An analysis of 4D-BIM Construction Planning: Advantages, Risks and Challenges

The rapid growth on the field of project management and building information modelling (BIM) has led not only to the enhancement of architectural/structural design, construction methodology and operation of facilities but also to the generating of the new and exciting applications such as 4D simulations, project scheduling and controlling. 4D planning and scheduling is one of the BIM uses based on the BIM guidelines. Poor quality of construction works, and ineffective scheduling and planning can be significantly mitigated by adopting BIM in early design processes. In this paper, the advantages, possible risks of 4D-BIM construction scheduling, existing and future challenges of 4D planning in the construction industry are discussed. First presented is the primary concept of 4D-BIM simulation with its possible applications and capabilities in construction planning. After that, weaknesses and strengths of generation of 4D simulation/animation of the conventional and prefabricated construction building projects according to the construction schedule are analyzed. The results show that the integration of BIM model in the construction program is essential and ensures greater control over the construction projects. Also, it can be concluded that the automation in 4D-planning needs to be more considered and optimized by programing and formulating of construction planning and geometric model creation. Finally, this study contributes to the construction/project managers to improve their management performance and efficiency of works, also this investigation contributes to identify research gaps and opportunities for future study.