Introducing an Advanced Building Information Modeling Course in Construction Management Programs

Abstract

Many construction management (CM) programs in the U.S. have introduced Building Information Modeling (BIM) in their curriculum due to the rapid adoption of BIM in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Previous research has revealed that most of the BIM courses offered in CM programs have mainly focused on 3D modeling skills as well as BIM applications in 4D scheduling and 5D estimating. While these topics appear to be important to apply BIM technology, students will not be able to fully understand the BIM process in a construction project without knowing the fundamental workflow of BIM. This paper presents a newly-developed BIM course which aims to help CM students better understand the BIM workflow and focuses on advanced uses of BIM in construction projects. The course is divided into three modules: BIM workflow, basic BIM applications, and advanced BIM applications. The BIM workflow module discusses how BIM is addressed in project delivery method, contract, the execution plan, and team building. The basic BIM applications module explains the typical BIM applications in 3D coordination, 4D scheduling, 5D estimating, logistics, visualization, etc. The advanced BIM applications module demonstrates the latest technology advances in the AEC industry that utilize BIM applications, including laser scanning, virtual reality, and mixed reality. This course will considerably improve CM students' understanding of BIM as a process instead of a modeling tools or software program and significantly broaden their insights into BIM beyond the existing 3D, 4D, and 5D applications. This paper will serve as a case study of an advanced level BIM course in CM programs.

Analysis of Skills Needs for Future Architecture Graduates of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Malaysia: A Thematic Review Paper

“…These tools can provide various possibilities for exchange of data and collaboration in the construction industry (Hodorog et al, 2019). A study by Huang (2017) found that laser scanning, virtual reality, and mixed reality were also adopted in BIM-related projects in the AEC industry. These technologies upgrade the usage and function by the development of technology.…”

Defining a BIM-Enabled Learning Environment—An Adaptive Structuration Theory Perspective

“…BIM educational programs start with creating awareness and educating students and trainees on how to use different industry-specific BIM software packages (e.g., Revit, ArchiCAD, Navisworks, Rhino3D, Aconex, etc.) for modelling, viewing, simulating, scheduling, or data sharing (see [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]). Courses often begin by highlighting the benefits and barriers of BIM, including the reasons for BIM adoption in the AEC-FM industry (e.g., [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]) and the progress on BIM knowledge and authoring/manipulation skills (e.g., [28][29][30][31]).…”