Virtual design and construction

The concept of ‘build virtually then build actually’ has been a key driver in research and process innovation within the AECO industry for the last 20 years, and was the vision that led to the formation of the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) at Stanford University in 1988. After many years of research, testing and incremental uptake, this concept is now being realized under the banner of virtual design and construction (VDC). VDC is the use of multidisciplinary performance models of designconstruction projects, including their products (the facility), organization and work processes, to meet the business objectives across the stakeholders. Design and construction are intimately linked in the process, as the uptake of this technology enables changes in the role and responsibilities of designers and constructors. There will also be implications for facilities managers (see Ding et al., Chapter 20 in this volume). The major motivation for using VDC is the perceived underperforming of design and construction firms. For example, in the analysis of a representative design firm, it was found that 6 per cent of the total time was spent on planning design processes, 36 per cent on designing and 58 per cent on managing information (Flager and Haymaker 2007). The high proportion of time spent on managing information is essentially ‘lost’ time, and the firm has now proceeded to reduce this. On the construction side, a study over the period 2001–05 (Figure 16.1)by SPS found that of all the factors involved in on-site construction delays,unforeseen site conditions were responsible for 1 per cent and inclement weather for 10 per cent. The remaining 89 per cent were caused by factors that were under some form of control by the contractor. These high levels of delays could easily be reduced by earlier recognition of the potential problems.