BIM in Construction Management: Leaning the Design-Bid-Build (DBB) Project Delivery System by Using BIM in Design Phase

Design phase of construction projects can be improved by utilizing new tools and methods introduced by building information modeling (BIM) and lean construction. However, in the projects that use BIM, roles of personnel, design methods and the practice of communication between designers often derive from the era of document based design management and can only be partially adapted to a new way of working. In managing building design, the use of lean management tools can be seen a driver increasing value to the customer, improving operations and removing activities that do not add value. This research has focused on the design phase of design bid build project delivery system (DBB). DBB is the most traditional type of delivery method practiced today. In this method the owner has two contracts: one with the architect and one with the contractor. DBB is considered a linear process because there is no overlap of the architectural services and the contractor services. In a perfect world the process is that simple, but in reality a number of challenges may arise. First, it is possible that the low bid is not as low as the owner expected it to be. As mentioned, the architect and engineers create the drawings and specifications with little to no contractor input. This may lead to miscalculations on what is required to construct their design. this scenario is unfortunately very common in DBB and can lead to a slow construction start due to the design-bid-redesign-bid-build process. Another challenge that may arise in DBB is that gaps or errors are found in the design once the contractor has already begun to build the project. The research consists of a literature review and an empirical investigation. In the literature review, previous studies and their results related to application of BIM and LEAN construction in different project delivery systems, their synergies and interoperability, and information flows of traditional 2D and BIM-based design of the construction projects are examined along with the professional journals and text books of the construction industry. Value stream mapping (VSM) is used to model, analyze and compare the information flow in traditional 2D design (as the current state) and BIM-based design (as the future state). Empirical data was collected from semi-structured interviewees with experienced engineers whom involved and have experiences with the subject of research and finally validate the model which has proposed by the research. The results of the research demonstrate that use of BIM-based design and lean concepts in the DBB project delivery system leads to efficiency of information flow, improve communication and collaboration, target value design and waste management in design phase. In bidding phase BIM technology can comprehensively enhance the working efficiency of the construction bidding, calculate the engineering quantity list accurately, improve the rationality of bidding quotation and management level, show the information of funds in various stages of the bidding and can help to enhance the competitive advantage of the tender bidding company. Also it will cause the reduction of construction cost and time and less conflicts in construction phase and better performance in maintenance phase of project.