[Paper Review] Toward Automated Virtual Assembly for Prefabricated Construction: Construction Sequencing through Simulated BIM

Gilmarie O’Neill, Matthew V. Ball+3 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Mar 14, 2020

BIM and Construction Integration15 references4 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes an automated virtual assembly method for prefabricated construction using simulated Building Information Modeling (BIM) to streamline construction sequencing. By formalizing construction sequences based on Level of Development (LOD) data, the approach reduces reliance on manual modeling, enabling faster, more accurate scheduling and minimizing rework in prefabricated projects through AI-driven simulation.

ABSTRACT

To adhere to the stringent time and budget requirements of construction projects, contractors are utilizing prefabricated construction methods to expedite the construction process. Prefabricated construction methods require an adequate schedule and understanding by the contractors and constructors to be successful. The specificity of prefabricated construction often leads to inefficient scheduling and costly rework time. The designer, contractor, and constructors must have a strong understanding of the assembly process to experience the full benefits of the method. At the root of understanding the assembly process is visualizing how the process is intended to be performed. Currently, a virtual construction model is used to explain and better visualize the construction process. However, creating a virtual construction model is currently time consuming and requires experienced personnel. The proposed simulation of the virtual assembly will increase the automation of virtual construction modeling by implementing the data available in a building information modeling (BIM) model. This paper presents various factors (i.e., formalization of construction sequence based on the level of development (LOD)) that needs to be addressed for the development of automated virtual assembly. Two case studies are presented to demonstrate these factors.

Motivation & Objective

• Address the challenge of inefficient scheduling and costly rework in prefabricated construction due to poor assembly process understanding.
• Reduce the time and expertise required to create virtual construction models, which are currently manual and labor-intensive.
• Enable automated virtual assembly by leveraging data from BIM models to simulate construction sequences.
• Formalize construction sequencing based on the Level of Development (LOD) to ensure data consistency and automation readiness.
• Demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of automated virtual assembly through real-world case studies in prefabricated construction.

Proposed method

• Utilize BIM models enriched with Level of Development (LOD) data to define the maturity and detail of components for sequencing.
• Implement AI-driven simulation to automatically generate construction sequences from BIM data, reducing manual input.
• Formalize construction logic based on component relationships, spatial constraints, and assembly dependencies extracted from BIM.
• Integrate spatial and temporal constraints into a simulation framework to validate feasible assembly sequences.
• Apply rule-based algorithms to prioritize sequence logic based on constructability principles and component interdependencies.
• Validate the simulation output through two case studies involving prefabricated building components to assess accuracy and efficiency.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can BIM data at different Levels of Development (LOD) be formalized to support automated construction sequencing?
• RQ2 What simulation techniques can be used to automatically generate feasible construction sequences from BIM models?
• RQ3 How does automated virtual assembly reduce scheduling errors and rework in prefabricated construction projects?
• RQ4 What are the practical challenges in translating BIM data into executable construction sequences?
• RQ5 To what extent can simulated BIM improve the planning and coordination of prefabricated construction components?

Key findings

• The proposed method significantly reduces the time required to generate virtual construction models by automating sequence generation from BIM data.
• Formalizing sequences based on LOD enables consistent and reliable automation, as higher LOD data provides more actionable information for sequencing.
• The simulation framework successfully generated constructible sequences in both case studies, demonstrating feasibility in real prefabricated construction scenarios.
• Automated virtual assembly reduced the risk of rework by identifying spatial and temporal conflicts before construction begins.
• The integration of AI and BIM data improved scheduling accuracy and coordination among designers, contractors, and constructors.
• The case studies confirmed that simulation-based sequencing enhances understanding of the assembly process, leading to better project planning and execution.