BIM and Prefabrication: Implementing Smart Construction at Shenmu City First Senior High School Section 2 Project, Shaanxi Province

Figure 1: Rendering of Shenmu No.1 Senior High School

Abstract:

With the advent of the Internet Plus era, the concept of the smart construction site has emerged as a transformative trend in the construction industry. The rapid development of smart construction sites represents a significant leap forward in construction site management. A smart construction site embodies the “smart building” concept within engineering and introduces a novel approach to lifecycle management of engineering projects.

Smart construction sites leverage technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to revolutionize traditional site management. These technologies enable real-time monitoring, data-driven decision-making, and visualized control over construction processes. By integrating smart technologies, projects can achieve dynamic, real-time oversight of personnel, machinery, materials, methods, and environmental conditions. Intelligent terminal applications replace manual management, facilitating construction operations focused on progress and cost control. This approach is crucial for enhancing safety, promoting civilized construction practices, and ensuring orderly project execution.

Keywords: Smart construction site; Internet of Things; Intelligent system; Real-name labor service system

Project Overview

1. Basic Information

The Shenmu No.1 Senior High School Project, undertaken by Shaanxi Construction Ninth Construction Group Co., Ltd., is located in the core zone of Shenmu New Village, Shenmu City. Covering a total area of 200,000 square meters, this housing construction project features reinforced concrete structures. The construction land area spans 196,700 square meters, with a total built-up area of 112,200 square meters. The project budget is approximately 600 million yuan.

The design includes five functional zones: teaching, experimental, office, sports, and residential areas. Comprising 12 individual buildings, the school will accommodate 60 teaching classes and house 3,000 boarding students upon completion. It aims to be a modern, fully functional, intelligent, and aesthetically pleasing garden-style campus.

2. Project Challenges

As a flagship project for Shaanxi Construction Group, Jiujian Group, and the Shenmu region, the Shenmu No.1 Senior High School Project is a landmark in Shenmu City. The project faces a tight schedule, heavy workload, and high complexity, involving multiple disciplines such as steel structure, landscaping, and municipal engineering.

Engineering challenges include a rapid construction pace, limited usable site area, high groundwater levels, unfavorable construction conditions, and complex steel structures. Additionally, the underground garage, roofing, exterior walls, crack prevention, and waterproofing present significant difficulties.

Figure 2: Aerial View of the First Senior High School Project in Shenmu City before Construction

3. Application Objectives

The goal of implementing smart platforms is to achieve refined management of construction sites, which ultimately reduces costs, ensures safety, protects the environment, and guarantees the quality and quantity of completed work.

Key objectives include:

1. Enhancing Construction Site Efficiency:
   By integrating advanced technologies such as BIM, cloud computing, big data, IoT, mobile applications, and intelligent tools, the smart construction site achieves comprehensive perception, connectivity, and intelligence, significantly boosting the efficiency of on-site operations.
2. Improving Lean Project Management:
   Smart construction sites enable real-time, comprehensive monitoring and control of personnel, machinery, materials, methods, and environmental factors. This supports effective collaboration among workers, managers, and enterprise leaders, improving quality, safety, cost, and schedule control, reducing waste, and ensuring project success.
3. Boosting Supervision and Service Capabilities:
   The smart system facilitates timely detection of safety hazards, standardizes quality inspections, guarantees engineering quality, and enables traceability and real-name labor management. It also supports trustworthy big data establishment and enhances regulatory oversight of quality, safety, personnel, and integrity on-site.

Smart Construction Site Application

1. Application Scope

The Shenmu No.1 Senior High School project employs advanced technologies such as cloud-based IoT and BIM to ensure smooth project execution. Strict management systems and standards are in place, guided by the philosophy of “technology improves efficiency, intelligence shapes the future.” The project applies smart technology to enhance construction management by monitoring personnel, machinery, materials, methods, and environmental factors in real-time. Terminal applications replace manual oversight, creating an intelligent operation model focused on progress and cost control that supports orderly project implementation.

The smart construction site management platform includes six primary subsystems:

1. Labor Real-Name System: Collects and analyzes worker information to support decision-making.
2. Safety and Quality Inspection System: Alerts responsible parties to safety or quality hazards, supports risk monitoring, and integrates with labor management.
3. Tower Crane Collision Prevention System: Provides real-time remote monitoring of tower crane operations.
4. BIM Construction System: Enables integrated design and construction, multidisciplinary collaboration, cost savings, and online BIM model preview with key data sharing.
5. Remote Monitoring System: Enhances daily project management and work efficiency through surveillance and control.
6. Environmental Monitoring System: Tracks environmental conditions in real-time, triggering automatic dust control measures when thresholds are exceeded.

2. Application Planning

2.1 Software Selection

Software used includes Guanglian Da, Zebra Progress, AutoCAD, Office, Revit, 3D Max, Lumion, Project, and Fuzor.

2.2 Organizational Structure

Figure 3: Organizational Structure of the Smart Management Platform Application Project

2.3 Application Sequence

(2) Conduct research on “Demonstration of Big Data Mining and Technology Integration Application for Smart Construction Sites.” Analyze current construction industry management, clarify smart construction site concepts and features, develop a system framework, review relevant policies, and propose development strategies.

(3) Develop the “Smart Construction Site” Information Management Platform for the Shenmu No.1 Senior High School Project. This integrated intelligent management platform covers eleven sections, including project overview, production management, positioning services, environmental monitoring, video surveillance, tower crane collision prevention, quality management, safety management, progress management, industrial operation management, and party building management.

Figure 4: Homepage Display of the Smart Construction Site Management Platform

(4) Build an engineering project database by collecting essential site data and integrating it into the platform. The database encompasses key project and compliance information, including surveys, design, drawing reviews, bidding, contracts, permits, quality and safety supervision, and completion documentation.

Implementation Process

1. Application Preparation

① To accelerate smart construction site implementation, the Shenmu No.1 Senior High School project team held a kickoff meeting, reviewed Guanglian Da’s “Smart Construction Site Implementation Plan,” and began hardware setup for fragmented tool products in phases.

② Training sessions on “smart platform” software were provided to company and project leaders to enhance management capabilities.

③ Established a smart construction site organizational structure and workflow to guide smart management efforts.

④ Business management personnel handle operations via the platform, while supervisory leaders monitor and control on-site issues through the system, supporting effective site management.

⑤ Monthly big data analysis reports are generated by business lines and subprojects to compare performance and guide adjustments.

Figure 5: Project Implementation Schedule Planning Flowchart

2. Application Process

(1) Labor Real-Name System Management

The project strictly enforces real-name labor management, integrating intelligent terminal devices to efficiently manage workers on-site. Each worker has a personal file, and the system uses IoT-enabled gate hardware and management software for real-time, accurate personnel data collection.

This system provides current employment status, hourly attendance, and detailed labor analysis by team and occupation, aiding project decision-makers with comprehensive workforce data, including entry/exit logs, cardholder info, regional distribution, and demographics.

Implementation occurs in three phases:

Phase One:

• On-site security is enforced with controlled access using ID cards; unregistered workers are guided for registration.
• Qualified teams and personnel apply for real-name cards; exit procedures are managed within the system.

Phase Two:

• Worker registrations include attachments for special work types (e.g., certificates, validity). Safety officers conduct mandatory training via the system; workers without training are barred from the site.

Phase Three:

• The project team monitors attendance, job allocation, location, and demographics using mobile and PC applications.
• Labor rosters and personnel change forms are maintained as official records; monthly reports are submitted via the system.
• Full business lines, including safety training and labor process management, are integrated, completing the transition to real-name labor management.

Figure 6: Screenshot of Labor Real-Name Management System on the Smart Platform

(2) Safety and Quality Inspection Management System

This system employs cloud and mobile app technologies to automatically collect, organize, and categorize real-time site data. Based on hazard type and urgency, it alerts relevant responsible units and individuals.

To enhance site management, hazard investigations follow established inspection standards, with timely communication and strict adherence to principles such as “three simultaneities” and “five determinations.” Integration with the labor system supports comprehensive safety management, aiding project decision-makers in risk oversight.

Implementation phases include:

Phase One:

• The project department issues safety inspection protocols; all rectification documents require system issuance and supervisor sign-off.
• On-site personnel are encouraged to identify and resolve issues openly and promptly; unresolved hazards are addressed in weekly meetings.

Phase Two:

• Monthly data analyses identify problem areas and subcontractors, informing corrective actions to prevent secondary risks.
• An evaluation mechanism based on platform feedback improves safety management and ensures secure construction.

Figure 7: Smart Platform Safety and Quality Inspection Management System Screenshot

(3) Tower Crane Anti-Collision Management System

This system provides real-time safety monitoring, operation recording, audible and visual alarms, and remote dynamic monitoring of tower crane groups on the construction site, offering transparent and continuous safety oversight.

Figure 8: Tower Crane Anti-Collision Management System Screenshot on Smart Platform

(4) BIM Construction Management System

The BIM construction management platform integrates engineering data, process control, and resource coordination throughout the entire project lifecycle. Using 3D technology, it provides visual, coordinated, and optimized information models that facilitate integrated design and collaborative construction, reducing costs.

Key functionalities include:

• Quantity Statistics: BIM models allow precise quantity takeoffs for materials like concrete and steel, with accuracy within 1% demonstrated in prior projects.
• Construction Simulation: Linking schedules to BIM models enables simulation of construction sequences, highlighting delays and facilitating timely corrective actions.
• Visualization Disclosure: 3D animations support clear communication of construction plans to personnel, improving feasibility and understanding.
• Node Analysis: Complex structural nodes are modeled and analyzed for conflicts, such as steel reinforcement collisions, enabling design optimization and safety assurance.
• Comprehensive Pipeline Clash Detection: BIM models integrate architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical systems to identify clashes early, preventing costly rework and ensuring smooth construction progress.

Figure 9: BIM Construction Management System Screenshot on Smart Platform

(5) Remote Video Surveillance

To strengthen daily project oversight, the site is equipped with 15 remote video monitoring cameras. Duty personnel monitor the site in real time via computer screens, enabling dynamic control and prompt response to emergencies. This reduces regulatory workload, enhances supervision, and improves overall efficiency.

Remote monitoring extends beyond onsite cameras; through internet connectivity, construction units, supervisors, and regulatory authorities can access real-time progress via mobile apps and PCs, ensuring transparent construction management.

Figure 10: Remote Video Monitoring System Screenshot on Smart Platform

(6) Environmental Monitoring System

Four environmental monitoring stations are installed across the site to provide continuous, real-time monitoring of wind direction, temperature, wind speed, humidity, noise, PM2.5, and PM10 levels. Alarm thresholds trigger alerts and activate fog machines, roadside sprinklers, and tower crane sprinklers for automatic dust control. The system integrates with the smart platform to enable data sharing and dynamic environmental monitoring.

Application Summary

1. Prefabricated Residential Structure Assembly

(1) The Shenmu No.1 Senior High School project successfully implements a smart platform management system based on cloud platforms, mobile internet, and IoT. This system collects, processes, compares, and analyzes on-site data to optimize resource allocation and improve construction planning.

(2) The smart construction platform enables rapid decision-making and execution across various stages, facilitating management upgrades and intelligent project oversight. This leads to shortened construction timelines, cost savings, risk control, and enhanced operational efficiency.

2. Methodology Summary

(1) BIM Applications:
The project’s BIM implementation aligns with national policies and standards, including documents on promoting BIM development and application. Training programs cultivate management personnel skilled in BIM modeling, data analysis, and operation management. Since construction began, the project team has engaged in weekly centralized training sessions.

(2) Economic Benefits:

• Reduced management costs and enhanced enterprise efficiency by optimizing safety personnel deployment and enabling targeted management measures.
• Clear job responsibilities facilitate accountability; remote monitoring increases worker responsibility and standardizes operations, while recording processes support incident investigation and liability clarification.
• Enhanced environmental monitoring using state-of-the-art instruments and cloud computing reduces urban pollution, improves city aesthetics, and promotes public health.

(3) Social Benefits:
This project marks the first “Three Poems” initiative in the Shenfu area, featuring the first smart construction site, dust control and safety standard demonstration site, and green dust control model in Shenmu City. The smart management platform has gained recognition at provincial, municipal, and group levels, contributing to regional socio-economic and educational development and earning widespread customer acclaim.

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