping center will ease trading and hence making it a business hub of Al Qir. The project will end after the construction process has been completed and a new management team will take over (Lock, 455).
Justification of the project
Al Qir Shopping Centre project is a project not just satisfying the business needs of the Mall Investment limited but a whole range of stakeholders and the economy of Ras Al Khaimah. The end-users of different commodities will have an easy task of assessing all their needs in one location. This is because all the vendors are housed under one roof thus making them enjoy a great customer experience while purchasing all their products.
Profitability and the asset base for the Mall investment limited will be on the increase hence achieving their ultimate business motive of increasing stockholders’ wealth. Establishing business at the Al Qir will be made convenient since all service providers will be available under one roof. This will in turn result in the growth of business surrounding the Shopping center consequently improving the economy of the investment group. The shopping center will therefore stir up economic growth in nearly all sectors since businesses are always interdependent. The high circulation of cash will be high in the region (Heerkens, 61).
Regional diversification will ensure that Mall investments reduce their risks of doing business while expanding their profitability. In cases of low business activity, political instability, and increased business competition in one region, the Mall’s overall business performance will be maintained by other regions. This will ensure that the shareholders in mall investment will at least have a constant source of income.
The community of Al Qir will also be part of the beneficiaries of the project. The building and final set up of business units will be a great source of employment opportunities for the residents. The community will also have a ready market for their commodities. All these community benefits will always be on the increase leading to the sustainable economic growth of the region.
Roles and Project stakeholders
Project stakeholder
Roles and members
Project owner
This is the final authority as regards project implementation. They constitute the board members of mall investment Limited.
Building committee
They are the tactical members of the board of Mall Investments.
Project manager
This is an employee of the mall investments allocated to run the project. He/she is the project administrator.
Project teams
They constitute the building committee, engineers, and the project manager.
Project deliverables
This project spans for some time (about a year) and at different levels of establishment, several project outputs will be the needs either for forwards progression authorization or just for the effective management of the project. The Al Qir Shopping Centre project deliverables are as follows:
Needs assessment report
This report is an output after the various stakeholder’s needs have been collected and analyzed. This will form a basis for the design of the Shopping center hence a very critical deliverable.
Architectural plan
This is the blueprint of the building process. This shows the design specifications of the shopping mall, indicating all the business units to be established and other amenities included in the building.
Licenses and permits
Licensing agencies will be government, city council, and other state regulatory agencies. Licenses and permits are very critical deliverables consequently their requests should be made on a timely basis.
Bill of quantities report
This report will provide tentative engineers costing of the whole building project materials and labor. This will form the basis for budgeting and project implementation planning.
Project budget and implementation plan
This report is done by the building committee of the Board of directors of Mall investment limited who are responsible for the project implementation.
Various assessment reports
At every stage of construction and project progression, various monitoring and evaluation reports are done.
Project completion report
This report is a final report to be presented back to the board of directors of Mall investment limited.
Complete shopping center
This is the ultimate tangible deliverable that the project must produce. It must meet the specifications as presented in the architectural report and also the aspirations of the various stakeholders.
Risk assessment
The project can only be curtailed by risks, consequently, the project manager has to put in place various risk mitigation measures. The project risks have been analyzed in the table below;
Risk
Chances of happening
Insufficiency of funds
high
Licenses not being issued
Average
Poor quality construction
high
Project duration exceeded
high
Mitigation measures
Risks have been classified according to their chances of occurrence; high, average, and low. The project is vulnerable to risks with average and high chances of occurrence hence necessary control plans have to be put in place. The following mitigation strategies have been instituted by the building committee and the project manager;
Regarding the risk of experiencing insufficiency of funds, the project management has a miscellaneous budget to cater for unplanned expenses. The management has also contracted with various suppliers of inputs and services hence reducing their susceptibility to price fluctuations.
The project management team has been having frequent interaction with the stakeholders especially government and other state regulatory agencies hence reducing their chances of being denied licenses and permits
The susceptibility to delivering poor quality construction has been mitigated by enhancing consistent monitoring of project progress mandated to construction experts.
The project management is very keen on ensuring that the project is completed within the relevant period.
Project Estimates
Project Activity
The Al Qir shopping center project starts with the activities of assessing various stakeholders’ needs to the completion of the shopping center. The project management team has proposed the following activities as essential for the ultimate completion and achievement of the project goals;
Stakeholder needs assessment
The Al Qir shopping center building project is a business-oriented project hence the needs of various stakeholders have to be fulfilled. The project needs assessment involves researching various stakeholders’ interests regarding the project and finally compiling their analyzed report. The stakeholders to be interviewed for the research will include potential customers, clients, government representatives, the city council, and the neighboring community. This report will form the basis for the licensing and architectural design of the shopping center
Preliminary legal compliance
This will include requisition and payment for the license fees to be compliant with various state regulations. Before any construction is undertaken, relevant permits and licenses must be applied and paid for. Other licensing requirements will include; registration of the business licenses and city council building permits. The receipt of these permits and licenses will give value to the building of the shopping center.
Procurement of architectural and engineering services
With the needs assessment report at hand, the project architectural plan should be designed. The building committee and the project manager should advertise for the services of the architect and the civil engineers after they have designed for their terms of reference. From the received applications, candidates meeting the necessary qualifications will be contacted by the project management. The architect will come up with a design blueprint of the shopping center which will be vetted by the building committee. If satisfied, the building committee will forward the design specification to the civil engineer who will make the bill of quantities report. This activity will be very instrumental in the progression of the Al Qir project.
Project costing and planning
The bill of quantities report will form the basis for the Al Qir shopping center’s project budgeting as it provides the value of the materials and labor for the construction. The building committee will identify the source of funds for the project. For this project, the funding will be by done by Mall investment limited. The building committee in conjunction with the project manager will make a budget proposal to the Board of directors of the Mall investment for the executive authority. The authorization of the budget and fund allocation of the construction works will be one of the major milestones achieved.
Contracting of building engineers
The construction of the shopping center will begin with the preparation of the terms of reference for the building engineers. The building committee will then advertise for their services on the press and receive the applications for further vetting. The selection of the building engineers will be done by the building committee after which the nominated engineer will sign a contract stipulating the terms of engagement. The building committee will then submit to the engineer the architectural plans, bill of quantities, and the project implementation plan. These documents will facilitate a common understanding of the project by the engineer and the project team.
Purchase of materials
The building engineer will be responsible for the building of the shopping center and hence will be submitting requests of the required materials to the project manager. The project manager will facilitate the procurement process for the same after confirming that the requests tally with the costing in the bill of quantities. The materials will be delivered to the site with the supervision of the project manager and the building engineer. The payment process will be initiated by the project manager after the engineer has confirmed receipt of all necessary materials. The authorization for the same will be done by the building committee.
Hiring of machines
The building engineer will submit a request for the necessary machinery for the construction process and the project manager will facilitate their hiring from competitive vendors. The machines will be delivered to the project site and after the building engineer is satisfied with their working conditions, payment processing will be initiated by the project manager.
Groundbreaking
The groundbreaking ceremony is an advertisement and value addition of the Al Qir shopping center function designed to create awareness of the project to the community and other stakeholders. The function date will be planned jointly with the building engineer, project manager, building committee, and the Mall investment board members. The planning process will include invitations of stakeholders and other arrangement logistical issues. On the actual function date, groundbreaking on the building site will be done and the stakeholders will be enlightened on the opportunities available with the project for their taking.
Foundation excavation and construction
The construction process will begin with the digging and laying of the foundation of the shopping center. At the end of this sectional activity, the civil engineer’s assessment will be initiated by the project manager. The civil engineer’s report will be used to assess the quality of work done hence will be submitted to the building committee. If the construction is on the right track, then the report will be in the custody of the project manager.
Wall construction and roofing
Wall construction is a substantial part of the shopping center building project hence requiring many resources and close inspection. The second sub-activity will be the setup and installation of windows and doors. This activity will be concurrent with electrical and telephone network installations. Finally, roofing activity takes place. After all these activities, a civil engineers assessment will be done and the report submitted to the building committee for discussion and action.
Furnishing and partitioning
For effective furnishing to be done, a review of the business needs will be completed and potential client’s concepts used. The partitioning and furnishing process will be aimed at creating the necessary ambiance and installation of the indispensable equipment after the completion of the activity necessary assessment report will be done and submitted to the building committee for action.
Project assessment
The whole project assessment report will be done to inform owners of the project on the projects’ final product. The assessment will be done by a team of experts who have been involved in the construction process. The team will comprise of the architect, civil engineer, and the building expert. The report will indicate the success and challenges of the project. The project manager will also include the variance analysis report in this assessment report. This report will be handed over to the Mall investment board for their analysis and subsequent action.
Project winding up
The project wound up will include the handover of the completion certificates by the engineers to the project management team and the final discharge of the contract where all contractual obligations have been meeting. The project manager will return all the hired machinery and initiate final payments to all service providers.
Resource requirements
The table below indicates the resources that will be necessary for the implementation of the project.
Resource
Estimated Cost $ (000)
Project manager
20,000
20 Administrative staff
80,000
Building committee
20,000
materials
500,000
Machinery hire
200,000
Architects & Engineers
300,000
Miscellaneous
80,000
Total
1,200,000
Event analysis & diagram charts
Gantt chart for the Al Qir project.Work break down structure (initial part).Work break down structure (final part).
(The full view of the work break down structure is in the MS projects attached)
Resource allocation & risk analysis
Cost allocation of resources.Resource allocation graph.
Project controls
There is always a tendency of diversion from plans and instructions. This brings in the concept of controls so that the project implementation is as planned. Unless there are deliberate controls put in place, the project implementation team can always detour resulting in the compromise on the project output. The Al Qir is a capital intensive project and the management has put in place the following controls to achieve the project goals;
Project manager
The project manager has been employed to be in charge of the project and constantly update the building committee on the project progress. The project manager is an employee of Mall investment and has a wide experience in the management of similar projects with an impeccable record.
Consistent assessment reporting
The project management has contracted a team of civil engineers for consistent and objective project progress assessment. They prepare their reports as professionals hence provide the project quality assessment rating necessary for quality management.
Quarterly project reporting
The project manager prepares a quarterly report on the general project progress and financials. This report will indicate the projected costs to completion of the project and the actual funds remaining hence proving early signs of insufficiency of funds where that is the case.
Risk management
The project manager in his quarterly report indicates the various risks that have been experienced and the potential risks the projects might face. This will give the building committee an assessment of the risk rating of the project.
Building committee meetings and expertise
The project is managed closely by the building committee constituting the board of directors of Mall investment. The committee members are three, two of them are professional engineers with a wide experience in the construction industry while the other one is a financial expert. The building committee team is very enlightened, with their monthly meetings; they can put the project in check.
Authorizations
These are levels of controls for the Al Qir shopping center project. Without proper authorization, project activities can be nonbinding and illegal consequently necessary confirmation of the legality of activity or report is compulsory. The following authorizations will be in place;
The statement will be approved by:
The Project Manager
Building committee
The Project Sponsor/ owner
Project Changes will be approved by:
The Building committee.
Project deliverables will be approved by:
The Project Owner/sponsor.
The Steering committee.
The project manager.
Works Cited
Heerkens, Gary. Project Management: 24 Steps to Help You Master Any Project. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2007. PP. 56-94.
Abu Dhabi Queens school project is a project of the Abu Dhabi group of schools which is a private company with a wide range of investments mainly in the education sector. The company deals with international educations systems. There has been the growth of students enrolling in Queen Group of schools from Abu Dhabi and this has led to the company taking these services closer to their clients. Abu Dhabi school project consists of a world-class education facility building.
It will be equipped with modern training equipment and technology offering practical training and wholesome growth to the institution’s students. The facility will also contain a wide range of sporting facilities, student quarters, classes, and administration block. The expected student population in the facility will be 1300 and also a staff population of 200.
Business needs
Abu Dhabi project objectives are as follows;
To increase the company’s portfolio of schools globally and thereby serve its clientele effectively. This is in line with the company’s vision of offering world-class and global education.
To meet the growing demands of education services in the United Arab Emirates. This was identified by the growing number of students from Abu Dhabi enrolling in various schools of the Queen’s group.
To provide world-class education and education facilities for the wholesome development of the students in Abu Dhabi.
Project description
Scope of the project
The Abu Dhabi Queens School project will start with the acquisition of land and building of state of the art education facility in Abu Dhabi. The facility will have classrooms, theaters, boarding facilities, staff quarters, sporting facilities and an arena, scientific laboratories, administration block, and security facilities. This education facility will be beneficial to the parents of Abu Dhabi who usually take their children to study outside the country since this service will be locally available. The facility will also attract regional students from the neighboring countries thereby influencing the development of other sectors of the economy in Abu Dhabi not forgetting the employment opportunities associated with the project.
Justification of the project
Availability of world-class education facility for the people of Abu Dhabi thereby reducing expenses spent by students going to international schools.
Higher education standards for the people of Abu Dhabi will imply better services to the community by the graduates and also general education sector growth in the country.
The multiplier effect due to the employment creation and enrollment of international students will be a substantial contribution to the country’s economy.
Roles and Project stakeholders
These are critical players in the project implementation that are crucial to project success.
Project sponsor/ owner
This consists of the executive team who authorized the whole project. They constitute board members of the Queens Group of Schools.
Project steering committee
These are selected board members of the Queens Group of Schools. They are actively involved in the routine progress of the project. They handle all issues that are beyond the project managers’ mandate.
Project manager
This is an employee of the project. He/she handles all the administrative duties of the project. He is a link between the project and the steering committee and sponsors. He ensures that all the project resources are available and well utilized.
Project teams
They include all the engineers involved in the project, project administration, and steering committee. They all ensure that the project implementation is in progress and that quality standards are met.
Stakeholders
These are the providers of the project requirements and recipient of the project deliverables. For our project, they include the Queen’s group of school board members, the ministry of education, the Abu Dhabi city council, and parents.
Project deliverables
This includes all the tangible and soft components of the project which must be achieved. For our case, the ultimate deliverable is the Queens School facility. In the course of the project, other deliverables are imperative for the progress of the project. Queens’s school project deliverables areas listed below;
Equipped school building and facilities.
Architectural plans.
Ministry of education permits.
Local authority licensing.
Assessment reports by Civil and structural engineers.
Risk assessment
Risk management is one area that requires much emphasis in the course of the project. Risks can result in project total failure, late implementation, poor quality service delivery, and suspension of project activities. It is therefore imperative that project risks are managed through a pre-planned mitigation plan. Queens’s school project is a very critical project with great sensitivity to risks since it impacts adversely on the project timing.
For the effective mitigation of risks, the project has classified risks into three categories; highly likely, most likely, and Unlikely. Highly likely risks are those whose probability of occurrence is more than 50% hence the project steering committee has to put in place mitigation measures. For the most likely risks, their chances of occurrence are less than 50% but their effects might be substantial hence requiring a proper mitigation plan. For the unlikely risks, no mitigation measures are put in place. Queens School project is vulnerable to several risks and the table below indicates these risks and their vulnerabilities. It also indicates the management of these risks (Verzuh, 125).
Risk
Probability of occurrence
Mitigation measures
Lack of funds
Most likely
The management has already availed funds for the project.
Construction not meeting the standards
Most likely
Project assessment is done on regular basis with much focus on quality management.
Faulty architectural plans
Most likely
The management has ensured that a team of civil and structural engineers will assess the plan.
Project duration exceeded
Most likely
Management has dedicated a project manager to tightly manage the project.
Project Estimates
Project Activities
Queens School project deals with the construction of modern schooling facilities in Abu Dhabi. The project has been initiated by the Queens Group of schools as a portfolio diversification measure. The major project activities are listed below, but the sub-activities are succinctly discussed.
Site selection and acquisition
This activity involves the selection of construction sites within Abu Dhabi for construction. The process is to a great extent demanding since the site should have all the necessary amenities and environmentally robust for the construction of a school. It should be in a quiet and highly secure neighborhood. The selection process will involve the identification of various qualifying sites and ranking them in order of preference. The highly ranked site’s owner will be sent a letter of offer and if he/she agrees, then the purchase deal will be sealed. Land purchase process legal regulations will be followed with the assistance of a contracted attorney.
Permit and other legal obligations
The construction of an educational institution usually requires a permit from the ministry of education. This permit will be requested from the ministry of education and is expected to be available within a day where all necessary documentations are done.
The Abu Dhabi City council usually has to give licenses for any construction and further give permits for any educational institution to be constructed under their jurisdiction. This means that the two licenses should be requested and paid for before any construction plans are designed.
Selection and oversight of architects and other consultants
Once the licenses are ready, the steering committee should advertise for the services of an architect and other consultants like structural and civil engineers. The steering committee will further vet their proposals and select those with the necessary credentials for the two positions. They hired architect will design the architectural plan of the school and it will be assessed by the steering committees with the help of the civil and structural engineer. Upon satisfaction of the steering committee, the plan will be adopted else they can request for changes to be done on it by the Architect.
The recruited structural engineer will also be engaged to come up with a bill of quantities report that will form the basis of budgeting and costing for the whole construction. The report will be discussed and approved by the steering committee as a working document for the budgeting process.
Budgeting and cost allocation for the building
The steering committee will ultimately source funds for the construction of the Queens School facility. The steering committee will identify the sources of funds and forward their funding proposal. Since most of the funding will be internal, the proposal will be tabled in the board meeting of the Queens groups of schools. The board will authorize and allocate funds for the project. The steering committee can also write to the ministry of education to find out whether they have any grants available for such projects. Where all funding agencies have confirmed their allocations and the steering committee feels that they are satisfactory to run and project with its miscellaneous expenses. Thereafter they can hire a project manager to carry on with the tactical implementation of the project (Kerzner, 234).
Building material acquisition
The project management will organize for the acquisition and delivery to site all the required materials as per the bill of quantities report. The project manager will order the purchase of cement, gravel, construction metals, timber, sand, roofing materials, and building blocks. The steering committee will also oversee the recruitment of the building engineers by the project manager. Further, the committee will ensure that the necessary machinery is hired for use in the project.
Stakeholders meeting
Stakeholders will constitute the Queen’s group of school management, potential clients, the ministry of education official, a community of Abu Dhabi region, project management team, engineers, City council of Abu Dhabi, and the government representatives of the UAE. This is a pioneering meeting where the Queens Group of schools and project management will update the stakeholders of their project progress.
This is a way of marketing the school before its formal inception and is thus strategic for future business. Queen’s group of schools and the project management will inform the community of their services and the challenges that they have been facing so far. They will also indicate to the community the assistance that they would require from them like a corporation, water provisions, and labor.
Foundation excavation
The core of the real project inception will begin with foundation excavation. This involves the digging of the foundation tunnels which is a labor-intensive activity. The laid foundation will have to be assessed by the civil and structural engineer and an assurance report issued. The project manager must also ensure safe custody of the report.
Wall construction
When the quality assurance report on the foundations is received, the wall construction process begins. This process is crucial and is under continuous quality assurance monitoring. The civil engineers will give their quality assurance report of the entire wall construction which will then be assessed and filed by the project manager. The progressive construction and payment authorization will only be possible when the quality standards have been adhered to.
Roofing
The roofing engineer will also be involved and will take on the task when the construction process gets there. The roofing design and materials will be done as per the recommendations of the civil and structural engineers. After the whole roofing activity is complete, the necessary quality assurance assessment will be done and reported to the project steering committee. If the committee is satisfied, payment authorizations will be done by the steering committee upon the request of the project manager else necessary adjustments will be done where applicable.
Windows and doors fixing
This activity involves the process of welding windows and doors within the premises of Queens’ school. This will be followed by the fixation of windows and doors to the construction and later all glasses required will be fixed. For payment authorization to be done, completion and quality of work will be assessed and reported to the steering committee through the project manager.
Furnishing
This is a process that involves furnishing and installations of electrical and communication facilities. The furnishing process will include the wall painting, furniture set up, shelves building, curtains fixing, and finally cleaning. The electrical installations will include wiring, placement bulbs, and tubes and testing of switches. All these activities will undergo an independent assessment by the stakeholder’s representative and the project manager.
Building assessment reporting
An independent building expert will have to be recruited by the steering committee to give an assurance on the quality of the construction done, safety standards of the construction, value for money report, and that the construction meets the requirements of a schooling facility. The expert will submit its findings through a report that will be discussed both by the project steering committee and board of Queens Group of schools. When satisfied, the board and the steering committee will discharge their contractual obligations by paying the relevant engineers for their work.
Opening and Publicity
This will involve the setting up of the school opening date for public inspection and marketing by the steering committee, hiring of the school administrators and teachers, school advertisement through the press, and setting of the school website. This activity will be done when the students’ enrollment begins thereby achieving the ultimate goal of construction.
Resource requirements
This project is a very resource-intensive project. The following resources will be necessary for the implementation of the project.
Project manager
Four administrative staff
Building materials
Construction experts
License fees
The following table will document the above resources ant there estimated cost
Resource
Estimated cost $ (000)
Project manager
10,000
Administrative staff
9,000
Building materials
100,000
Building machinery- hire
20,000
Construction experts
20,000
Steering committee
4,000
Miscellaneous
10,000
Total
173,000
Event analysis & diagram charts
Gantt chart for the development process.Work breakdown structure (first part).Work breakdown structure (Second part).Project Costs.Pie Chart Resource Allocation.
Project controls
These are measures put in place to ensure that the project is implemented to the expected standards and within the required timing. Queens School project has the following project control measures;
Quarterly steering committee meetings.
Monthly status report by the project manager through the steering committee.
This report deals with the project progress, challenges, risks management, and milestones achieved so far.
Risk management plan.
This is included in the project charter and the project manager is fully in charge of the activity. The monthly reports usually have includes a section of any risk management activities in the month.
Communication management.
The project teams have a specific management protocol that enhances effective communication. All the implementation issues from the contracted service providers have to be communicated to the project manager. The project manager submits all reports and issues to the project steering committee. The steering committee in turn communicates with the Queen’s group of Schools board members who are the project owners and sponsors.
Authorizations
This sets out the authority levels in the project implementation hierarchy. The authorization protocol will ensure that any changes to the project, project plan, and project deliverables are properly approved and authorized to avoid conflicts and illegal transactions.
The project plan Statement will be approved by:
The Project Manager.
The Project Steering committee.
The Project Sponsor/ owner.
Project Changes will be approved by:
The Project Owner.
Project deliverables will be approved by:
The Project Owner/sponsor.
The Steering committee.
The Key Stakeholders.
Works Cited
Kerzner, Harold. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. Texas: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. PP. 234-249.
Verzuh, Eric. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2008.PP. 123-134.
A means of egress is the ability of people to leave a building safely when an emergency occurs. The exit path has to b well maintained in order to ensure that they are not obstacles to individuals during operations. An emergency may include fire and collapsing of a building. A means of egress comprises of three main parts. The parts are the path of travel to an exit, the exit itself, and the exit discharge that is also referred to as the path to a safe assembly point (LeClaire 2005).
The path of travel to an exit. It is also referred to as the exit access or the egress path. This is the path used by occupants of the structure to move from their workstations to a safe exit. It includes the space used by residents as a passage to reach the exit point. This may include the offices and corridors. The egress path must have fully illuminated exit signs. These signs should be clearly marked to aid the residents in case of an emergency (Stern, & Newlove, 2004).
The exit. This is the exit door, which is found at the farthest end of the path. It is a stipulated requirement that the exit should lead to the public assembly space. The exit door can have interior doors, which expressly head to the lobby or the doorway.
The exit discharge. The exit discharge is very important within a building. The space that comes immediately after the exit discharge must be kept clear of any objects that may hinder free accessibility during an emergency.
The design of egress
The design of egress varies from one region to the other, depending on the specific use of the structure, room, or space. There are basic requirements laid down by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that guide these designs. These standard rules have to be applied when designing the egress.
The NFPA has specified particular standards that must be applied when designing all the doors the egress. Some of these rules are discussed. At all times, no locking hardware for example chains and other locking devices should be used on these doors. These devices can be used to lock the door from inside and this can result in fatalities during an emergency. It should be possible to open all the doors in a single motion. This ensures that there is a quick passage of occupants in emergency moments (Sturtevant, 2005).
The National Fire Protection Association has also specified measurements recommended for the doors. These recommendations are as follows. All doors along with the egress and its corridors must have a minimum width of 71.1 cm. In addition to this, the corridors must be 2.3 m. This is meant to ensure that the doors and corridors can accommodate all sizes of people. This further increases the safety of people.
The total number of occupants to be accommodated within one room is dictated by its size. This could also depend on the usage of the door. On the other hand, rooms without furniture will take seven square feet, largely because they are usually empty. This means they can accommodate more people. It is recommended that egress should be limited to the smallest number of people using the standardized methods of calculation (Brannigan, & Corbett, 2008)
The evolution of fire code history
The National Fire Protection Association was officially formed in 1996. However, the association traces its origin in the 20th century. Several people laid the foundation for this association. Their efforts contributed greatly and their ideas were significant in the formation of the association, its policies, and missions. The rise in technology, which came along with great technological advances, inspired the need for standardized operational requirements.
It began in the late nineteenth century by John Freeman, who developed the idea of water sprinklers. Water was to be used to put out the fire. Freeman improved James Francis’s piped water idea of 1842. Later on, Henry Parmelee of Connecticut was given a patent for the sprinklers. This equipment used pressure to sprinkle water. The sprinkles were made of low fusing material.
C. J Woodbury tested the first automatic sprinkler in 1884. This great innovation served as a build-up to the use of sudden immersion in a steam engine. The Grinnell systems and Freeman’s ideas were instrumental in setting up the NFPA.
The advent of electricity also contributed to the establishment of NFPA. The ideas of Thomas Edison were of great significance as far as the establishment of the organization is concerned. This lamp provided light without depending on the cosmos.
He specified insulation and fusible elements in circuits to enhance protection against overcurrents. He also helped in the establishment of the General Electric Company. This is a leading manufacturing company in modern society.
Five companies formed the National Electrical Code (NEC) in 1897 in the United States and Europe. The organization came up with electrical codes of conduct. These developments had a great effect on the formation of the NFPA. The NFPA borrowed a lot from electric codes, and most of the current ideas date back to 1896, implying that the works of John Freeman are still relied upon. The NFPA was started to help reduce casualties related to fire within commercial and residential buildings. It has had a positive effect on society.
Elements of the Fire code
The fire code is also referred to as the Fire safety rule. Others view it as the Fire Protection code. These sets of rules prescribe the basic rules for fire and other hazard prevention. Fire prevention officers in the respective fire departments in various municipalities apply the rules when dealing with fire incidents. The rules aim at preventing fires, ensuring strict adherence to architectural designs, and availing training equipment to firefighters.
Inspection and maintenance of fire protection equipment is also a role of the fire prevention officers. Other stakeholders in the fire fighting industry include administrative officers who make and enforce the bylaws. Supervision of firefighters and firefighting equipment in all firms fall under the jurisdiction of the organization. The organization also issue licenses to enforce specific safety precautions.
Inspection practices
Fire fighting officials undertake inspection practices using various techniques. For instance, they check whether the fire fighting equipment is easily accessed. They also record the building’s address, location, accessibility, and visibility. Inspecting potential hazardous situations and locating the position of post indicator valves are some of the roles of officers.
Moreover, the officers inspect the condition of sprinklers and connect any loose pipes. The inspection processes are laid down nationally and are adopted by individual municipalities. This is important to ensure that there are similarities in the whole country. This will ensure that costs of maintenance are reduced as the officers in charge of the maintenance can be hired at a national level. They will move from one municipality to another, trying to ensure that the project is operating maximally. The management will also be able to compare the overall cost of the project with that of another project that was initially initiated.
Appeals process of the code enforcement
An administrative board hears the appeals. These hearings are not exposed to the public. A complainant who is required to file an appeal form makes a submission. The board analyses the issues mentioned in the complaint and through discussion, it reaches a conclusion via consensus. The decisions arrived at are communicated to the appellants in an email.
Appeals are only reconsidered in case fresh information is submitted. The Board of Appeals undertakes further hearings in case the appellants are not satisfied with the results of the administrative board. The Board of Appeals consists of qualified individuals who offer expert opinion on the matter. It is commonly referred to as the Big Board.
The board sits on a need basis. Alternatively, it also sits on Wednesday every fortnight. The board is voluntary and therefore there are no charges in the process. Decisions made by this board are binding to the respective appellants (Thomson, 2001). This is because the board members are drawn from professional boards such as the electricity board. The impact of the board has been positive. It has managed to come up with various policies that have improved the efficiency of this body.
References
Brannigan, F. & Corbett, G. (2008). Brannigan’s building construction for the fire service. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
LeClaire, J. (2005). Construction with print reading advice. New York: Cengage Learning.
Stern, E. & Newlove, L. (2004). Auckland Unplugged coping with Critical Infrastructure Failure. Lanham, MD: Lexington.
Sturtevant, T. (2005). Introduction to Fire Pump Operations. Clifton Park, NY: Thompson Delmar Learning.
Thomson, N. (2001). Fire Hazards in Industry. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
