BIM-based integrated approach for detailed construction scheduling under resource constraints

• Defining WBS for component-centric activity-level scheduling and BIM
• Automatically sequencing activities under physical, spatial and resource constraints
• In-depth integration of BIM product model, process simulation model and optimization
• Prototyping Autodesk Revit add-on tool with panelized building application case

Building information modeling (BIM) has been recognized as an information technology with the potential to markedly change the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, and has drawn attention from numerous scholars within the construction domain. Despite the reported advancements pertaining to BIM in previous studies, the extended use of BIM has not yet reached its full potential. This paper thus presents a BIM-based integrated scheduling approach which facilitates the automatic generation of optimized activity-level construction schedules for building projects under resource constraints, by achieving an in-depth integration of BIM product models with work package information, process simulations, and optimization algorithms. A developed prototype system for panelized building construction as an add-on tool for Autodesk Revit is described. A case study is subsequently presented to demonstrate the methodology. Building on the existing body of research in this field, the key contribution of the proposed research is the in-depth integration of BIM product model with work package information, process simulations, and an optimization model, which provides solutions addressing the challenges of the existing practice with respect to detailed construction scheduling under resource constraints.