A lean construction and BIM interaction model for the construction industry

Abstract

An Analytical Network Process (ANP) was created to test the Lean and BIM concepts with data collected from U.S. companies to find the success factors of the Lean/BIM framework. After an extensive literature review, a total of 17 sub-categories for Lean/BIM are classified into three clusters, namely Communication, Production, and Visualization. An ANP network is then established to station the links between the attributes of the framework while computing their importance weights. Eight experienced civil engineers took part in the questionnaire study to assess the relations between the attributes. The main purpose of this study is to reveal the synergy between Lean and BIM with different components reflecting this synergy and present the Lean and BIM synergy on a comprehensive model. The results indicate that Production is the prominent cluster and Production Control, Standardization and Information accuracy are the most important factors in the Lean/BIM synergy. To validate the model, five construction projects were selected to test and observe the results accordingly. The study is expected to help construction industry leaders set their priorities, benefit more from the interaction between Lean and BIM, and revise their strategies accordingly. This study identifies Lean/BIM categories and subcategories as a roadmap for research and implementation. In this context, the study reveals the relationship between the categories/subcategories along with the weights and most and less important categories for Lean/BIM implementation and research.

Keywords:

• Analytic network process (ANP)
• lean construction
• BIM
• lean/BIM
• project management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the submitted article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hasan Gokberk Bayhan

Mr. Hasan Gokberk Bayhan is a graduate research assistant and a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University. Mr. Bayhan completed his BSc degree at Yildiz Technical University. He holds two different MSc degrees one in construction management from Istanbul Technical University and one in Structural Engineering from Yildiz Technical University. His research interests include lean construction practices, sustainably built environment, project planning, scheduling, and communication dynamics.

Sevilay Demirkesen

Dr. Sevilay Demirkesen got her BSc degree in Civil Engineering from Istanbul Technical University in 2010. Upon receiving her B.Sc. Degree, she went to Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) to pursue her Master’s degree in Construction Engineering and Management Program. After she graduated from IIT in 2011, she got her Ph.D. degree from Bogazici University in Civil Engineering Program. Following her graduation from Bogazici University, Dr. Demirkesen worked as a post-doctoral Research Associate at Project Production Systems Lab (P2SL) of the University of California-Berkeley from 2016 to 2018. Dr. Demirkesen currently works as an Associate Professor at Gebze Technical University in the Department of Civil Engineering. Dr. Demirkesen is an expert in Construction Safety, Lean Construction, and Performance Management.

Chengyi Zhang

Dr. Chengyi Zhang is currently an Assistant professor of Construction Management at the University of Wyoming. He has over 14 years of civil engineering and construction management experience. His area of expertise covers construction scheduling, safety, preconstruction service, automated progress control in CM, scan to BIM, and quality control.

Algan Tezel

Algan Tezel is a Programme Director and Lecturer in Construction Management and Engineering at Aston University. He holds a Ph.D. in Construction Management from the School of the Built Environment at the University of Salford. His research interests include Construction Production Management, Lean Construction, and Digital Construction. He is a civil engineer with 5 years of practical industry experience.