Thesis-2014-Liu.pdf (8.92 MB)
Building Information Modelling (BIM) aided waste minimisation framework
thesis
posted on 2014-06-23, 11:28 authored by Zhen LiuBuilding design can have a major impact on sustainability through material efficiency and
construction waste minimisation (CWM). The construction industry consumes over 420
million tonnes of material resources every year and generates 120 million tonnes of waste
containing approximately 13 million tonnes of unused materials. The current and on-going
field of CWM research is focused on separate project stages with an overwhelming
endeavour to manage on-site waste. Although design stages are vital to achieve progress
towards CWM, currently, there are insufficient tools for CWM. In recent years, Building
Information Modelling (BIM) has been adopted to improve sustainable building design,
such as energy efficiency and carbon reduction. Very little has been achieved in this field
of research to evaluate the use of BIM to aid CWM during design. However, recent
literature emphasises a need to carry out further research in this context.
This research aims to investigate the use of BIM as a platform to help with CWM during
design stages by developing and validating a BIM-aided CWM (BaW) Framework. A
mixed research method, known as triangulation, was adopted as the research design
method. Research data was collected through a set of data collection methods, i.e. selfadministered
postal questionnaire (N=100 distributed, n=50 completed), and semistructured
follow-up interviews (n=11) with architects from the top 100 UK architectural
companies. Descriptive statistics and constant comparative methods were used for data
analysis. The BaW Framework was developed based on the findings of literature review,
questionnaire survey and interviews. The BaW Framework validation process included a
validation questionnaire (N=6) and validation interviews (N=6) with architects.
Key research findings revealed that: BIM has the potential to aid CWM during design;
Concept and Design Development stages have major potential in helping waste reduction
through BIM; BIM-enhanced practices (i.e. clash detection, detailing, visualisation and
simulation, and improved communication and collaboration) have impacts on waste
reduction; BIM has the most potential to address waste causes (e.g. ineffective
coordination and communication, and design changes); and the BaW Framework has the
potential to enable improvements towards waste minimisation throughout all design stages.
Participating architects recommended that the adoption of the BaW Framework could
enrich both CWM and BIM practices, and most importantly, would enhance waste
reduction performance in design. The content should be suitable for project stakeholders,
architects in particular, when dealing with construction waste and BIM during design.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Publisher
© Zhen LiuPublication date
2014Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.Language
- en