Safety Built Right in: Exploring the Occupational Health and Safety Potential of BIM-Based Platforms throughout the Building Lifecycle
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- What are the opportunities for lifecycle OHS management with a BIM-based digital platform, as described by the peer-reviewed scientific literature?
- What characterizes current BIM for OHS practices in the Swedish context?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Literature Review
2.1.1. Search and Screening Methods
2.1.2. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
2.1.3. Data Extraction and Analysis
2.2. Industry Perspectives
2.2.1. Recruitment and Sampling
2.2.2. Facilitation
2.2.3. Data Analysis and Synthesis
3. Results
3.1. Summary of Literature Review
3.1.1. Use Cases
Design
Construction Planning
Construction Execution
Operation and Maintenance
3.1.2. Barriers
3.1.3. Facilitators
3.2. Summary of Industry Perspectives
3.2.1. Use Cases
Design
“We like [the construction managers] to think ahead: while we design, we want them to look at safety aspects for raising the building during construction. […] Does it work the way it is designed?”
“We should not just design good houses if we are lucky with the [project] group. There are sometimes groups that work well together, sometimes less and it is important that technology supports us in the future to find errors. Then people can still make a choice.”
Construction
“…to have everyone’s eyes both in the building model and in the real world on site and to see potential issues.”
“…[the] allegiance to [the] building over time is greater than allegiance to one property owner”
“We have to stop asking yes or no questions: If it is about using digital twins for safety, it can only have a yes answer”
Operation
Deconstruction
3.2.2. Barriers
“[OHS data for BIM] needs to become… an industry standard. I think we are going in that direction… but it is still like some of the companies have THEIR solution and other companies have THEIR solution…”
“I want to test new things, but I don’t want to be the first guy out.”
“Cost and time, because that’s how decisions are made at the top…”
“There is a missing link: We need to use the BIM model all the way, which is not really the case in many projects today. …When you can connect the whole value chain all the way to operations and also follow what is done and how it is done, then quality and safety can improve.”
“Everyone is working with a certain part of the project and sometimes they have excellent tools in the bigger projects [for calculating, follow-ups, model viewing], but the core construction skills and having the oversight to manage a project well is sometimes getting lost. That stops us from taking bigger steps. It is happening, but it is still slow.”
3.2.3. Facilitators and Best Practices
“…there can be some rules and a language, for example added to BCF, to exchange that information. Maybe [safety hazard information] can also be connected to BCF, because there you can connect different views and models. This can be a way of transferring information from one program to another. We can use [multiple current BIM and DT platforms] … and everyone receives the same information and it is editable. BCF gives a lot of possibilities for this, [it] is not that far away”.
“The moment you can talk business about it, a lot more people will be interested to help, especially from the top."
“We don’t take any risks at all in this business” … “You have to fail to learn”
“You want to have 100% control and you can in a better way. […] People almost start to compete with each other to have better knowledge and information connected to the digital twin.”
“With intense planning and a better run project, safety will come or if you look from the other direction, if you are safety-focused, you will plan your projects better and then also lower the costs for the client in the end so the involved parties can make more money.”
“The change will be seen in the moment where we don’t need those specific roles any longer, when everybody understands what BIM means and how to use the tools we have. Like with the telephone—when it was invented, you needed a telephonist to help. When people can find information they need by themselves, the real change will happen.”
4. Discussion
4.1. Comparing the Literature Review and Focus Group Findings
4.2. Principles for the Successful Adoption of BIM for OHS
4.3. Methodological Considerations and Significance of Results
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Concept 1 Occupational Health and Safety | Concept 2 Building Lifecycle Stages | Concept 3 Building Information Modelling |
---|---|---|
Occupational health | Design | BIM |
Occupational safety | Construction | Building information modelling |
Safety management | Facilit* management | |
Accident prevention | Demolition | |
Injury prevention | ||
Ergonom* |
Category | Description of Extracted Information |
---|---|
Basic study information |
|
Solution characteristics |
|
Stakeholder integration |
|
Lifecycle integration |
|
Impact and adoption |
|
Lifecycle Stage | Profession (n) of Workshop Participants | Profession (n) of Interview Participants |
---|---|---|
Planning and Design | Architect (1) Structural Engineer (1) Design Manager (1) | - |
Construction | Architect (1) CEO for Sub-contractor (1) Construction Engineer (1) BIM Coordinator/Project Manager (2) Head of Design Team (1) | - |
Operation and Maintenance | Architect (1) Health and Safety Manager (1) Property Manager (1) | Software Developer (1) Property Manager (1) |
Demolition and Reconstruction | - | Sustainability Consultant (1) |
Question Topics | |
---|---|
1 | Please describe your use cases for BIM to enhance health and safety. What actors were involved and what were the main information sources? |
2 | Which factors supported the implementation of the use cases? |
3 | What are the main challenges to implementing BIM for safety benefits? |
4 | How could these barriers be overcome? |
5 | How (else) could BIM and digital twins be used for safety in future applications? |
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Hoeft, M.; Trask, C. Safety Built Right in: Exploring the Occupational Health and Safety Potential of BIM-Based Platforms throughout the Building Lifecycle. Sustainability 2022, 14, 6104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106104
Hoeft M, Trask C. Safety Built Right in: Exploring the Occupational Health and Safety Potential of BIM-Based Platforms throughout the Building Lifecycle. Sustainability. 2022; 14(10):6104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106104
Chicago/Turabian StyleHoeft, Madeleine, and Catherine Trask. 2022. "Safety Built Right in: Exploring the Occupational Health and Safety Potential of BIM-Based Platforms throughout the Building Lifecycle" Sustainability 14, no. 10: 6104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106104