The interest of academics and practitioners towards the information digitization has largely grew during the last years and meets full implementation in the manufacturing sector. Conversely, in the construction sector the fragmented supply chain characterized by many actors involved in the different project stages entails a slow penetration and dissemination of the information digitization. Even though in recent years new technologies and digital methodologies are spreading also in the construction industry, e.g., Building Information Modelling (BIM), the characteristics of the construction sector require a rethinking of the operating processes to perfectly join the design and execution project stages. Indeed, the only dissemination of new technologies is not satisfactory to increment the productivity, but it is necessary to reconsider the information flow among all the project stakeholders. Consequently, important changes will characterize enterprise organizations from both the strategic and operational point of view through the introduction of appropriate software and hardware, and through staff training efforts. This research is founded on two phases: a preliminary phase based on a qualitative questionnaire and preliminary interviews, and a second phase based on case studies. Indeed, after the collection of the enterprises needs for the information flow optimisation by means of 35 responses from the questionnaire and from 4 preliminary interviews, another 16 interviews were conducted among 5 contractors to understand what the current internal and external information flow is (RQ1) and what the digital information flow could be for the contractors and their stakeholders in the next future (RQ2). The collection of data has allowed the creation of an optimized supply chain framework based on the principles of industry 4.0. The framework has been validated by one of building contractors interviewed. The research provides several contributions for practitioners and academics. Indeed, the study contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge by answering the research questions and offering some academic publications. The supply chain framework proposed in this study is based on the use of a Stage 3 BIM platform. The stage 3 BIM platform reaches its objective of an efficient digital information flow if it can manage the correct level of information in accordance with the ISO 19560-1:2018. So, it was needed to define the minimum information to put inside the projects along the various construction phases. Furthermore, a list of essential objects attributes was defined: according to the enterprises interviewed, these attributes must be always present and clearly visible during the information exchange as a label that characterises the objects. In addition, the platform BIMReL was launched to provide a common data structure on which is possible to define the level of information need. Finally, the research offered a tool for the enterprises associated to the Italian building contractors Association (ANCE) for the evaluation of their digital maturity. This tool allows to identify the enterprise areas that need major investments and suggests some corrective actions to improve the current state of company digitalisation.
Negli ultimi anni è andato crescendo l'interesse di accademici e professionisti verso la digitalizzazione dell'informazione. Tale interesse ha incontrato la sua piena applicazione nel settore manifatturiero. Nel settore delle costruzioni, invece, la frammentazione della filiera, caratterizzata da molti attori coinvolti nelle diverse fasi del progetto, comporta una lenta diffusione della digitalizzazione delle informazioni. Nonostante che, recentemente, anche nell’industria delle costruzioni si stiano diffondendo nuove tecnologie e metodologie digitali, come ad esempio il Building Information Modelling (BIM), le caratteristiche del settore richiedono un ripensamento dei processi operativi al fine di integrare le fasi di progettazione ed esecuzione del progetto. Infatti, la sola diffusione di nuove tecnologie non è sufficiente ad aumentare la produttività del settore, ma è necessario riconsiderare il flusso di informazioni tra gli stakeholders. Di conseguenza, importanti cambiamenti caratterizzeranno le organizzazioni aziendali dal punto di vista strategico e operativo, attraverso l'introduzione di software e hardware appropriati e attraverso notevoli sforzi di formazione del personale. Questa ricerca si fonda su due fasi: una fase preliminare basata su un questionario qualitativo e su delle interviste, e una seconda fase basata su dei casi di studio. Infatti, dopo la raccolta delle esigenze delle imprese per l'ottimizzazione del flusso informativo tramite l’analisi delle 35 risposte al questionario e delle 4 interviste preliminari, sono state condotte altre 16 interviste tra 5 appaltatori per comprendere quale sia l'attuale flusso informativo interno ed esterno (RQ1) e quale potrebbe essere il flusso di informazioni digitali per gli appaltatori e gli stakeholders nel prossimo futuro (RQ2). La raccolta dei dati ha consentito la creazione di un modello della catena di fornitura basato sui principi dell'industria 4.0. Il modello è stato convalidato da una delle imprese appaltatrici intervistate. La ricerca fornisce diversi contributi sia per i professionisti del settore che per gli accademici. Lo studio, infatti, contribuisce alla conoscenza teorica e pratica rispondendo alle domande di ricerca e offrendo alcune pubblicazioni accademiche. Il modello della catena di fornitura proposto si basa sull'uso di una piattaforma BIM livello 3. La piattaforma BIM livello 3 raggiunge l’obiettivo della creazione di un efficiente flusso di informazioni digitali quando è in grado di gestire il corretto livello di informazioni in conformità con la ISO 19560-1: 2018. A tal fine, quindi, è stato necessario definire le informazioni minime da inserire all'interno delle varie fasi costruttive. Inoltre, è stato definito un elenco di attributi essenziali degli oggetti: secondo le imprese intervistate, questi attributi devono essere sempre presenti e chiaramente visibili durante lo scambio di informazioni. Inoltre, è stata utilizzata la piattaforma BIMReL per fornire una struttura dati comune su cui è possibile definire il livello di fabbisogno informativo. La ricerca, infine, ha offerto uno strumento per la valutazione della maturità digitale delle imprese associate all'Associazione Nazionale Costruttori Edili (ANCE). Lo strumento appena citato permette di identificare le aree aziendali che necessitano di maggiori investimenti e suggerisce alcune azioni correttive per migliorare lo stato attuale della digitalizzazione aziendale.
A framework for the optimization of the digital flow in the construction supply chain
Leto, Alessio Domenico
2020/2021
Abstract
The interest of academics and practitioners towards the information digitization has largely grew during the last years and meets full implementation in the manufacturing sector. Conversely, in the construction sector the fragmented supply chain characterized by many actors involved in the different project stages entails a slow penetration and dissemination of the information digitization. Even though in recent years new technologies and digital methodologies are spreading also in the construction industry, e.g., Building Information Modelling (BIM), the characteristics of the construction sector require a rethinking of the operating processes to perfectly join the design and execution project stages. Indeed, the only dissemination of new technologies is not satisfactory to increment the productivity, but it is necessary to reconsider the information flow among all the project stakeholders. Consequently, important changes will characterize enterprise organizations from both the strategic and operational point of view through the introduction of appropriate software and hardware, and through staff training efforts. This research is founded on two phases: a preliminary phase based on a qualitative questionnaire and preliminary interviews, and a second phase based on case studies. Indeed, after the collection of the enterprises needs for the information flow optimisation by means of 35 responses from the questionnaire and from 4 preliminary interviews, another 16 interviews were conducted among 5 contractors to understand what the current internal and external information flow is (RQ1) and what the digital information flow could be for the contractors and their stakeholders in the next future (RQ2). The collection of data has allowed the creation of an optimized supply chain framework based on the principles of industry 4.0. The framework has been validated by one of building contractors interviewed. The research provides several contributions for practitioners and academics. Indeed, the study contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge by answering the research questions and offering some academic publications. The supply chain framework proposed in this study is based on the use of a Stage 3 BIM platform. The stage 3 BIM platform reaches its objective of an efficient digital information flow if it can manage the correct level of information in accordance with the ISO 19560-1:2018. So, it was needed to define the minimum information to put inside the projects along the various construction phases. Furthermore, a list of essential objects attributes was defined: according to the enterprises interviewed, these attributes must be always present and clearly visible during the information exchange as a label that characterises the objects. In addition, the platform BIMReL was launched to provide a common data structure on which is possible to define the level of information need. Finally, the research offered a tool for the enterprises associated to the Italian building contractors Association (ANCE) for the evaluation of their digital maturity. This tool allows to identify the enterprise areas that need major investments and suggests some corrective actions to improve the current state of company digitalisation.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/171162