Business Environment

The Pennsylvania State University

The Graduate School

Department of Architectural Engineering

A PROCESS MAPPING PROCEDURE FOR PLANNING BUILDING INFORMATION

MODELING (BIM) EXECUTION ON A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

A Thesis in

Architectural Engineering

by

Chitwan Saluja

 2009 Chitwan Saluja

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements

for the Degree of

Master of Science

December 2009

The thesis of Chitwan Saluja was reviewed and approved* by the following:

John I. Messner

Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering

Thesis Advisor

Chimay J. Anumba

Head of the Department of Architectural Engineering and Professor of AE

M. Kevin Parfitt

Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering

*Signatures are on file in the Graduate School

iii

ABSTRACT

The implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the Architecture,

Engineering and Construction Industry is still in its formative stages. Project organizations

frequently struggle with the development of a comprehensive BIM implementation strategy

which considers process integration along with information interoperability throughout the

lifecycle of a project. To successfully implement BIM on a project, it is critical for the project

team to perform detailed and comprehensive planning.

This research establishes a Process Mapping Procedure for planning BIM implementation

on a project. This Procedure provides an opportunity for the project team to map the

implementation process for the various uses of BIM on a project. By mapping the detailed

process, key information exchanges can be identified, and a method for documenting and

planning these information exchanges is presented.

The process maps aim to specifically address which organizations will be using BIM on

the project, what will they be performing with BIM applications, and how will they share

information between the primary BIM Uses. Each project team member should develop detailed...