Virtual prototyping of innovative construction operations

The planning of construction operations is a complicated activity involving abstraction of construction activities from the drawings, choosing of suitable plants and falseworks, allocation of resources on site, planning of safe working place for labourers, and the scheduling of activities sequence. The increasing competition among contractors demands them to adopt innovative construction methods which have not been used or tested previously. It is not until the beginning of actual construction that the construction planner can realize the validity of his construction operations planning. The lack of tools for the construction planner to evaluate and validate his planning can result in incorrect construction plans which cause a lot of rework in the construction phase. Virtual Prototyping (VP) technology, which has been developed in the manufacturing industry, can provide a solution to the above problem. VP technology can simulate construction products, processes and resources in a virtual environment so that a construction project can be virtually constructed and the feasibility of a construction plan can be checked. This paper presents a case study of conducting the virtual prototyping of a building project. The outcomes of this case study, including the advantages and difficulties of using the VP technology in construction, are also discussed.