Building Information Models’ data for machine learning systems in construction management

Paper in proceeding, 2019

Qualitative and quantitative data are important in construction management. However, despite the capabilities of construction informatics, such data and its sources have scarcely been fully and systematically utilized for predictive purposes. Building Information Models (BIM) are such a data source. Within BIM, information structures enabling interoperability and providing utilizable data throughout the various Levels of Development (LODs) of a building – for example, Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) – can be fully and meaningfully exploited through data mining, and more particularly, via machine learning. In this paper, the capabilities of the information structures found in IFCs to be used as data sources for developing machine learning predictive models, will be examined. In addition, and by conceptually tying such data with constructability, their suitability for predicting – through such machine learning models – the delivery cost and time overheads of a construction project, will be considered.