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The award-winning researcher duo Mikael Johansson & Mattias Roupé
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Fewer mistakes and improved production planning with award-winning VR technique
Small mistakes and miscalculations made in the design
stage of a construction project can develop into large and costly
problems for the project. But with VR technology connected to building
information modeling (BIM), you can find and fix any design errors
already at the drawing stage – before they reach the construction site.
Mikael Johansson and Mattias Roupé of the Department of
Architecture and Civil Engineering have developed a user-friendly VR
interface that can be connected to digital building information models,
so-called BIM models. With a VR headset on, it allows the user to virtually step inside and
walk around inside of the model of a construction project, alone or with
fellow users. In this way, the various professions within the
production staff, who hold the accumulated knowledge from the design
stage, can review and refine their work themselves before moving on to
the next step. The method has been tested by professionals, planners,
and staff from the site management of six different organisations and
projects where design and production have taken place in parallel.
–
The evaluation have shown that the method is very effective when it
comes to identifying opportunities for improvement and increase quality
and construction safety. The participants found pure design mistakes,
and were also able to identify opportunities to streamline the rules of
procedure between disciplines and find alternative solutions to benefit
progress, says Mikael Johansson, Research Engineer at the Division of
Construction Management.
The participants especially
highlight the fact that the model is experienced in scale 1:1 as a great
advantage, as it gives a completely different understanding and sense
of real proportions, spaces and details compared to looking at the model
on their regular computer screen. The ability to collaborate and
discuss solutions in so-called multi-user mode was another factor that
the users felt increased understanding and improved communications.
–
The experience gained during the pandemic has made us accustomed to
working from different geographical locations, and the multi-user mode
enables participants from design and production to connect and
collaborate inside of the model, both in their different professional roles and areas of
responsibility – and from different locations, says Mattias Roupé,
Associate Professor at the Division of Construction Management.
Aside from downloading the software, the user need a gaming computer and a set of VR goggles, which makes the technique fairly easily accessible. The
study has shown that VR technique combined with BIM not only provide
great value for the industry but that the method is mature enough to
come to use in sharp projects – a fact that recently rewarded the
researchers and the project with the innovation of the year award from
SBUF, The Development Fund of the Swedish Construction Industry.
About SBUFSBUF (The Development Fund of the Swedish Construction Industry) is the Swedish construction industry's organisation for research and development with approximately 3,000 affiliated companies in Sweden. SBUF's aim is to promote development in the building process in order to create more favourable conditions for constructions contractors by enabling them to benefit from research and conduct development work. “Innovation of the year” is an annual award given by SBUF to a SBUF-funded project reported as per previous year. Read more (in Swedish): https://www.sbuf.se/Nyheter-och-publikationer/vinnare-arets-innovation-2022/