Leveraging GeoBIM for Smarter Health and Safety in Construction

Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations are requirements that govern the way construction projects are planned in the UK; they are the main set of regulations for managing the health, safety and welfare of construction projects across their lifecycle. It is an integral part of project delivery ensuring that the right information is provided to the right person at the right place at the right time., To date, the development of such register involves the engagement of multiple disciplines as well as the implementation of approval workflows amongst them. This register, however, is typically stored in spreadsheets, de-linked from the Graphical and Non-Graphical Information that is generated across the project's lifecycle. This highlights the challenges of utilizing this data further, for example placing this information in real-world conditions to greatly reduce response time, improve collaborative decision-making and create a single placeholder that will contribute towards the Project Information Model (PIM) handover to the client. Digital Processes and particularly, Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographic Information Science (GIS) can assist towards a more efficient development and utilization of the CDM Register. The uniqueness of this work aims to bridge the interoperability gap between BIM and GIS, by bringing these two domains together in order to create a cloud-based high Level of Detail Digital Environment hosted on Esri ArcGIS Online, founded on BIM-GIS integration and enhanced by the introduction of Health & Safety information and particularly the CDM Register. In alignment with the GeoDesign concept, integrating three different data sources in a single placeholder -GeoBIM-, achieves improved results. Specifically, it facilitates the collaboration of the relevant disciplines by providing easy access to 3D information, as well as enhancing the stakeholders' decision-making by leveraging geospatial interactions with the surrounding context augmented by the increased detail of the 3D models. Future impact of this work can assist in the development of Site Navigation & Smart evacuation systems, that will utilize the semantic data lake of the CDM Risk register and the 3D Models, with the intelligent network tools of GIS to provide optimized and safer routes and paths under different site conditions. This work is a step towards the implementation of GIS and BIM to support Health & Safety, aspiring the adoption of such digital processes across the project's lifecycle. Investigating the implementation of such solutions in a variety of projects (Rail, Highways, Buildings) can provide the basis on enriching current Health & Safety regulations regarding the use of integrated digital technologies, as well as feedback lessons-learnt to create a consistent approach to develop a fit for purpose Health & Safety digital environment for all stakeholders, resulting in robust and resilient decision-making within the Architecture-Engineering-Construction-Owner-Operator (AECOO) industry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow us on Social Media! Twitter: https://twitter.com/Esri Facebook: https://facebook.com/EsriGIS LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/esri Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esrigram The Science of Where: http://www.esri.com