Development of BIM-Based Innovative Workflow for Architecture, Engineering and Construction Projects in China

Abstract—With the dramatic development of technologies and the coming of the digital era, most industries are experiencing innovation and restructure due to more energy-efficient and sustainable requirements. As one of the most energy-intensive industries, the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) is facing great challenges in the future sustainable development. In China, due to numerous AEC projects are launched and completed every year, the traditional drawing-based workflow cannot meet the increasing demands of project digitalization anymore and even is losing the overall control of project management. In recent years, an emerging digital technology named Building Information Modelling (BIM) is leading an innovative development trend in the global AEC industry. It can provide professional services to bring both technical and economic benefits across the AEC project lifecycle from planning to facility management by using advanced management workflow and software tools. Therefore, this paper proposes a BIM-based project workflow for the future development of the AEC industry in China. This workflow was developed based on both literature review and empirical data. In addition, a case study was also used to validate the potential value of this BIM-based workflow for the application of a real project. This workflow not only can realize multidisciplinary collaboration and multidimensional digital services, but also can improve the productivity and efficiency of project to promote a sustainable development in AEC industry.