The construction phase represents the most critical and complex stage of a project, involving numerous interdisciplinary and specialized tasks such as building construction, electrical wiring, drainage system installation, roadworks, and HVAC setup.
To ensure smooth and orderly progress, Wuhan Construction Group Co., Ltd. incorporated Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology throughout the construction process. BIM offers the significant advantage of visually presenting on-site conditions to workers, facilitating safety technical briefings. This approach plays a vital role in raising workers’ safety awareness and preventing construction accidents.
Successfully integrating elements like equipment, personnel, work surfaces, workflows, and site layout requires a scientifically designed construction plan. BIM technology enables simulation of the construction site with 3D models, effectively illustrating the project schedule.
During construction, animations of the installation sequence for temporary and permanent structures, main mechanical equipment, and unloading zones help all stakeholders fully comprehend the project’s scope, requirements, and methods. This detailed visualization enhances operational safety and reduces accident rates.
To address ambiguities and conflicts in the construction process, the project team used BIM models to coordinate and resolve issues, achieving the desired training outcomes and significantly improving safety.
The BIM model also serves to identify and eliminate spatial collisions and hidden safety risks that might otherwise be overlooked. To maintain its effectiveness, the model requires regular updates.
Moreover, BIM technology supports comprehensive safety planning and management. Safety simulations rely heavily on BIM and 4D models to generate emergency response plans, hole protection strategies, edge protection measures, and tower crane operation simulations.
Specifically, the safety plan based on BIM models includes the following:
- Tower Crane Simulation: The project’s building and tower crane models are imported into Autodesk Navisworks software. During simulation, it is crucial to monitor distances between tower cranes and nearby buildings, as well as between cranes themselves, ensuring compliance with safety standards. Determining the tower crane’s rotation radius helps prevent collisions and serious accidents.
- Edge and Hole Protection: BIM technology identifies areas requiring protection using the PDS system and virtual construction features. Given the project’s large scale, numerous openings and edges need safeguarding—including structural edges, roof edges, stairwells, staircase perimeters, and construction elevator edges. Before construction begins, engineers conduct 3D safety briefings with on-site workers via BIM models, emphasizing the importance of protective measures in accident-prone areas. The BIM model visually displays locations, parameters, and other relevant information for all staircases. Edge protection measures must strictly follow the protection plan, serving as vital safety warnings and ensuring worker safety.
- Emergency Planning: By leveraging Google Earth’s capabilities, Google data is imported into the project model to automatically generate coordinate positions and create a KMZ file. This file contains project site information and nearby road conditions. In emergencies, this allows for timely and effective response and guides all project participants in managing on-site situations. If visibility extends beyond a single area, Google-generated KMZ files corresponding to different project zones enable seamless switching based on actual construction needs, ensuring preparedness for any scenario.
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