Assessing the awareness of building information modeling in scheduling of construction projects in Uganda
Abstract
The potential of BIM is generally recognized in the construction industry, but the practical
application of BIM for management purposes is, however, still limited among contractors. The
objective of this study is to assess BIM in scheduling of construction projects, and to identify how
it should be incorporated into current practice. The analysis of the current scheduling processes
identifies significant discrepancies between the overall and the detailed levels of scheduling. The
overall scheduling process is described as an individual endeavor with limited and unsystematic
sharing of knowledge within and between projects. Thus, the reuse of scheduling data and
experiences are inadequate, preventing continuous improvements of the overall schedules.
Besides, the overall scheduling process suffers from lack of information, caused by uncoordinated
and unsynchronized overlap of the design and construction processes. Consequently, the overall
scheduling is primarily based on intuition and personal experiences, rather than well founded
figures of the specific project. Finally, the overall schedule is comprehensive and complex, and
consequently, difficult to overview and communicate. Scheduling on the detailed level, on the
other hand, follows a stipulated approach to scheduling, i.e. the Last Planner System (LPS), which
is characterized by involvement of all actors in the construction phase. Thus, the major challenge
when implementing BIM-based scheduling is to improve overall scheduling, which in turn, can
secure a better starting point of the LPS. The study points to the necessity of involving
subcontractors and manufactures in the earliest phases of the project in order to create project
specific information for the overall schedule. In addition, the design process should be prioritized
and coordinated with each craft, a process library should be introduced to promote transfer of
knowledge and continuous improvements, and information flow between design and scheduling
processes must change from push to pull.