What Does It Take To Reduce Risks In The Construction Industry?

How the construction industry will be affected by net zero
  • Author: Fazal Umer
  • Posted On: March 9, 2023
  • Updated On: March 9, 2023

Anyone who has been part of the construction industry knows that it is not known for its safety. From accident and injury statistics to news about construction businesses closing down, the industry is well on its way to becoming one of the least safe in the world, both monetary-wise and physically.

The good news is, Building Information Model, or BIM, can substantially reduce the risks associated with the construction industry.

If you are wondering ‘’what is BIM?’’, the answer is that it is a process of developing a building and its features digitally. The process starts at the beginning of the design process and it will end when the building is completed. When used correctly, it can reduce the risks associated with the construction industry.

Here’s how.

Better Project Management

BIM can be used effectively to manage a construction project better. A manager can use it to find out potential problem areas of the construction project, such as time estimating and cost. Coupled with construction management software, the manager can find out these things much before the start of the project.

This ultimately allows to cut down on risks and liabilities, which again leads to lower chances of the project having a bad outcome.

Most construction companies look for similar construction projects to work on. Lowering the time between two construction projects can help reduce cost variability. This can mean better project management in the long term.

Less Risk of Accidents

The construction industry sees quite a few accidents occurring every year in the country. BIM can help reduce many of these accidents by helping companies create safety standards to keep construction crews safe on the job. It does so mainly by planning better.

When construction tasks are planned sequentially, commonly found pain points in the process could be eliminated altogether, which was not possible without the help of appropriate software.

Pain points are quite unpredictable in the normal way of things and when they occur, they can increase the risk of accidents. With BIM modelling, a visual illustration digitally can be created of the whole building. This enables the project manager to find out potential risks and hazards before the process of construction starts.

With visual risk analysis and evaluations, construction companies can find out site conditions for crew and keep them safe and compliant.

More Durable Buildings

Another thing that will help reduce risks in the construction industry is building more durable buildings. 2D and 3D drawings have been used for many years but they are not sufficient in modern times. These kinds of drawings can have many errors because the software has not been used. Chances of accidents and hazards also increase.

With BIM, it is possible to get digital illustrations of a building before the first stone has been cast. Contractors can quickly refer to the BIM model to find out if any improvements need to be made.

All this helps a building be more durable. It does not just apply to new buildings though: it applies to existing buildings as well.

For example, if a new structure has to be built on an existing building, a lot of things have to be taken into account including whether the old structure will be able to hold the new one.

With BIM, it is possible to see exactly what the new structure is going to do for the existing one, see the hazards that may arise, and make plans to avoid them. This ensures that the project will be much more durable.

More Optimisation of Energy

It cannot be stressed enough how important energy conservation is in today’s world. In fact, the more energy conservation a building does, the better job the contractors will have done on it.

BIM allows contractors and project managers to find out exactly how the particular building is going to impact the environment. Green construction is of superlative importance today and it cannot be denied that BIM makes it possible for more green buildings and construction projects to come up.

The software will let a construction try and be veered towards ‘’green’’ from the word go. Every step of the process, including acquiring construction materials can be done in an environmentally-conscious way. BIM will allow construction projects to witness exactly what a particular process is doing to the environment and how it can be better.

This allows for ‘’greener’’ buildings to be built.

Final Words

With building information modelling, construction projects can be safer. It certainly puts the client and owner of a building project in a less anxious mind because it forecasts a lot of things. When it is possible to understand what is going on in a construction site and reduce the risks in implementing it, chances are that the risks will be discounted quite a bit.

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Author: Fazal Umer

Fazal is a dedicated industry expert in the field of civil engineering. As an Editor at ConstructionHow, he leverages his experience as a civil engineer to enrich the readers looking to learn a thing or two in detail in the respective field. Over the years he has provided written verdicts to publications and exhibited a deep-seated value in providing informative pieces on infrastructure, construction, and design.

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