This article presents a detailed overview of how BIM technology is applied to construction quality control, based on the office building project of Mingmen Company in Qingxi Town, Dongguan City.
The Mingmen Company office building is situated in Qingxi Town, Dongguan City, adjacent to Keji Road and Qingyu Road. The project covers approximately 33,460 square meters with a total height of 50.45 meters, including a basement standing 4.4 meters tall. Its main structure consists of a reinforced concrete frame, complemented by steel truss sections.
The overall layout features twin towers, divided into office spaces and dormitories. The office building comprises 10 floors, while the dormitories have 12 floors, both supported by a 4-story podium. During construction, the project faced four key challenges:
1) Complex quantity calculations: Due to the project’s large scale and intricate structure, numerous design changes occurred throughout construction. Manual quantity estimation posed significant risks of miscalculation or omission during budgeting, project settlements, and final accounts. Accurately and quickly calculating quantities was a major challenge.
2) Tight schedule: The project owner demanded early completion, yet Dongguan’s subtropical climate brings frequent rain, which significantly impacted the timeline. Additionally, geological conditions differed from the site survey, requiring construction adjustments and causing further delays. Compressing the schedule while maintaining quality was critical.
3) High quality standards: As a flagship project in Dongguan City, the construction team aimed to achieve the prestigious Luban Award. This necessitated standardized procedures and strict quality control across all stages.
4) Safety management difficulties: The complex construction environment presented numerous safety risks. Most workers were temporarily organized and lacked safety awareness, making it challenging to enforce safety protocols within a short timeframe. Ensuring safety alongside quality was a major concern.
To address these challenges, the project implemented a comprehensive quality management approach based on the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle. This process involved three key stages: setting quality objectives upfront, establishing critical control points during construction, and conducting post-construction inspections.
Before construction began, a collaborative planning meeting was held involving design, construction, and supervision teams. The BIM model’s clash detection feature was used to identify and resolve design conflicts early on.
During construction, specialized technicians and inspectors were assigned on-site to monitor key areas through BIM-based quality control points. Real-time data collection enabled quick identification of issues and implementation of corrective actions.
After completion, the BIM model facilitated final acceptance and post-project quality control.
The key advantages of using BIM in this project include:
1) 3D Visualization of Construction Process: The project involved multiple construction plans, including six specialized plans covering earthwork excavation, formwork, scaffold erection, and 14 general plans for decoration, environmental construction, and basement work. Each plan represented a quality control point, visualized in 3D through the BIM model.
Given the construction team’s limited specialization, the BIM model’s visualization was crucial for technical briefings. 3D models allowed workers to quickly grasp details such as steel bar placement, pipeline layouts, and binding node handling, providing a more intuitive understanding compared to traditional 2D drawings.
2) Pipeline Clash Detection: Traditionally, water, heating, and electricity systems are designed separately, often causing conflicts. The BIM model integrated these systems using MEP collision detection technology, enabling fast and accurate identification of conflicts, design adjustments, and proactive quality control.
3) 2D Mapping and Parameterization: For detailed tasks like decoration, curtain wall installation, and pipeline components, BIM allowed adjustment of graphic properties to a fine level. Isolating graphic elements generated 2D sectional views, replacing manual searches through atlases, thus speeding up drawing creation while ensuring accuracy. Additionally, parameter settings enabled quick modification of component sizes and positions by simply updating data.
4) Comprehensive Integration and Easy Data Access: The BIM model’s extensive database covers the entire project lifecycle, providing real-time access to detailed information on building components and enabling effective quality inspections. In post-construction, this facilitated rapid identification of quality issue causes through thorough investigations.
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