A BIM-Based Tool for Formwork Planning in Reinforced Concrete Buildings

Reinforced concrete (RC) is the most popular material used in high-rise buildings in developing countries, and formwork activities have major impacts on reinforced concrete construction. Prefabricated modular formwork is the preferred option as it reduces labor work on site. The preferred method for formwork procurement is renting instead of leasing or purchasing, as significant investment risks are transferred to the supplier. Formwork planning is critical for the success of projects in terms of cost, schedule, quality, and safety. Current formwork planning practices rely solely on contractor experience, and there are few tools and methods available for effective formwork planning, particularly when a formwork supplier has not been defined. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been extensively used in building projects, but very rarely when planning and designing temporary structures. There is a need to determine an adequate Level of Development (LOD) of BIM models for formwork to address challenges such as reducing the time and resources needed for modeling formwork during the planning stage. This paper discusses the design, development, and testing of a planning tool, using BIM methodology for prefabricated modular rented formwork in building projects. For the design of this tool, a survey was conducted to define the LOD of the formwork model, the rental option of formwork in unit cost per month (unit or m2), the level of automation required for processing formwork quantities, and the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) using BIM tools. Dynamo for Revit was utilized for automating the computation process. Two building samples of 5 and 20 stories each with a total constructed area of 46,500 m2 and with similar architectural layout plans, were modeled using Revit. Finally, the tool was tested using formwork KPIs that were created as part of the framework developed for this research