Feasibility of BIM for Highway Transportation System in
Pakistan – A Case Study
By
Muhammad Misbah ur Rehman
BCE163036
Huzaifa Ghazi
BCE163024
Muhammad Darwash
BCE163021
Project Supervisor: Engr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi
BS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
JULY, 2020
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
CAPITAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
Feasibility of BIM for Highway Transportation System in
Pakistan – A Case Sudy
By
Muhammad Misbah ur Rehman
BCE163036
Huzaifa Ghazi
BCE163024
Muhammad Darwash
BCE163021
Project Supervisor: Engr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi
A project report submitted to the Department of Civil Engineering,
Capital University of Science & Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
BS IN CIVIL ENGINEERING
JULY, 2020
ii
CAPITAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE &TECHNOLOGY
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
Feasibility of BIM for Highway Transportation System in Pakistan – A
Case Study
By
Muhammad Misbah ur Rehman
BCE163036
Huzaifa Ghazi
BCE163024
Muhammad Darwash
BCE163021
PROJECT EXAMINING COMMITTEE
S No Examiner
(a)
Examiner – 1
(b)
Examiner – 2
(c)
Supervisor
Name
Organization
Engr. Muhammad Usman
Farooqi
CUST, Islamabad
Engr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi
Project Supervisor
July, 2020
______________________________
Engr. Iqbal Ahmad
DP Coordinator
Department of Civil Engineering
Dated:
July, 2020
___________________________
Engr. Dr. Ishtiaq Hassan
Head of Department
Department of Civil Engineering
Dated:
July, 2020
iii
Copyright © 2020 by
Muhammad Misbah ur Rehman
BCE163036
Huzaifa Ghazi
BCE163024
Muhammad Darwash
BCE163021
All rights reserved. No portion of the material protected by this copyright notice may be
replicated or utilized in any arrangement or by any means, electronic or mechanical including
photocopy, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without authorization
from the author.
iv
CERTIFICATE
This is to verify that Mr. Muhammad Misbah ur Rehman, Mr. Huzayfa Ghazi and Mr.
Muhammad Darwash has integrated all comments, suggestions and observations made by the
project supervisor. Their project title is: Feasibility of BIM for Highway Transportation
System in Pakistan – A Case Study.
Forwarded for necessary action.
Engr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi
(Project Supervisor)
Date:
July, 2020
v
DEDICATION
The devotion for this zealous achievement goes to our esteemed and endeared parents for
making us believe in the positive thoughtfulness for upbringing ourselves towards the
glistening future which lies ahead of us. Not to forget our honored and respected teachers
because of them we were able to climb up the stairs of success in great determination and full
of endurance.
vi
DECLARATION
This report is a presentation of our assigned project work. Wherever commitments of others
are included, each exertion is made to demonstrate this obviously, with due reference to the
writing, and affirmation of communitarian project and exchanges. The work is carried out
under the supervision of Engr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi at the Capital University of Science
and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Muhammad Misbah ur Rehman
BCE163036
Huzaifa Ghazi
BCE163024
Muhammad Darwash
BCE163021
Date:
July, 2020
vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
•
All praises and gratitude towards to all-supreme and all-knowing Allah who gave us
the attributes for making our lives peaceful to live and to bow down our heads towards
his greatness.
•
Asserting our memorable thankfulness to Engr. Muhammad Usman Farooqi who
gave the gallant commands to lead our project in great success. He gave us the
professional collaborative support at every step of our progress. Not he made us
familiarize with the project academically but also gave the ethical dilemmas to progress
towards the fields in a professional manner.
•
Endorsing Engr. Muhammad Talha Ahmed for introducing us with latest prevailing
technological software and internet practices to work out the design project problems.
•
Also, extending our obligations to Mr. Tahir Yaqub for bridging the gap between the
highway industry and our design project. He provided with his knowledge of
experience with NHA and paved the course for our project to completeness.
•
We would also like to acknowledge Engr. Dr. Majid Ali for his support and
propagating advice towards our project.
•
Expressing love and many thanks to our families and friends who prayed for our
success in the toughest of our life striving situations.
viii
Table of Contents
CERTIFICATE .................................................................................................................... v
DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... vi
DECLARATION ...............................................................................................................vii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. viii
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................xii
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................... xiv
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... xv
LIST OF INTENDED PUBLICATIONS ......................................................................... xvi
Intended Journal Article ..................................................................................................... xvi
Conference Article ............................................................................................................. xvi
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1
1.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Project Motivation and Problem Statement ................................................................... 2
1.3 Overall Goal of Project Program and Specific Design Project Aim .............................. 2
1.4 Scope of Work and Study Limitation ............................................................................ 3
1.5 Brief Methodology ......................................................................................................... 3
1.6 Project Layout ................................................................................................................ 3
CHAPTER 2 ........................................................................................................................ 5
LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Introduction to BIM ....................................................................................................... 5
2.2 Highway Transportation System.................................................................................... 6
2.2.1 Pakistan Highway Transportation System ................................................................... 8
ix
2.3 BIM Tools and Usage in Highways ............................................................................... 9
2.3.1 BIM International Guidelines in Highways ............................................................... 11
2.3.2 BIM Benefits for Highway ........................................................................................ 12
2.4 Hindrance in Adopting BIM in Highway for Developed Countries ............................ 14
2.5 BIM adoption and implementation studies in developed countries ............................. 15
2.6 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 17
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 18
3.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 18
3.2 Detailed Literature Review and Questionnaire Preparation ........................................ 18
3.3 Industrial Survey .......................................................................................................... 20
3.3.1 Surveying from Client Perspective ............................................................................ 20
3.3.2 Surveying from Contractor Perspective ..................................................................... 21
3.3.3 Surveying from Consultant Perspective..................................................................... 21
3.3.4 Statistical Analysis ..................................................................................................... 21
3.3.5 Measure of central tendency and mean and bar charts .............................................. 21
3.4 Formulation of Guidelines ........................................................................................... 22
3.5 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER 4 ...................................................................................................................... 23
Results and Discussions ..................................................................................................... 23
4.1 Background .................................................................................................................. 23
4.2 Response Rate of Questionnaire .................................................................................. 23
4.2.1 Site Visit to CPEC ..................................................................................................... 24
4.3 Background of the Respondents .................................................................................. 25
4.3.1 Area of profession in highway ................................................................................... 25
x
4.3.2 Experience in the organization................................................................................. 26
4.3.3 Area of specialization ................................................................................................ 27
4.3.4 Involvement in main highway projects ...................................................................... 28
4.4 Main Issues faced during Projects ............................................................................... 30
4.5 Response rate for usage of BIM................................................................................... 31
4.6 Main tools of BIM used in highway projects............................................................... 32
4.7 Level of Expertise in BIM tools................................................................................... 33
4.8 Advantages of using BIM in HTS ................................................................................ 35
4.9 Main Disadvantages of using BIM in HTS................................................................... 36
4.10 Guidelines for Using BIM in HTS of Pakistan .......................................................... 37
4.10.1 Purpose of BIM Guidelines for Pakistan’s HTS ...................................................... 38
4.10.2 BIM Primitive Definitions ....................................................................................... 38
4.10.3 Benefits of Using BIM for HTS............................................................................... 39
4.10.4 Usage of BIM for HTS ............................................................................................ 39
4.10.5 BIM Legal Practices for BIM .................................................................................. 40
4.10.6 BIM Management and Deliverables for HTS .......................................................... 40
4.11 Summary .................................................................................................................... 41
Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................................ 42
Conclusions and Recommendations .................................................................................. 42
5.1 Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 42
5.2 Recommendations ........................................................................................................ 43
References .......................................................................................................................... 44
ANNEXURE A .................................................................................................................. 48
xi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2. 1 BIM Uses for Highway Implementation Phase ................................................ 11
Table 2. 2 BIM benefits for Construction industry ............................................................ 14
Table 3. 1 Five Point Likert Scales .................................................................................... 19
Table 3. 2 Statistical Analysis Procedure for Likert Items Data and Likert Scale Data .... 22
Table 4. 1 Summary of Data Collected from Questionnaire ............................................. 23
Table 4. 2 Experiences in Organization ............................................................................. 26
Table 4. 3 Area of Specialization ....................................................................................... 27
Table 4. 4 Involvement in main highway projects ............................................................. 28
Table 4. 5 Other highway Projects ..................................................................................... 29
Table 4. 6 Main Issues faced during Projects .................................................................... 30
Table 4. 7 Response rate for usage of BIM ....................................................................... 31
Table 4. 8 Main tools of BIM used in highway projects .................................................. 32
Table 4. 9 Analysis of Advantages of using BIM .............................................................. 35
Table 4. 10 Analysis of Disadvantages of using BIM ....................................................... 37
xii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2. 1 BIM Project Life Cycle ..................................................................................... 6
Figure 2. 2 Maturity Model of BIM in organizations by Bew Richard ............................... 6
Figure 2. 3 Map of National Highway in Pakistan .............................................................. 9
Figure 2. 4 BIM Used in Highway..................................................................................... 10
Figure 2. 5 Pie Chart for assessing BIM tools used by BIM users .................................... 16
Figure 2. 6 Bar chart representation of advantages and barriers of BIM in highway ........ 16
Figure 3. 1 Online Google Forms ...................................................................................... 20
Figure 4. 1 SPSS Tool Analysis......................................................................................... 24
Figure 4. 2 Site Visit to CPEC Western Route .................................................................. 25
Figure 4. 3 Graphical representation of experiences in the organization .......................... 27
Figure 4. 4 Graphical representation of area of Specialization .......................................... 28
Figure 4. 5 Graphical representation of Involvement in highway projects........................ 30
Figure 4. 6 Graphical representation of Main issues in highway projects ......................... 31
Figure 4. 7 Graphical representation of Response rate for usage of BIM ......................... 32
Figure 4. 8 Graphical representation of Main tools of BIM used in highway projects ..... 33
Figure 4. 9 Level of expertise in Revit .............................................................................. 33
Figure 4. 10 Level of expertise in Auto Cad ...................................................................... 34
Figure 4. 11 Level of expertise in Navis works ................................................................. 34
Figure 4. 12 Level of Expertise in Prima Vera ................................................................. 35
xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BIM
Building Information Modeling
NHA
National Highway Authority
AEC
Architectural, Engineering and Construction
CPEC
China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
2D
Two Dimensional
3D
Three Dimensional
UK
United Kingdom
CAD
Computer Aided Draughting
HTS
Highway Transportation System
xiv
ABSTRACT
In recent years there has been a trend to study the implementation of BIM in the construction
industry to explore the key advantages and barriers. These studies help the industries and the
government to change the policies regarding the effective use of BIM in the traditional
construction practices in order to save time, cost and hence enhance the productivity. Highway
transportation system of Pakistan is the key source of economic backbone towards the
advancement. But there has never been a study to how much extent the transportation system
is advanced according to the international standards.
The aim of this study is to determine advantages of using BIM in Pakistan highway
transportation system and barriers in adopting BIM in Pakistan highway transportation system.
This will lead to formulate guidelines depending upon the weaknesses and advantages found
from the study for the use of BIM effectively in Pakistan highway transportation system. The
overall goal is to enlighten a vision towards the implementation of BIM in the highway
transportation system in Pakistan. This will lead to in making an impact on the governmental
policies towards using BIM in the transportation sector of Pakistan.
Questionnaires designed on the concept of Likert scale system have been prepared and
distributed manually and online (Google forms) to the highway institutional authorities of
Pakistan to statistically analyze the key advantages and barriers for the implementation of BIM.
By using central tendency and variability the findings for the questionnaires have been
analyzed from the SPSS tool. From the analysis done, the dominant advantage and
disadvantage are that BIM provides earlier detection of clash in the planning phase and
highway practitioners are not aware of the BIM practices due to lack of training. Furthermore,
with the help of bar charts the segmental results from questionnaire have also been shown.
xv
LIST OF INTENDED PUBLICATIONS
Intended Journal Article
•
Darwash, M., Rehman, M., Ghazi, H., Farooqi, M.U., and Ali, M. (2020). Feasibility
of BIM for Highway Transportation System. The Journal of Advanced Transportation
Conference Article
•
Rehman, M., Farooqi, M.U., and Ali, M (2020). Use of BIM Tools in Highway
Transportation System In Developed Countries - A Review. 11th International Civil
Engineering Conference (ICEC-2020). (Published)
xvi
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
With a $10.63 billion investment in transportation sector in Pakistan under CPEC, Pakistan is
still lagging behind other countries in terms of its highway transportation system. Pakistan’s
population has exceeded to such an amount that it has reached to 212 million which will be
exceeding in the upcoming years making it denser than ever. More and more growth in the
number of people leads to need of more facilities to themselves. A bulge in the population has
directed to a rise in the number of cars, buses, and other transportation facilities
In the current scenario of the progress developing in Pakistan, Highway transportation system
is considered as main economic turn over for the future development. Unfortunately, there are
some problems with the highway projects. According to Tahir (2011), the problems lying in
the highway projects are policy making regarding highway projects, lack of research studies
and development, highway project management, lack of consideration to the maintenance,
concerns related to safety, lack of planning leads to no subsequent integration of the
transportation modes, and serious concerns of corruption. In addition, there are also problems
with the construction phases like cash flow problems, design changes which goes unnoticed
and are rapid, site management is also poor and also no training to staff leads to inexperienced
staff. These problems can be addressed by BIM. Following the definition by Latiffi (2013),
BIM is defined as a collection of tools which are made in order to address the concerns the
problems of AEC industry by helping them to manage the construction projects by upgrading
the processes of planning, design and construction.
There have been studies in the developed countries for the implementation of BIM. David
Bryde (2012) and Fanning (2014) reported that the most frequent benefit of BIM is time and
cost savings which is most important factors of a project dependency.
The main focus of this project is that how much BIM which is internationally practiced among
the highway transportation systems in the world is feasible to Pakistan’s highway
transportation system. The feasibility will be checked by collecting data from the undergoing
1
highway road projects. Questionnaires, prepared under the Linkert scale system, will be
distributed among the industry practitioners. Which will contribute in finding advantages of
the BIM and likewise it will undermine the barriers of using BIM in Pakistan’s highway
transportation system. Also based upon the results an awareness to BIM will be delivered.
1.2 Project Motivation and Problem Statement
Pakistan’s highway transportation system is currently being upgraded in the way of the vision
of CPEC. But there are concerns that the highway transportation system in Pakistan is lagging
behind the international practices. BIM which is an internationally practiced tool has made an
impact for increase in the efficiency of the projects in few past years internationally in terms
of cost, time, management and Environment and can help steer up Pakistan highway
transportation system. This research will output guidelines in using BIM in the highway
transportation systems in Pakistan.
“BIM in recent years has been seen a platform to cop up with all the problems by making it
user friendly to all the stems of the construction. But Pakistan highway transportation system
is facing barriers in using BIM and is unknown to its advantages and no such guidelines are
present.”
1.3 Overall Goal of Project Program and Specific Design Project Aim
Overall objective is to devise a strategic vision for implementation process of BIM in Pakistan
highway transportation system according to international standards and Practices.
Specific aims of this design project are:
•
To determine advantages of using BIM in Pakistan highway transportation system.
•
To identify barriers in adopting BIM in Pakistan highway transportation system.
•
Formulate guidelines of using BIM effectively in Pakistan highway transportation
system.
2
1.4 Scope of Work and Study Limitation
Design project focuses on highway transportation system in Pakistan. The survey will be
conducted in Pakistani’s institutional highway authorities.
The study will be limited to surveying BIM users in the highway companies of Pakistan. The
survey includes organization based and contractor’s perspective of BIM. Only survey and
interview are required.
1.5 Brief Methodology
Methodology is distributed into three phases:
First Phase:
•
Identifying barriers and advantages from detailed literature review.
•
Preparation of questionnaire on Linkert scale system.
Second Phase:
•
Industrial Survey
•
Distribution of online and manual questionnaires and filling forms.
Third Phase:
•
Statistical Analysis using measure of central tendency and variability with SPSS tool.
•
Presenting barriers and advantages with the help of bar charts.
•
Preparing guidelines based on barriers and advantages.
1.6 Project Layout
Four chapters have been incorporated in the project which have been briefly explained
below:
Chapter 1 includes the introduction to the study. The introduction includes the background,
project motivation and problem statement, overall goal of project program and specific design
project aim, scope of work and study limitation and a brief methodology
3
Chapter 2 undergoes the literature review of the study whose main focus points are introduction
to BIM, BIM tools and usage to highways, BIM international guidelines in highways, BIM
professionals, BIM benefits, BIM barriers, Highway transportation system and Pakistan
highway transportation system, problems in highway projects of Pakistan and BIM adoption
and implementation studies in developed countries.
Chapter 3 covers up the methodology in which questionnaire design based on detailed literature
review, industrial survey and formulation of guidelines have been discussed.
Chapter 4 comprises of results and discussions of the SPSS analysis of the questionnaires
feedback and further more based on the results guidelines have also been prepared.
Chapter 5 discusses the conclusion of the entire design project and recommendations for
further studies for the relevant topic.
4
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction to BIM
BIM can be interpreted into many forms depending upon the use and the form of civil
engineering. Below are some definitions of BIM which makes the concept clearer.
BIM is treated as present day software tool which for the civil engineers is meant as a scheme
in which a detailed process can be there as input. (Matějka, p.2014) For the companies which
act as designer, contractor and executors it is an analytical tool which makes it easy to store
data and at the same time it can be shared with others. This way of commencement has
improved the communication and coordination to improve the design and sequences of
construction among the multi-disciplined teams. (Sibert, B. 2013).
Engineers benefit from the BIM in the form of prediction of the performance of the
construction projects in the initial process which leads to tackle the fast design changes, to be
able to simulate the process which in turns make a better visualization. This whole BIM process
outputs a construction documentation which is up to a better quality and a standardize format.
This post analysis process is valuable for the design team to earlier extraction of data which
helps them to make the project economical. (Strafaci, A.2008).
BIM can be also be defined as common language platform where it makes all the project multi
teams into an integrated form of group. BIM main features can be distributed into sub
components like detection of clashes in project, improved constructability, communication and
collaborative tasks and in the end, time saving tool and easy estimate of cost. (Rokooei 2015)
Fig 2-1 explains the project life cycle of BIM starting from design, to construction and in the
end operation of the facility.
5
Figure 2. 1 BIM Project Life Cycle
Over the past years Bew-Richards’ BIM maturity model has been extensively used to check
how much an organization is mature enough in the field of BIM. The CAD which is used in
majority by the industries lies in the level 0 and the other levels include 2D, 3D, BIMs and
iBIM. (Jayasena, H. S., & Weddikkara, C. 2013, July).
Figure 2. 2 Maturity Model of BIM in organizations by Bew Richard
2.2 Highway Transportation System
Transportation system is defined as combination of vehicles, road for guidance and plan which
commences operation to move people and goods. (Ran, B., & Boyce, D. 2012) In another
6
definition, Highway transportation system is defined as a web of nodes which align themselves
against arcs on which vehicles are bound to move whereas the nodes are described as cities,
intersections. (Durbin, E. P. 1966)
According to Slater, R. E. (1996), Transportation is about people and how they go about their
daily lives, how they get to work, how they get to market, how they get their children to school,
how they get to visit family and friends, and how they pursue happiness. Slater gives the
introduction to National Highway System of America. The advantage of NHS is that it
encourages states to focus on a limited number of high-priority routes and to concentrate on
improving them with federal-aid funds. At the same time, the states can incorporate design and
construction improvements that address their traffic needs safely and efficiently.
NHS consists of five parts; 70,000-km Interstate Highway System, 7,200 km high-priority
corridors, 25,000 km non-interstate portion of the Strategic Highway Corridor Network, 3000
km major Strategic Highway Corridor Network connectors and 148,000 km of important
arterial highways.
Transportation system is a critical fragment of civic infrastructure effecting economy and have
massive influence on the profile of the society and the competence of the economy in overall.
Transportation system is denoted as a composite system of roads and highways, railroads,
airports, waterways, and inner-city transportation systems which provides the movement of
public and possessions. Transportation system addresses safety, economy and traffic issues.
Transportation developers and engineers put effort to provide bulk space for detected or
predicted travel mandate by construction of resourceful transportation systems producing both
flexibility and convenience. The governments of every developed country deliver specific
large amount of capital for the construction, preservation and maneuver of highway and other
transportation systems (Roess et al. 2004).
Among the developing countries, U.S highway transportation system is observed as leading
example but the transportation system of U.S still faces problems with maintenance and
management issues. Other countries, can follow the example but there is a need of study of
how the system got developed (Boarnet 2014). Some of the challenges that are being faced by
the developing countries are mentioned. Case study on China’s highway transportation system,
reveals that there was excessive feeding of energy which lead to inefficient environmental
7
index (Song et al. 2016). Also, when talking about the construction there are also issues in the
construction phases too like there are problems regarding inappropriate site management, no
updated software and hardware equipment for construction of highways and the fast-changing
design changes this leads to effect on time, project cost and low-quality production (Santoso
and Soeng 2016). Although, BIM could be applied for every civil engineering element, but
recent study in Taiwan shows that for the road infrastructure it is not being used at an abundant
value although participant in the questionnaire for BIM answer efficient use for road
infrastructure is very helpful (Chang and Lin 2014).
2.2.1 Pakistan Highway Transportation System
NHA is the main federal body of Pakistan which is the maintainer and controller of highway
transportation system. The total sum of road length of Pakistan exceeds 258000 kms which is
devided into paved roads and gravel roads and their total length is 153000 and 105000 kms
respectively.
National highways of Pakistan exceed their length up to 9516 kms which consist of arterial
passages which are further classified into primary and strategical. These routes serve traffic for
inter provincial and also connect major commercial cities and freight terminals. 80% of
country’s traffic flows over theses highways although the highways are 3.7% of the entire road
network of Pakistan.
According to NHA, the highway’s assets exceed 600 billion which indicates the largest
investment by Pakistan. NHA expresses concern over this large investment as its assets are
waning with the increasing amount of traffic flow, unchecked axle loads and the maintenance
of the highways is also deprived of any checks.
Result by the survey conducted on the pavement conditions of highway shows that the
remaining service life of 43% of highway roads are 0 to 1 year. This shows a major need of
concern over the maintenance of the roads.
The core principle of NHA on which it implements is Road asses management system
(RAMS). This principle aims to direct the highways into maintenance and smooth operation
with looking up to minimize transportation costs, provide comfort to drivers while travelling
and in the end safety for all the users of the road.
8
Figure 2. 3 Map of National Highway in Pakistan
2.3 BIM Tools and Usage in Highways
The BIM tools which are mainly incorporated for the purpose of design, construction and
maintenance of transportation projects are: (Chong et al. 2016)
1. Auto CAD Map 3D
2. Storm and Sanitary Analysis
3. Infra works
4. Auto CAD Civil 3D
5. Bridge module
6. Rail Layout module
7. River and flood analysis module
8. Robot structural analysis professional
The main software for BIM that are provided by companies like in the UK, Neil Brazier Ltd.
Company provides the software like Auto Desk Civil 3D, Navisworks, Infra works and Revit.
9
According to the company, these BIM services provide control of the project’s life cycle and
a better pre view of project. An example of BIM used in highway is shown below.
Figure 2. 4 BIM Used in Highway
Some of the major specialists related to BIM are: BIM developer like draftsperson; BIM
investigator for analysis; BIM developer for the software; BIM coordinator for assisting the
non-BIM users; BIM experts secondly named as consultants for providing software and
assisting the companies which are new to BIM implementation; BIM educators and scientists
for researcher purposes; BIM administrator or manager or BIM project manager for training
of employees, coordination and implementation of BIM software (Barison and Santos 2010).
BIM for the application of highway scan be transformed into Highway information modelling
(HIM) which necessitates design, quantity take-off, simulation, clash detection and other
benefiting uses (Ertaymaz and Atasoy 2019). BIM for highway transportation system is also
used in the form of bridge information modelling (BrIM). Building information modeling
(BIM) is a new technology in bridge construction industry. 3D models can provide perfect
numerical expression of drawings from design results. 3D information models for bridge
structures improve design quality in terms of accurate drawings, constructability and
collaboration (Shim et al. 2011). Building information modeling links and analyzes data related
to the inspection, evaluation, and management of bridges. BIM facilitates the inspection and
evaluation of bridges, which enables transportation companies to proficiently manage bridge
10
inventories and lead to a more mechanized practice (McGuire et al. 2016). BIM is also used in
highway for sustainability and environmental purposes like in a case study BIM is being
integrated with wireless sensors to check on humidity and temperature levels for the ease in
thermal conductivity in subways (Marzouk and Abdelaty 2014). The table 2-1 explains the
uses of BIM in a highway project from the pre-construction to construction and post
construction phases. (Chong et al. 2016)
Table 2. 1 BIM Uses for Highway Implementation Phase
Highway
Construction
Phases
Pre-Construction
Construction
BIM Uses
•
•
• Constru
Setting out
the site
ction
Drawing layout
of site
inspecti
•
Coordination
•
Project
and
Managemen
t of material
•
• Human
•
System analysis
•
Asset
management
•
Emergency
plan
•
Tran
resource
scheduling
•
on
•
PostConstruction
Planned
maintenance
Engineering
progress
sport
tracking
ation
• Quality
assurance
analysis
• Safety onsite
man
age
ment
• Cost control
• Constructab
ility
reviews
2.3.1 BIM International Guidelines in Highways
At first BIM guidelines for buildings will be reviewed. The book “Handbook A Guide to
Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and
11
Contractors” is an absolute example as guidelines which act as a learning guide to implement
BIM in the construction industry. This guideline delivers an awareness of BIM technologies,
issues related with BIM implementation, and the effects by use of BIM provides to a project
team. The guideline consists of introduction to BIM and technologies and also describing the
potential benefits of BIM. The guideline also mentions perceptions of BIM related to specific
disciplines like addressing to owners and facility managers, architects and engineers,
construction industry and subcontractors and fabricators. The guideline to assist in the
procedure of BIM also presents case studies in which BIM is used and mentions the
experiences and practices of owners, architects, engineers, contractors and fabricators.
Furthermore, this guideline also puts ahead a futuristic vison for the coming years and also
mentioning the current trends which are being employed; this helps in setting out a direction
for the future use for BIM (Eastman et al. 2011)
Queensland government has published a guideline for the road projects for the implementation
of BIM which is an outcome for the policy on digitalizing the engineering field. The guideline
outlines BIM approaches to deliver a road project by implementing BIM. The guide first
introduces the BIM to the readers where its definitions, uses and benefits for the transportation
are mentioned. Along with the BIM definitions, the guideline also clears the wave of
uncertainty of legal applications by mentioning the particular responsibilities and rules for
application for both the consultant and contractor. The guidelines also mention what are the
deliverables of a project which implements BIM. Furthermore, the guidelines mention the
practices to be followed for BIM modeling and documentation details.
2.3.2 BIM Benefits for Highway
There are many studies related to BIM advantages. Before progressing towards the BIM
benefits for highway, firstly there will be a mention for BIM advantages in overall construction
industry to judge the similarity between the BIM advantages in highway and overall
construction industry. The most frequent benefit of BIM is time and cost savings which are
most important factors of a project dependency (Bryde 2013). According to the study done by
Bimal Kumar (2017), who observed a case study in which BIM was implemented in an
infrastructure project in Scotland. The cases study shows that two cases were chosen were
chosen for the project. This project included both BIM software and the CAD which is
12
traditionally used all around the world. This study done in parallel to BIM and CAD outlined
the benefits of implementing the BIM. The end results showed that by implementing BIM there
was significant increase in the savings of the project. This happened due to common
information exchange among stake holders on the platform given by BIM. Other benefits show
that there was improvement in coordination among project members, the clash detections were
easy and faster at the early stages and the efficiency of the project increased subsequently.
Study by Ben Sibert et al. (2013) outlines the advantages of using BIM in highway by going
through a practical case study. The key advantages of BIM assessed are that BIM at its initial
plan phases covered up all the work stages of the construction including the design phases. The
model was created which comprised of features that were above the ground level. This model
was then processed into a video which is a unique capability of BIM. This video was developed
in the draft stages that communicated the public and the client. This process led to earlier
detection of problems in the model by the help of input by public and major stake holders. This
is unique from 2D drawings as it shows better visualization of the project and understanding
to all
One of the studies which implements BIM on the road shows that the key advantages shown
by BIM are that there is less involvement of human participation in the road project which in
turns reduces the labor cost. There are increased chances of fast and accurate work, less
consumption of materials on the grading process and also less passes to be laid on the road.
There are more night and safe works at the construction process of road (Znobishchev and
Shamraeva 2019). When BIM and GIS were utilized in a national road in the feasibility phase
it showed advantages as time saving, cost reduction, better 3 D visualization of project and the
flexibility to change the data according to routes if there is a need of design change (Park
2014). Case study on implementation on Bridge construction also signifies savings in the
financial aspect of project by 5-9% following the utilization of BIM (Fanning et al. 2014).
Conceivable benefits which were extracted from inducting BIM into bridge projects had a
decline in project conveyance time, errors, and cost (Ali et al. 2014). BIM has been utilized to
output 3 D information models which have been utilized in the bridge construction which has
provided with benefits of collaborative environment, reduction in construction time and lower
construction costs (Shim et al.2012).
The table 2-2 shows some of the benefits of BIM for overall construction industry.
13
Table 2. 2 BIM benefits for Construction industry
Serial No.
1
Author
Yan, H., &
Demian, P.
2
Migilinskas, D.
Et al
3
Blanco, F. G.
B., & Chen, H.
BIM benefits
a)
Year Of study
Saves the design cost
2008
b) Reduces human resource
c)
Digitalizes the process of design and build
a)
Time saving by reduction of corrections
2013
b) Reduction of Human Nature Mistakes
c)
Saving cost by accurate bill of quantities
a)
Improved Co ordination
2014
b) Efficient process leading to less waste
c)
Earlier clash detection
d) Less chance of redoing of work
4
Jin, R.
e)
Saves the time
a)
Subsequent decrement of design errors
2017
b) No chance of rework
5
Chan, D. W et
al
a)
better cost estimation
b) efficient
construction
2019
planning
and
management
c)
improvement in design and project quality.
2.4 Hindrance in Adopting BIM in Highway for Developed Countries
Likewise, just in the case of advantages of BIM here first hinderances of BIM implementation
related to construction industry will be explained then afterwards the BIM barriers in the
highway will be explained to explore similarity between them. In the construction industry,
some of the barriers that are linked to BIM implementation are that the users undergo a thinking
that the companies do not opt to BIM because for this process company has to put a lot of time
in the training process which also increases the human resources. While the architects do not
want to go for a change because they are contented with the current methods like CAD. They
are also doubtful that they the newly developed function will have any advantages (Yan and
Demian 2008). Another study shows that there is deficiency of the support from the senior
administration. There is a lot of cost for the implementation of the BIM software. And in the
end, there are legal issues while using BIM in the projects (Eadie et al. 2014). One of the
greatest threats to BIM implementation are the people and organizations, like clients which are
14
the main key to implementation but they are of a tough that BIM is not ready to be accepted in
market and pose BIM a threat for increasing the project’s cost (Porwal and Hewage 2013).
Some other barriers reported were linked to four metrices; organization issues, technicality,
financial aspects, contractual issues and legal issues. The problems faced were similar to the
studies as above (Alreshidi et al. 2017).
In the highway, study by Shabaan Khalid et al. (2015) shows that the main hinderances in the
BIM implementation are there will be need for extra investment for in BIM software and
hardware, no training platforms provided for awareness of BIM, the practitioners want to stick
to the traditional methods resisting for any change and this whole idea of BIM will lead to
extra burden of work.
2.5 BIM adoption and implementation studies in developed countries
There have been many studies regarding the BIM adoption and implementation studies in
developed countries but over here two studies have been mentioned.
Yean et al (2018) presented the data in which the adoption of BIM in railway transportation
projects in Malaysia was observed. Using quantitative and qualitative data approach,
questionnaires developed through Likert scale system were distributed to assess the data in the
industry and interviews based upon industrial experiences were held to find additional data to
look upon how much BIM is adopted in the railway sector of Malaysia. In addition, there was
also case studies on the railway projects which also added to the survey of BIM
implementation. This study led to the finding advantages and barriers of implementing BIM in
the railway sector of Malaysia. The data was shown in the form of pie charts. The figure below
shows an example of how the data was interpreted graphically.
15
Figure 2. 5 Pie Chart for assessing BIM tools used by BIM users
Study done by Shaaban and Nadeem (2015) shows how much is BIM used in the highway
projects in the gulf countries. This study takes the account of professional’s standpoint of what
are the barriers and advantages of using BIM. With the help of questionnaires based on Likert
system and interviews taken the results are analyzed. Three main points were taken into
consideration about which survey was taken. The points were; how much is the awareness of
BIM, effects of using BIM and limitations to using BIM in highway projects were assessed.
The results were shown in the form of bar charts. Their mean and standard deviation were
taken and the results were observed. Fig 2-6 shows how results were analyzed in the form of
bar charts.
(b) Bar Chart sowing Disadvantages
(a) Bar chart showing advantages
Figure 2. 6 Bar chart representation of advantages and barriers of BIM in highway
Another study by Yang and Chou (2019) also uses set of questionnaires distributed among
client, contractor and consultants which also includes BIM firms. By using questionnaires and
16
site visits to the project sites potential benefits were extracted which were mainly improved
design understanding, less clashed during construction and improved quality of the project.
2.6 Summary
Highway transportation system in Pakistan mainly needs rehabilitation and is facing problems.
BIM can help in the working principles of Pakistan’s highway transportation system and
advance it to solve the issues mainly maintenance and restoration. Developed countries have
developed BIM tools in way that it addresses to the phases of construction and maintenance of
highways. These tools and their function can bring an effective change in Pakistan highway
transportation system. There is also a mention of guidelines prepared by international
authorities for BIM in highway in which outlines all the methodologies and processes to be
followed. By the help of these guidelines a guideline can also be prepared for Pakistan. The
studies show that by studying BIM implementation in the systems can lead to find how much
BIM is effective to the respective construction industries.
17
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Background
The chapter comprises of the methodology which will be distributed into three phases. The
first phase includes the detailed literature review from which the key advantages and
hinderances are pointed out. These will be included in the questionnaire which will be
developed under Likert scale. The analysis will be done by SPSS tool by measuring mean and
standard deviation. In the end, study will be done by statistically analyzing the found data from
the survey and presenting the findings in the form of bar charts. The bar charts will contain the
advantages and barriers in implementing BIM in highway transportation system of Pakistan.
The next phase forwards to the implementation of the first phase which includes the industrial
survey from the client and the contractor. In the end, guidelines of BIM for Pakistan’s highway
transportation system will be prepared by following the attributes being added in the UK
guideline of BIM for the highways.
3.2 Detailed Literature Review and Questionnaire Preparation
From the literature review the key advantages and hinderances that have been sorted out and
will be asked accordingly in the questionnaire are given below.
10 Advantages of using BIM in highway have been assessed from literature review:
1. BIM saves the cost of design at initial phase
2. BIM reduces human resource during the entire operation phase.
3. BIM Improves coordination among project members
4. BIM provides earlier detection and clash reduction in the planning phase
5. BIM reduces overall cost in the project
6. BIM reduces time consumption of overall project
7. BIM is better than 2-D environment which provides easy understanding among client
and contractor
8. BIM reduces labor cost ultimately leading to less human involvement
9. BIM reduces the chances of overconsumption of materials during grading process
18
10. BIM ensures the safety of work at site
There are 8 barriers of BIM implementation in highway assessed through literature review:
1. BIM requires a lot of time to be implemented
2. BIM is a waste of human resource
3. Senior management support causes a barrier to the implementation of BIM
4. BIM software requires much cost to implement
5. There are legal uncertainties while using BIM in projects
6. BIM leads to additional work causing more pressure to work load
7. There is a lack of technical support from government and consultation companies
8. The highway practitioners are not aware of the BIM practices and their advantages due
to lack of training
Questionnaire is being developed under Likert scale system. Likert scale is a scale by which
respondents answer through multiple choice question based upon their feelings and opinions
about that question (Nemoto, T., & Beglar, D. 2014). The reason for using Likert scale system
in the questionnaire is because according to Bertram, D. (2007); These questionnaires are easy
to be made which yields a consistent scale and for the readers it is readable and completely fill
it without any trouble
The questionnaire includes five scales to comprehend the feedbacks from the respondents. The
five scales are strongly disagree which is the lowest rating scale followed by disagree, neither
agree nor disagree, disagree and the last scale strongly disagree. The scales are numerically
allotted the numbers of 1,2,3,4 and 5 respectively.
Table 3. 1 Five Point Likert Scales
SD
D
Neither agree
A
SA
4
5
nor disagree
1
2
3
In this questionnaire two sorts of questions have been employed; open ended and closed ended
questions. According to Farrell, S. (2016), the main difference between the open ended and
19
closed ended question is that the open ended are intended to make the respondents answer in
the form of sentences giving a full detail to their answers while closed ended shortens the case
by giving answers only in yes or no and there are also multi choice questions.
In the questionnaire, mainly closed ended questions have been incorporated as they are easy to
answer and saves the time of respondent. There is also inclusion of open-ended questions in
the form of additional comments which is a choice for the respondent to answer or not.
Two questionnaires have been made. One type of questionnaire has been made manually on a
computer printout and the other questionnaire has been made on google forms. The purpose of
executing two forms is because of COVID-19 which has made impossible for filling out on
hard copies so for easing out the survey online google forms have been made. The figure 3.1
shows the online questionnaire form created on google forms.
Figure 3. 1 Online Google Forms
3.3 Industrial Survey
A survey will be conducted in the industrial zone of highway transportation of Pakistan by
choosing the categories of the client and the contractor.
3.3.1 Surveying from Client Perspective
In Pakistan the main client is the government, the salutatory authority working under the
government is NHA. Which is responsible for the layouts of the design of the road and also
has other sections which include planning, construction and quantity and estimate section. The
20
survey from the client is on the organizational basis. This will determine how Pakistan’s federal
authority is digitally progressing in the field of transportation.
3.3.2 Surveying from Contractor Perspective
In Pakistan the main contractors are NLC, FWO which are the pursuers of the contractor. The
survey will be done on the basis of implementation and execution of the projects. This will
assess how the contractors are utilizing BIM for the execution of projects in Pakistan.
3.3.3 Surveying from Consultant Perspective
NESPAK highway division which is the main consultant in Pakistan will be surveyed on the
basis of originating design. This will determine on how much BIM has effect on the design
phase.
3.3.4 Statistical Analysis
For the analysis of data two approaches have been considered. First is the measure of central
tendency and variability by which the Likert scale will be converted into numerical values.
Secondly, the bar charts will be used to present the data from the questionnaires graphically.
3.3.5 Measure of central tendency and mean and bar charts
The type of Likert scale that is being used in the questionnaire is Likert scale data. In Likert
scale data the questions are put in the logical order and the questions are related to on another
and the main goal is to find the answers to the same issue (Subedi, 2016). In the questionnaire
designed for the evaluation of BIM the same coherence is needed to find out the different
aspects of BIM in highway system.
Subedi (2016) summarized all type of statistical approaches for Likert items data and Likert
scale data. The method being employed here are central tendency and variability. The methods
for these are mean and standard deviation. The calculations will be done in SPSS software
which is helpful tool for calculation of mean and central tendency and has the ability to
formulate bar charts.
21
Table 3. 2 Statistical Analysis Procedure for Likert Items Data and Likert Scale Data
Statistical Methods
Likert Items
Data
Likert Scale Data
Internal consistency
Ordinal alpha
Cronbach’s alpha
Central Tendency
Median or mode
Mean
Variability
Frequency
Standard deviation
Kendal tau B or C,
Spearman’s Rho, polychoric
correlations
Pearson’s r
Associations
3.4 Formulation of Guidelines
The guidelines will be formulated by looking on to the attributes being employed in the
guidelines given by UK by Queensland government and also the guidelines given by the
implementation studies. The main attributes to be included in the guidelines are explanation of
BIM definitions, listing down BIM tools for roads and uses of BIM for highways. And in the
last a complete BIM procedure for a project will be mentioned.
3.5 Summary
In the chapter above includes the thorough explanation of the procedure being employed for
the study of the feasibility of BIM in Pakistan highway transportation of Pakistan. The three
main phases include detailed literature review and questionnaire preparation, industrial survey
from the standpoint of client and contractor. And in the end formulation of guidelines have
been discussed.
22
CHAPTER 4
Results and Discussions
4.1 Background
This chapter is related to presentation of the data collected through the valid responses of the
questionnaire (refer to annexure A) respondents. The questionnaire response was undergone
through statistical analysis by using SPSS tool. The analysis was done descriptively and by using
mean and standard deviation method.
4.2 Response Rate of Questionnaire
Total questionnaires which were distributed among the highway practitioners were 120.
Among which almost 79 questionnaires were responded back. In which 22 questionnaires were
filled manually and 57 forms were filled online. The questionnaires were also evaluated for the
sole purpose of quality, out of which 1 questionnaire was deducted. So, the total number of
valid and responded questionnaire are 78. Overall, the respond rate was 65%. Table 4-1 gives
the overall synopsis of the questionnaire collection from companies.
Table 4. 1 Summary of Data Collected from Questionnaire
Number of Questionnaire Distributed
120
Questionnaires responded back
79
Online Questionnaires
57
Manual Questionnaires
22
Valid Questionnaires
78
The analysis was done on SPSS tool. The figure below shows the data collected which has
been put into the SPSS sheet.
23
Figure 4. 1 SPSS Tool Analysis
4.2.1 Site Visit to CPEC
A site visit was arranged to CPEC site Western Route Hakla (on M-1) to D.I. Khan Motorway:
Rehmani Khel to Kot Balian (Package-2B) under Corona virus SOP’s guidelines. A meeting
was arranged with Sardar Mohammad Ashraf D. Baluch (Pvt.) Limited Contractors’ deputy
project manager in which 22 questionnaires were filled by transportation engineers on site.
Feasibility of BIM was discussed with the engineers in the highway transportation system of
Pakistan. Overall overview of the site visit was that the majority of the engineers were unaware
of Building information modelling BIM in the highway transportation system and appreciated
if such practices were involved in the system it would ease out the problems faced in the
transportation sector in Pakistan. The figure 4-2 below shows the site visit on CPEC site
following Corona SOP’s guidelines.
24
Figure 4. 2 Site Visit to CPEC Western Route
4.3 Background of the Respondents
The background of the respondents includes the main attributes which are:
a) Area of profession in highway
b) Experience in the organization
c) Area of specialization
d) Involvement in main highway projects
These background details were extracted from the questionnaire survey forms to analyze the
data.
4.3.1 Area of profession in highway
The survey form was distributed among the highway companies. On the client side included
NHA in which the forms were sent online to NHA headquarter Islamabad and NHA research
center Burhan. While for the consultant side, NESPAK highway division Islamabad was
selected. The forms were filled via online. Now for the contractor side, the forms were sent via
online and also filled manually. For the contractors via online the companies which took part
were FWO and NLC engineers. The manual forms were filled by D Baloch contractor company
engineers.
25
4.3.2 Experience in the organization
The table 4-2 shows the overall summary obtained from the survey forms expressing the
experiences of the respondents in the organization.
Table 4. 2 Experiences in Organization
Category
Frequency
Percent
Less than 5 years
47
60.3
5-10 years
21
26.9
10-15 years
6
7.7
more than 15 years
4
5.1
78
100.0
Total
From the survey response, it has been concluded that the main respondents’ experience lied in
less than 5 years (60.3%). The survey form had major impact with less than 5 years’
experience. While in second came the respondents, who had experience with 5 – 10 years
(26.9%). While for the experiences with 10 – 15 years came second last (7.7%) and in the end
came with experiences with more than 4 years.
The result will have a significance on the questionnaire response as to which experience range
lie to those who had responded yes to BIM use question. Following this observation, it can be
summarized that the questionnaire had a major effect from the experiences with less than 5
years.
The figure below shows the graphical representation of experiences in the organization in
which clearly the experiences with less than 5 years dominates the graph.
26
Figure 4. 3 Graphical representation of experiences in the organization
4.3.3 Area of specialization
In the questionnaire the area of specialization was distributed in four categories; Planning,
Design and estimation, Execution and Maintenance and Rehabilitation. The table 4-3 shows
the frequency response of area of specialization.
Table 4. 3 Area of Specialization
Category
Frequency
Percent
8
10.3
Design and estimation
21
26.9
Execution
42
53.8
7
9.0
78
100.0
Planning
Maintenance and Rehabilitation
Total
The feedback exhibits that the main respondents were from the specialization of execution
(53.8%). While in next came the specialization of design and estimation having percentage of
26.9 % and in the last came Planning (10.3%) and Maintenance and rehabilitation (9.0%).
Major response from execution section is giving an inclusive look on how BIM is used in
executional phases of transportation projects. Second to that there is dominancy of planning
27
this has helped achieved the response of how the major role of BIM is being done in reducing
the clashes at initial phases.
The graph below shows the execution specialization and other specializations in percentages.
Figure 4. 4 Graphical representation of area of Specialization
4.3.4 Involvement in main highway projects
In the questionnaire the main highway projects was distributed in three categories; Motorway
projects, National highway projects and Expressway projects. The table 4-4 shows the
frequency response of Involvement in main highway projects.
Table 4. 4 Involvement in main highway projects
Category
Frequency
Percent
Motorway projects
21
26.9
National highway projects
43
55.1
Expressway projects
10
12.8
other
4
5.1
Total
78
100.0
The response exhibits that the key respondents had involvement in highway projects in
National highway projects (55.1%). While following came Motorway projects having
28
percentage of 26.9 % and in the end was expressway projects (11.1%) and other projects
(5.1%).
Although there is less response rate from motorway projects than national highway projects
this effects the questionnaire response in the manner that if there had been more response it
would have been know on how BIM has been utilized in Pakistan’s most advanced and
comfortable transportation routes. But major response from national highway project tells us
the major role of BIM in the longest and most common routes in Pakistan.
The table below shows the other projects in which the respondents were involved in. These
projects also come in the category of highway system.
Table 4. 5 Other highway Projects
Category
Frequency
local Road Network
1
Runway Construction
1
small bridges
1
Super Passages
1
Total
4
The graph below shows the dominancy of highway projects in the form of pie chart.
29
Figure 4. 5 Graphical representation of Involvement in highway projects
4.4 Main Issues faced during Projects
In the questionnaire the main issues faced during projects was distributed in four categories;
Planning issues, Design issues, Site management issues and Maintenance issues. The table 46 illustrates the frequency response of core issues faced during highway projects.
Table 4. 6 Main Issues faced during Projects
Frequency
Percent
Planning issues
14
17.9
Design issues
20
25.6
Site management issues
38
48.7
6
7.7
78
100.0
Maintenance issues
Total
The main issues faced during the highway projects as responded by the highway practitioners
are management issues having percentages of 48.7 %. At the second position came Design
issues (25.6 %) and in the end came Planning (17.9%) and Maintenance issues (7.7%).
30
The response shows that main issues were found were of design and site management issues.
If a proper usage of BIM tools is utilized in the HTS of Pakistan a major fraction of theses
issues could be reduced in a significant manner.
The pie graph below shows the graphical representation of major issues faced during highway
projects.
Figure 4. 6 Graphical representation of Main issues in highway projects
4.5 Response rate for usage of BIM
This is the most critical result section of this chapter. The table 4-7 condenses the results
displaying the responses for the usage of BIM.
Table 4. 7 Response rate for usage of BIM
Frequency
Percent
Yes
6
7.7
No
72
92.3
Total
78
100.0
The response clearly displays that 7.7% of the respondent have used BIM. While 92.3 % of
respondents display the result of stating NO to the usage of BIM.
The major response rate shows that BIM is not being utilized in a prominent manner in
Pakistan’s highway projects. This tells us that the Pakistan’s highway transportation system
31
needs a BIM guideline to advance highway projects in proficient tone according to the
practices set by developed countries.
The graph shows a major green part of indicating NO to the BIM usage in Pakistan’s HTS.
Figure 4. 7 Graphical representation of Response rate for usage of BIM
4.6 Main tools of BIM used in highway projects
In the questionnaire the main tools of BIM used in highway projects was distributed in four
categories; Auto Cad Map 3D, Revit and Navisworks and others. The table 4-8 illustrates the
frequency response of Main tools of BIM used in highway projects.
Table 4. 8 Main tools of BIM used in highway projects
Frequency
Percent
Auto Cad Map 3D
2
33.3
Revit
2
33.3
Navisworks
1
16.7
Other (Prima Vera)
1
16.7
Total
6
100.0
32
The main tools of BIM used in highway projects as responded by the highway practitioners is
Auto Cad map 3D (33.33%) and Revit (33.33%). While Navisworks came in second with
16.7% response rate. For the option of others “Prima Vera” was mentioned which had same
response rate as Navisworks (16.7%).
Figure 4. 8 Graphical representation of Main tools of BIM used in highway projects
4.7 Level of Expertise in BIM tools
The Figures below show the level of expertise in BIM tools. The figure below shows the level
of expertise in Revit. Which shows that the level of expertise in Revit is mainly 10-20 %.
Figure 4. 9 Level of expertise in Revit
33
The level of expertise in Auto Cad is mainly 50-60 %. It is represented in Fig 4.8.
Figure 4. 10 Level of expertise in Auto Cad
For the Navis works the level of expertise of respondents show 10-20%. It has been represented
in the figure below.
Figure 4. 11 Level of expertise in Navis works
The level of expertise in Prima Vera is 50-60%.
34
Figure 4. 12 Level of Expertise in Prima Vera
4.8 Advantages of using BIM in HTS
The table shows the statistical values of mean and standard deviation of the responses by
SPSS tools. The input was the survey responses by the questionnaire attendees.
According to the results, the main advantages are:
1. BIM provides earlier detection of clash in the planning phase. (4.6667, .51640)
2. BIM saves the cost of design at initial phase. (4.3333, .51640)
3. BIM is better than 2-D environment which provides easy understanding among clients
(4.3333, .81650), BIM improves coordination among project members (4.3333, .81650), BIM
reduces over consumption of materials during grading process (4.3333, .81650).
Table 4. 9 Analysis of Advantages of using BIM
Questions
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
BIM saves the cost of design at initial
phase
6
4.3333
.51640
BIM reduces human resources during the
entire operational phase
6
3.5000
1.22474
35
BIM improves coordination among
project members
6
4.3333
.81650
BIM provides earlier detection of clash in
the planning phase
6
4.6667
.51640
BIM reduces overall cost in the project
6
4.0000
.63246
BIM reduces time consumption of overall
project
6
4.1667
.40825
BIM is better than 2-D environment
which provides easy understanding
among clients
6
4.3333
.81650
BIM reduces labor cost ultimately
leading to less human involvement
6
3.3333
.81650
BIM reduces over consumption of
materials during grading process
6
4.3333
.81650
BIM ensures the safety of work at site
6
3.3333
1.21106
4.9 Main Disadvantages of using BIM in HTS
The table shows the statistical values of mean and standard deviation of the responses by
SPSS tools. The input was the survey responses by the questionnaire attendees.
According to the results, the main disadvantages are:
1. The highway practitioners are not aware of the BIM practices due to lack of training (4.5000,
.54772).
2. There is a lack of technical support from government and consultation companies (4.0000,
.89443).
3. BIM software requires much cost to implement (3.5000, 1.04881).
36
Table 4. 10 Analysis of Disadvantages of using BIM
Questions
N
Mean
Std. Deviation
BIM is a waste of human resource
6
2.3333
1.03280
Senior management support causes a
barrier to the implementation of BIM
6
3.0000
1.54919
BIM requires a lot of time to be
implemented
6
3.1667
1.16905
There are legal uncertainties while using
BIM in projects
6
3.1667
.98319
BIM software requires much cost to
implement
6
3.5000
1.04881
BIM leads to additional work causing
more pressure to work load
6
2.6667
1.21106
There is a lack of technical support from
government and consultation companies
6
4.0000
.89443
The highway practitioners are not aware
of the BIM practices due to lack of
training
6
4.5000
.54772
4.10 Guidelines for Using BIM in HTS of Pakistan
The advantages and hinderances for using BIM in HTS in Pakistan have been highlighted now,
it is turn for preparing the BIM guidelines for Pakistan’s HTS. The guidelines will be prepared
in the light of the guidelines prepared by Queensland Government for transportation sector
which has been explained in the chapter 2.
37
The guideline includes the following vital descriptors; BIM primitive definition, Benefits of
using BIM on highway, BIM uses on highway, BIM legal practices in Highway sector,
Highway BIM deliverables.
But before proceeding towards the headings first let’s highlight the purpose of this guideline.
4.10.1 Purpose of BIM Guidelines for Pakistan’s HTS
The underlying reason behind preparing a guideline is for the soulful purpose to reach out the
highway sector of Pakistan to enlighten the use of BIM in highway and roads. Till now
according to the results extracted in the analysis portion there is deficiency in knowledge about
BIM. Below are the bulleted purposes for this guideline:
•
To horizon the familiarization of BIM to the highway clients, consultants and
contractors.
•
To endorse the employment of BIM in the Pakistan’s highway constructional phases.
•
To illuminate a process to be utilized while using BIM for the consultants and
contractors.
•
To set up a universal working ground for consultant, client and contractors for easiness
in data sharing and analysis.
•
To explain the legal implication about BIM to the highway industry for the smooth
flow of work.
•
To explain the uses and benefits of BIM to the Pakistan’s HTS.
•
To upgrade the current HTS of Pakistan to advancement.
4.10.2 BIM Primitive Definitions
BIM can be well-defined evidently as:
“BIM is a common data sharing platform for the contractors, clients and consultants by
portraying a digital content of the building in which all the project running parties can input
their side of work in the succeeding life cycle of the project.”
The definition could alter with each researcher but the above definition clears all the
ambiguities. The highway industry can utilize the definition by simply replacing the word
“Building” with “highway and roads”. Rest portrays the same meaning. BIM utilizes the
processes involved in highway construction phase cycle and relates it to the 3 D modeling
38
software where on can easily gain access to infrastructure’s cost, quality, quantity and even
time at any lifecycle of the project. It is possible to share the data to every project member by
creating a common data file. Highway industry can employ BIM at the highway projects to
improve the coordination by simply forming up a common ground work which is created by
BIM.
4.10.3 Benefits of Using BIM for HTS
The HTS of Pakistan must be clear about the benefits about the BIM for highways and roads.
Below are the benefits which BIM provides when it is adopted in a highway project.
•
BIM offers prior detection of clash in the planning phase.
•
BIM hoards the cost of design at preliminary phases of highway projects.
•
BIM provides a 3-D atmosphere which delivers calm understanding to the clients
•
BIM expands harmonization among project members during the life cycle of the
highway project.
•
BIM condenses over ingesting of materials during grading process at the execution
step.
•
BIM saves time of overall highway project which could be utilized by rectifying any
former slipups in the projects.
4.10.4 Usage of BIM for HTS
Exploitation of BIM can be done in each and every project life cycle of the project. Below
the BIM uses are explained project life cycle wise; Post construction, construction and Pre
construction phases.
For highway post construction phase;
•
BIM can be utilized for the initial setting out of the site.
•
For the coordination purpose BIM can be used.
•
BIM can be utilized to create a Project scheduling so that every process in highway is
scheduled timely and kept track of.
•
Material theft and loss is common on highway project sites BIM can be utilized to
manage the materials.
•
Engineering analysis can be performed at pre stages of highway project via BIM.
39
Highway Construction Phase;
•
For the purpose of inspection and track record of the highway constructional phase
BIM also helps in this matter.
•
Human resources can be efficiently utilized by employing BIM.
•
Quality assurance can be set by BIM.
•
BIM also provides safety onsite.
•
BIM controls the saving of cost at this phase.
And for pre-construction phase;
•
BIM also propagates planned maintenance
•
Management of the assets at the pre constructional phase can be done by BIM.
4.10.5 BIM Legal Practices for BIM
Legal process is initiated when the contract is bonded between the client and contractor under
the umbrella of consultant. At the time of contractor BIM manager is employed whose
responsibility is different than consultant and manages the BIM related issues and data sharing
among the client, contractor and consultant. BIM manager clearly defines what are the
deliverables of BIM and where and the BIM is utilized in the project life cycle to exhaust out
the ambiguity of legal uncertainties.
From the client side, BIM deliverables and the expected outputs like benefits to be extracted
from BIM must be clearly defined so that at the time of the contract contractor must be fully
aware of the situation and respond legally in that manner.
4.10.6 BIM Management and Deliverables for HTS
BIM management as described in the previous section is mainly handled by BIM manger
which is different than contractor and project manager. Actually, BIM manger works coordinately with consultant and project manger to relay the BIM uses in the highway projects.
The main deliverables for BIM induced highway project include a clear 3 D model which
includes all the project key members with a same format file to be later own used for the
purpose of analysis. These 3 D models can also be printed on a 2 D hard formats for the purpose
of a hard copy data in case the 3 D causes ambiguity when legal cases arrive.
40
4.11 Summary
In this chapter, discussion about BIM trends in Pakistan’s highway transportation system was
discussed. Questionnaire response from contractor, client and consultant was discussed. The
response was statistically analyzed by SPSS tool. At first Background of the respondents was
discussed and the study for the impact on the questionnaires was discussed.
BIM tools and their expertise were also part of the discussion in which various tools such as
Auto Cad were discussed. Also, the percentage of BIM users was also calculated which was
7.7% which was very low. And at the end BIM advantages and hinderances were discussed.
Then based upon the advantages and disadvantages guidelines for using BIM in Pakistan HTS
was discussed. The guidelines included; BIM primitive definition, Benefits of using BIM on
highway, BIM uses on highway, BIM legal practices in Highway sector, Highway BIM
deliverables.
41
Chapter 5
Conclusions and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusions
The design project initiated with finding key advantages and hindrances in BIM. Along with
these, Highway transportation system was explored along with the details of Pakistan highway
transportation system in which NHA was identified as the main authoritative organization.
This led to the making of questionnaire form in which advantages and barriers of BIM in
highway transportation system were inserted. Questionnaire was developed on the Likert scale
system. Then it was distributed into the highway companies to obtain relevant data who were
involved in highway projects to obtain advices and opinions on Highway BIM related matters.
The results or responses of the questionnaire were received by hand and online through Google
forms and was then analyzed on SPSS tool and was further discussed in detail.
The first objective was to determine the benefits of using BIM. As discussed, and analyzed in
section 4.8, The main benefits of utilizing BIM are:
a) BIM provides earlier detection of clash in the planning phase.
b) BIM saves the cost of design at initial phase.
c) BIM is better than 2-D environment which provides easy understanding among clients.
BIM improves coordination among project members. BIM reduces over consumption
of materials during grading process.
The second objective was to determine the barriers of BIM in highway. As discussed, and
analyzed in section 4.9, The main barriers of utilizing BIM are:
a) The highway practitioners are not aware of the BIM practices due to lack of training.
b) There is a lack of technical support from government and consultation companies.
c) BIM software requires much cost to implement.
After extracting the advantages and disadvantages of BIM a guideline of BIM for Pakistan’s
HTS was prepared in which BIM definitions, uses, benefits, legal applications and deliverables
were included.
42
In order to improve the adoption level of BIM in Pakistan’s highway transportation system,
the essential enhancements based upon the feedback of this questionnaire must be carried out
to overcome the barriers faced by the highway construction industry so that BIM could be
extensively utilized in all the veins of highway and the highway industries could gain benefits
from the implementation of BIM on the projects.
5.2 Recommendations
Although there were limitations to this design project, like there was no use of BIM tools in
the methodology. It could be suggested that for further studies BIM tools must be used and
more in-depth study to gain advantages and barriers of BIM could be practically analyzed.
It is also recommended that all the stake holders in the country must take the responsibility to
primely promote and utilize BIM in the highway and infrastructure sector. There is a great
boom for use of BIM in developed regions so Pakistan highway transportation system must
also opt for better utilization of BIM to catch up in line with the global trends. Once
implemented on some of the highway and infrastructure projects in the future, it would be
beneficial to evaluate the actual benefits and challenges as part of a future research.
43
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ANNEXURE A
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49