Construction Workspace Management Using 4D BIM

Workspaces are important resources when executing construction tasks. Workers, equipment, materials and facilities need different workspaces and compete with each other to execute different tasks within the same workspace. Locations and volumes of workspaces change in three dimensions and across time during the construction process. Without proper workspace management, productivity loss, poor quality and safety hazards could be occurred. Many research efforts have been exerted in this field, however, the approach which facilitates the interaction between tasks, workspaces, and spatial-temporal conflict resolution is still missing. In this regard, this research proposes a flexible 4D BIM that could facilitate such interaction. The objectives of this study are firstly to generate and allocate the required workspaces, then to simulate and visualize them, and finally to detect and resolve the conflicts. Workspaces are classified into labors, equipment, auxiliary and safety groups. 3D shape of the workspace is created using a bounding box. BIM plugin is developed to facilitate the proposed model. The developed model has been validated using a commercial building project. Empirical results showed that the proposed model is able to assist construction workspace management where workspace conflicts can be detected and resolved prior to construction to avoid schedule delays. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.