BIM-Enabled Integrated Optimization Tool for LEED Decisions

The appropriate selection of materials and systems to reduce environmental impact, minimize harmful emissions and prevent the depletion of nonrenewable resources is one way of alleviating the impact of building construction or retrofitting. The construction industry and the community in general will benefit from an integrated tool that will help optimize the process of material, equipment and systems selection at every stage of the construction project life cycle, making it useful to designers, engineers, contractors, and facility managers (A/E/C/FM). This paper describes the developmen of the tool, and how it would assist project stakeholders in making these selection decisions for new and existing buildings considering the best value with regard to the applicable green building rating system score. Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) in this approach will allow owners, designers and contractors to choose the item on the spot from a 4-D representation. This way, decisions can be made timely and with effective communication to cut down on additional costs that are inevitable in large-scale construction projects.