Gongfan Chen, Chuanni He, Simon M. Hsiang, Min Liu · 5 authors
Central project managers devote massive efforts to monitor, track, coordinate, and take actions to diagnose and prognose governed constraints and remove them to enable a reliable workflow.The blockchain-enabled smart contract can streamline the work process by predefining "intelligent" consensus to facilitate central managers' jobs.However, the inability of smart contracts to handle unexpected events under complicated environments posited challenges in realizing it automatically.This study aimed to develop adaptive mechanism to mediate production bottlenecks caused by constraints.First, the research identified the four main types of constraints and their levels of variability from a prefabricated project.Then, a simulation model was established to quantify the impacts of different constraints and determine the fair payment rules.Lastly, different constraint-bundled scenarios and execution policies were developed and encoded in the smart contracts for automated executions.Smart contracts can assist construction managers to motivate reliable production and minimize waste caused by bottlenecks in the system.
The Construction industry has a complex structure with multiple parties involved, which often leads to âadversarial relationshipsâ, ârisk avoidanceâ, and a âlack of trustâ among the different actors. This culture is further compounded by a âlinear workflowâ that often results in low efficiency, delays, rework and unnecessary waste. Blockchain technology can help to mitigate these issues by creating a decentralised and transparent system, where all the actors can have access to a shared database, it allows tracking and monitors the different stages of the project, and even automate some processes increasing efficiency and reducing delays and rework. This study highlights the advantages of Blockchain technology, particularly how it can provide a single source of truth for project data while allowing multiple parties to access and share data in a secure and transparent way, improving the workflow of BIM projects and decreasing the likelihood of errors, mistakes, or fraudulent activities. The paper explores the integration of BIM and Blockchain across life cycle and supply chains based on the RIBA plan of work, with the objective to streamline collaboration while improving process efficiency and resource traceability in projects. The study proposes a roadmap performing a detailed literature survey for Blockchain adoption in the construction industry, and validated on a real-world Bridge project. Furthermore, this study is innovative since it examines the integration of BIM and Blockchain throughout the entire project lifecycle by simulating the smart contract implementation based on the RIBA plan of work, thus providing an in-depth examination of the potential benefits of this integration.
The detailed practices for smart contract implementation can be complicated when working under building information modeling (BIM)âenabled projects, especially from the perspective of contract administration. This research aims to explore and determine effective contractual practices and their associated contract provisions for smart contract implementation in BIM-enabled projects. A mixed-methods approach was adopted based on an exploratory case study and a questionnaire survey. The qualitative findings were used to initially identify the core criteria of the contractual aspects associated with smart contracts. Quantitative analysis was then applied to determine the critical contract provisions. This research provides new insights and practical knowledge toward implementing legally sound smart contracts in BIM-enabled projects through the contractual aspects of (1) contractual relationships and obligations, (2) security and privacy, and (3) other specific terms and overall contract structure. A contract framework is also developed for future research and practice of smart contract implementation in BIM-enabled projects.
Gongfan Chen, Min Liu, Yuxiang Zhang, Zhigao Wang · 6 authors
Reliable construction workflow relies on timely discovery, analysis, and checking of compliance with contract terms, which are time consuming and inefficient tasks. Smart contracts enabled by blockchain technology have demonstrated promise in addressing the inefficiencies of data communications due to their merits of traceability, immutability, transparency, and self-enforceability. However, a smart contractâs inability to interact with real-world data is the main issue that impedes further implementation. Todayâs increasing availability of as-built data provides automatic condition assessments that have great potential to automate smart contract executions. This research area is uncharted territory for the industry. This research selects a case study to present an automatic decentralized management framework by exploring image-based deep learning solutions to automate and decentralize the conditioning of smart contract executions enabled by a web3.js-based decentralized blockchain application. It was found that the model can automate management intelligence with minimal workflow interruptions by timely identification of bottleneck activities and enforcement of mitigation strategies. Project managers can use the blockchain prototype to enhance information sharing, remove key risks, and enable a reliable workflow with minimal management efforts.
Over time, several procurement methods have been adopted to facilitate the successful delivery of construction projects with minimal financial losses in order to offer maximum value to clients. In recent years, the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) procurement model has been introduced for better overall financial performance. In this model, every member of the project team has a stake in overall profit or risk irrespective of the extent of their roles and change orders and correction of errors and omissions are managed effectively with minimal contractual disruptions. This paper aims to address some of the previously cited barriers in earlier scholarly work, and it proposes a conceptual framework that integrates two novel concepts towards tackling technological and financial barriers in adopting IPD namely, BIM and Smart Contracts (SC). A framework is developed for a BIM-blockchain-IPD whereby the BIM model is integrated with blockchain technology, thereby acting as an immutable and transparent information repository and a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) projects. The smart contract feature of blockchain technology offers an automated equitable distribution of risk and reward amongst project stakeholders based on agreements at project inception. Thus, the research contributes to a more efficient project delivery method by avoiding information asymmetry amongst stakeholders through a tamper-proof, BIM-enabled Common Data Environment (CDE). The proposed framework is validated with qualitative analysis of information obtained based on AEC industry procurement workflows
Jan 1, 2023·Proceedings of the ... Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences/Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
The Non-Fungible Token (NFT) makes trading digitalized artworks online possible, which creates great opportunities in the artwork markets. Besides the extraordinary wealth it has created, the NFT trading market also brings many issues, such as intellectual property protection. Although there are a large number of transactions happening every day in the NFT market, there is no platform mechanism built to avoid copycat behaviors happening blatantly. In this paper, we propose a copycat detection and investigation framework. Besides, we propose to examine the effect of copycats on the price of original NFTs. The proposed project contributes to the literature on NFT management and NFT copyright, and also helps the NFT developers to protect their rights and benefits and helps NFT platforms to avoid potential legal issues.
Jan-Iwo JĂ€kel, Sophie Kalisch, Peter GölzhĂ€user, Katharina KlemtâAlbert
To ensure intact infrastructure systems and a long service life of bridge structures in the operational phase, the establishment of a predictive maintenance management based on digital 3D models is essential.These 3D models are often not provided, especially for existing bridge structures.In addition, their creation is very complex, resource-intensive and involves many stakeholders.Through the use of digital methods and technologies, important efficiency steps have been taken in the creation of digital models in recent years.Although semi-automated modeling of digital bridge models is possible, the quality agreed upon is not always achieved at the end of each development step.In this article, an approach is developed to create transparency, safety, consistency and traceability for the generation process of digital models of existing bridge structures.The approach involves all stakeholders participating in the process and creates a decentralized control and documentation mechanism using distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain.First, the current status on the use of DLT in the construction industry and bridge engineering is presented.Then, the system concept is presented and the basic algorithm is described.The general system architecture and the workflow are presented and described in models.Then the basic feasibility of the approach is presented and the previously shown concept is implemented.The basic functions of the algorithm are described and the results are critically reviewed.The result of the article is showing the possibilities to use DLT and blockchain to improve the accuracy, transparency and security in the creation of digital models of existing bridge structures.
The building sectorâs decarbonization progress made to date has not been enough to achieve the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C1. To avert a catastrophic climate disaster, mobilizing capital at the requisite scale and speed is urgently needed. However, as things stand, the investment in building decarbonization is unlikely to increase radically in the next few years. One of the biggest challenges is the financial barrier of decarbonization's demand and supply side. This barrier will lead to significant investment gaps and a subsequent market failure to deliver the net zero carbon emission target. With the rise of the voluntary carbon market and carbon data disclosure mandates, an emerging cohort of Web3 startups is helping corporations track, tokenize, and transact energy or carbon impact. This phenomenon inspired us to revisit monetizing carbon value in commercial real estate to bridge the decarbonization financing barrier. We identified four challenges to make this idea work: 1) measurement and verification, 2) streamlined automation, 3) stakeholder incentive alignment, and 4) fixing the failing carbon market. We examine if Web3 decarbonization solutions can tackle those four challenges in monetizing building decarbonization. By looking into Web3 applications in decarbonization data management, tokenization, and marketplace, we unpack the unique capabilities and potentials of Web3 solutions and how they are different from the status quo to accelerate decarbonization in commercial real estate. The findings are a mixture of "the emperor's new clothes" and " the next big thing ."Web3 startups are immature â most are at or before proof of concept. Nonetheless, Web3 technologies can play a role in providing improvements to carbon data management, aligning stakeholders' incentives, and increasing efficiency in the energy or carbon markets.
Abdelrahman E. E. Eltoukhy, Mohamed Hussein, Min Xu, Felix T.S. Chan
In modular integrated construction (MiC), the resource allocation problem (RAP) adopted by construction sites and vehicle routing problem (VRP) adopted by logistics companies are highly interdependent. However, this interdependence has been overlooked in the literature. Thus, the plans determined by each problem cannot be achieved practically. Moreover, there is no existing VRP model suitable for the MiC application. This study aims to propose a VRP model suitable for MiC, investigate the interdependence between the RAP and proposed VRP model, and develop a blockchain system to secure information sharing between the RAP and VRP. The first two objectives are achieved by developing a coordinated system formulated as a leader-follower Stackelberg game model (LFSGM). This model is presented as a bi-level optimisation model and solved using a nested ant colony optimisation-based algorithm. The effectiveness of the LFSGM is validated using a real case study. The results show that using the traditional approach (i.e. a separate RAP and proposed VRP) succeeds in providing a plan for the construction sites but not for the logistics company. In contrast, the LFSGM offers applicable plans for both the construction sites and logistics company. Lastly, some managerial implications are identified and discussed.
Mario Casillo, Francesco Colace, Brij B. Gupta, Angelo Lorusso · 6 authors
Digital Design is becoming more advanced by the year, software more sophisticated, and products of ever-increasing quality. In the design and implementation processes of structural works, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has now established itself as a standard process in professional and non-professional environments. In particular, the creation of BIM families is a topic of great interest to engineers and designers who can focus on describing a single object in every detail before it is included in a larger, more complex project. Since they represent digital products, specific problems could arise, particularly copyright management and certification of digital files, which must be able to be shared within the entire reference project, which is sometimes large and complex. This paper aims to solve these issues by leveraging blockchain technology as a tool for certification and attribution of authorship and/or ownership of a particular file. Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) represent an excellent opportunity for the digital design world as they were born precisely to manage the ownership of digital assets in a secure manner certified by the Blockchain. The results show how BIM and Blockchain technologies can work together and benefit from each other.
In Bae Chung, Carlos Caldas, Fernanda Fernanda Leite
Significant changes in the construction industry have been brought about by Building Information Modeling (BIM). While BIM has improved team collaboration and workflow efficiency, the model still faces multiple challenges. These are related primarily to the security, transparency, and reliability of the data shared in the model. A potential way to mitigate these problems, according to many studies, is blockchain technology. This paper reviews the recent literature on the integration of BIM and blockchain technology. Using a rigorous search-and-selection process, the authors conducted a systematic literature review by analyzing 70 studies relevant to BIM-blockchain integration. The state-of-the-art review explains how studies have implemented blockchain technology and provides an overview of different levels of adoption. Various application areas within the BIM process are explored to understand the ongoing research trend. The authors discuss limitations and offer recommendations on how best to implement future work in BIM-blockchain integration.
Abstract Building Information Modeling (BIM) provides an excellent opportunity to digitally document and visually display construction projectsâ information throughout their whole lifecycle. Another recent technology that fosters the digital transformation of the construction sector is blockchain-based smart contract. In combination with BIM models, such smart contract can be used for delivery, acceptance, and payment (DAP) process automation in the construction industry. The DAP process can be modelled by using smart contracts and securely stored via a blockchain. Since smart contracts are programming codes, for stakeholders it is difficult to understand what is exactly written in them. Therefore, it is necessary to visualize the state and executed transactions of the deployed smart contracts. In this paper, a framework is highlighted to record and visualize the status of the DAP processes by combining BIM with smart contracts using the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) to develop a smart contract system. With the help of suitable visualization concepts, the individual transactions of the blockchain can be displayed in a comprehensible way. The feasibility of the framework is presented through an illustrative implementation of the smart contract system. The proposed framework can help project participants better understand the current state of a smart contract.
Dongmin Lee, Leyang Wen, Jin Ouk Choi, Sang Hyun Lee
Volumetric modular construction (VMC) needs streamlined supply chain coordination to achieve its full potential benefits, such as reduced schedule and cost, with consistent quality. Studies have noted that blockchain technology has significant potential for increasing the efficacy of supply chain coordination by providing reliable information sharing among VMC stakeholders. However, it is not well known how blockchain technologyâs enhanced information sharing ultimately can lead to better supply chain coordination in VMC. To address this issue, we developed and tested a blockchain-based information collecting, storing, and sharing system with an automated contract execution method. A sensor-integrated decentralized application collects project information and sends it to the blockchain network to be shared among project participants for data-driven actions in VMC. We demonstrated the system through a hypothetical case project in which stakeholders took photos with their mobile devices to share the moduleâs status information to trigger an automated payment promptly, facilitating efficient supply chain coordination. The results show that any photos collected from the stakeholderâs mobile device can be traceably stored and shared in the suggested blockchain system regardless of their file size, triggering nearly real-time automated payments. The primary contribution of this study is the development and demonstration of a blockchain system that realizes accountable project-related information sharing with automated contract execution functions across VMC stakeholders for better supply chain coordination.
Current infrastructure construction is the key of the national policy, along with the expansion of business areas, branch subsidiary is more, the traditional enterprise management system more difficult to adapt to the subsidiary, branch, distribution is more decentralized management needs of enterprise, the management of construction enterprises difficult to ascend, mainly reflected in operation of separation of goods. Financial sharing center is one of the methods to promote the integration of industry and finance and improve the efficiency of enterprise management. The cost accounting process is an important business process in the construction process. This paper optimizes the cost accounting business process of construction enterprises based on the financial sharing center, so as to improve the informatization and standardization level of construction enterprises, enhance the integration level of industry and finance, and improve the efficiency of cost management.
A major matter in any industry, especially one with complicated stakeholder relationships like the construction industry, is dispute resolution. Blockchain technology, in the form of crowdsourced arbitration, may assist project stakeholders to conclude a verdict for any conflict including an argument over delay damage responsibility. This paper aims to propose a Blockchain-based methodology to facilitate small and medium project delay resolution demands on a timely and transparent basis. The methodology consists of two implementation stages: (i) A Blockchain-powered crowdsourced arbitration jury to analyze and determine the responsible party and subsequent affairs following predefined conditions of the contract and (ii) Blockchain-based smart contracts to enable automatic implementation of said events including automatic payment of penalty and/or compensation cost. The introduced method is validated by a case study of crowdsourced arbitration using the Rhubarb plat-form to resolve disputes over who should be responsible for the delay of a garage construction project taken from an academic study on delay analysis techniques. The final verdict was that the contractor must reimburse the clientâs financial loss following established terms and conditions on liquidated ascertained damages via smart contract operation. The research also underlines the pros and cons of both current decentralized dispute resolution practice and this research proposed model in the construction field for future studies.
The existing multi-person collaborative design scheme of Building Information Modeling (BIM) integrated with blockchain faces problems such as poor reliability of BIM drawing, inconsistent drawing information, redundant information, and inaccurate protection of copyright interests. This paper proposes a multi-person collaborative design model for BIM drawing that combines blockchain and InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). This model uses blockchain to store drawing design information to protect the copyright interests of designers and combines IPFS to ensure the reliability of drawing. A cycle division mechanism is designed to solve the problem of drawing information synchronization when multiple people collaborate in design. The Semantic Differential Transaction (SDT) method is used to achieve incremental update of drawing and reduce the information redundancy of the blockchain. Finally, a comparative analysis and validation evaluation of the scheme is carried out, and the usability of the scheme is illustrated with an illustrative example. The results show that: (1) proposed scheme is feasible for multi-person collaborative design; (2) proposed scheme can effectively ensure the reliability of drawing and reduce the redundancy of blockchain information, so as to achieve copyright protection for designers.
The present study uses a bibliometric and systematic literature review (SLR) to examine the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Digital Twins (DT) in the construction industry. The network visualization and other approaches based on the Web of Science (WOS) database and the patterns of research interactions were explored in 1879 academic publications using co-occurrence and co-citation investigations. Significant publications, conferences, influential authors, countries, organizations, and funding agencies have been recognized. Our study demonstrates that BIM, IoT, and DT in construction, Heritage BIM (HBIM), Smart Contracts, BIM, and Ontology, and VR and AR in BIM and DT are the main study themes. Finally, several prospective areas for future study are identified, including BIM and Metaverse technology, BIM and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Metaheuristic algorithms for optimization purposes in BIM, and the Circular Economy with BIM and IoT.