Making most of BIM in design: analysis of the importance of design coordination

Abstract

Preparing drawings and documents for a construction project entails coordination and numerous revisions among various segments, such as architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, and fire. Under such working environment and complex design process, conflicts and discrepancies should be resolved promptly and effectively during the design phase. Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology is an effective tool for resolving technical clashes, conflicts, and other problems causing typical delays in the design phase. This paper shows the results from a real-world empirical case project, where an analysis was carried to assess the priority of design coordination issues. This was done by assessing the comparative importance of design issues and applying entropy weight method in order to improve design process performance. A total of 1,662 validation and coordination issues were analysed. The results suggest that issues between design segments are more critical than the mere frequency of issues. The findings are expected to improve BIM design process performance when setting the coordination priorities.