Towards Automating Clash Management Process in Design Build Industrialized Project s

Abstract

The Malaysian government has been promoting the use of industrialized building system (IBS) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the Productivity Thrust of the Construction Industry Transformation Program CITP2016-2020. However, the rate of BIM adaptation is hampered when the AEC industry still relies very much on traditional drawings and management practices. The clash management becomes one of the major problems affecting 25%-30% of contract value and 10% project cost. This study is part of a larger study aiming to propose an automated clash management system that supports integration of local IBS products in a BIM process. This paper reports the documentation of the underlying traditional practices for clash detection and resolution in industrialized projects. This study used case study research methodology involving a design-build construction team of an industrialized hospital project. In-depth interviews were conducted on the management team including the project manager, the architect, the coordinating engineer, and the quantity surveyor. Inductive logic approach was used to collect and analyze the data for this study. Results include documentation of the clash detection until resolution of management decision process through distinctive clash lifecycle phases including the sequential activities of the project management team and the criteria for decision-making. These results are expected to contribute towards proposing a technology-based clash management framework that would support the development of an automated clash management system. This paper extends the Discontinuity-in-Organization theory for supporting knowledge transfers in complex lifecycle process.