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Application of lean principles for efficiency enhancement of BIM process

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Abstract

Virtual design and construction are essential services in the construction industry. The construction companies need to be prepared to meet the increasing demands. Building information modeling (BIM) has many advantages compared to the traditional method of drawing. Further, improving the BIM process will enhance the efficiency of the construction process. The lean concept aims to reduce or eliminate waste and improve the process. This study aims to improve the BIM process by applying lean tools. Value stream map (VSM) is used to visualize the workflow and evaluate the current practice of BIM, including architectural and structural modeling of high-rise buildings. Autodesk Revit 2016 and Navisworks Manage 2021 are used for the present study. Automation for the BIM process is created using Dynamo script to improve the BIM process. The efficiency of the existing workflow is calculated and compared with the new workflow. The Dynamo script created for extracting material schedule shows an increase in the process cycle efficiency by saving a significant amount of time, especially at an organizational level. BIM modelers will be benefited from the automation proposed in the study.

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and VSM analysis were performed by Anupama and Anand. Implementation of Dynamo script was performed by Anupama and Harikrishnan. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Anupama and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to K. B. Anand.

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Anupama, V.M., Anand, K.B., Ramkrishnan, R. et al. Application of lean principles for efficiency enhancement of BIM process. Asian J Civ Eng 24, 2727–2737 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-023-00628-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42107-023-00628-y

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