Development of the Process Information Modelling in the Construction Project: A Case Study of the ZERO-PLUS Project

The conventional Building Information Models (BIM) does not contain knowledge about the relation between different pieces of information. To be able to understand the information the recipient must have sufficient knowledge within the given domain. When information cannot reach to the relevant party in real time or in advance that will cause miscommunication and delays. At this point, the Process Information Modelling (PIM), which is a process-oriented modelling approach, provides a collaborative way of planning, designing, producing, assembling, and managing the repeatable deployment process. The main objective of PIM is to formulate a process oriented database platform that allows smooth data transfer, exchange, as well as promoting seamless and constant data sharing. Digital documentation, simulation, graphical data and non-graphical data are produced progressively to support the decision-making process throughout the PIM application development stage. Thus, PIM embraces real-time data processing that helps to identify issues in advance, predict malfunction, reduce production time, and influence production cost. At the moment, PIM is developed through three main phases which include design, production, and on-site assembly phase and represents a conceptual tool that provides a platform where stakeholders can access information in real-time and to make vital decisions in advance. By using a real scenario in the on-going EU Horizon 2020 research project ZERO-PLUS, the first application of the PIM concept could be demonstrated on the Freescoo HVAC system, which will not only help the project team to structure detailed guidelines within the current project but will also lay a foundation for developing a fully functional PIM application in the future.