Summary

On the ACC Ōtepoti project, BIM models help the site team to identify and mitigate potential hazards and pinch points early. By allowing contractors and subcontractors to improve the accuracy of site set-out and communicate work plans and safety constraints effectively with the project team, BIM is helping to increase awareness and reduce rework on site. The ability to use mobile devices for digital access to project information also improves supervision and reduces the need for supervisors to leave the work area to get information. Combined, these benefits are leading to improved hazard management and safety performance.

Background

“The hazards do get diminished, because you’re highlighting it before it becomes a hazard… BIM just notches it up a grade”

Merv McNamara, Senior Site Manager, Hawkins

The ACC Ōtepoti project is a new office building for the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) in Dunedin, New Zealand. The project is a joint venture between Ngāi Tahu Property and ACC.

The building area is 8,000 square meters over four storeys. The project is located between Dowling Street and Queens Gardens, a site with historical and cultural significance for Dunedin and Ngāi Tahu.  The project has encountered a number of challenges, such as complex site conditions (including archaeological finds and neighbouring historic buildings), seismic requirements, a tight schedule, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Naylor Love is the main contractor for the project, with John Jones Steel supplying and erecting the structural steel.

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Approach

The contractor, Naylor Love, has invested in an iPlan workstation, which provides a large touch screen display, that is available for the team to use in the site meeting room. Access to this allows the team to easily open up and navigate around the project BIM model. They can work collaboratively with the model to work through challenges in the project, to help foresee and mitigate potential hazards before they arise on site. Merv McNamara, Senior Site Manager with Naylor Love explains, “When we come to a pinch point on a job where we haven’t got clear drawings, we’ve got the model. So we get all subcontractors involved on that and we can highlight where our pinch points are, our stuff that we haven’t got clear information on. You can foresee a cockup coming before it becomes an issue on site.” The large display also makes the model accessible to groups of workers, so task requirements can be clearly explained. Naylor Love apprentice Jack Johnston has been keen to adopt the BIM model as a communication tool in this way, “You can zoom right in. This is the exact location where no one’s meant to work today, or you guys are tackling this task in this area… You have more confidence that the guys know exactly what the task is that they have to achieve and how to do it safely.”

The BIM model is also available for use on mobile devices, which means users have all the information they need at their fingertips while out on site. This has been taken up for convenience and productivity, but it also provides several benefits for health and safety. When supervisors can remain with their crews, they are able to monitor work activities and ensure tasks are being completed safely.  Marty Kohi, Site Supervisor for John Jones Steel explains, “if you don’t have information you’re leaving the site to find it – the biggest thing [with BIM on the tablet] is if the boys are out there, I don’t have to leave, so I’m supervising all the time and there’s no chance of them getting into something they shouldn’t.” Without the need to go back and forth to get information, supervisors are also less pressured and less exposed to all the hazards intrinsic to moving through a working site, such as moving plant and equipment, trip hazards or falling objects.

The contractors are also using BIM in conjunction with a total station to improve the accuracy of site planning and set-out. This reduces the need for rework, which helps to ensure that any work carried out on site is properly planned and reduces hazards such as silica dust and trip hazards that can arise from rework activities.

Outcomes and benefits

• Early hazard identification and mitigation: By using the BIM model to collaborate with subcontractors and identify potential pinch points and issues early, the contractor is able to foresee and mitigate hazards before they arise on site.

• Improved communication of task requirements and safety constraints: The large touch screen display allows the BIM model to be used to clearly communicate daily task requirements and work areas to the crews. By showing exactly where work should and shouldn’t be happening, supervisors can ensure workers know how to complete their tasks safely.

• Improved site supervision and monitoring:Having the BIM model and other project information accessible on mobile devices means supervisors can spend more time on site with their crews, rather than having to return to the office whenever they need to know something. This allows them to monitor work activities better, correct any unsafe behaviour, and ensure tasks are being carried out properly.

• Fewer hazards from rework: Using BIM with total stations to improve the accuracy of site set-out reduces the need for rework. This is important from a health and safety perspective, as rework is often less well planned than standard works, and can introduce additional hazards. By getting it right the first time, these hazards are minimised.

Lessons learnt

Invest in making BIM accessible and user-friendly

The contractor’s investment in a large touch screen display made the model easy for the project team to gather around, navigate and collaborate on. Putting BIM literally at workers’ fingertips through mobile devices also encouraged uptake and use. Investing in the right hardware and software makes BIM accessible and user-friendly for the wider workforce, not just BIM specialists. The easier the model is to view and interrogate, the more it will be used for health and safety purposes.

BIM helps improve worker engagement and communication

Involving workers in identifying hazards and constraints in the model, or using it for safety briefings and training, helps increase understanding and ownership of safety. The ability to zoom into relevant parts of the model to clearly show workers their task locations and safety constraints e value of using BIM as a communication and engagement tool for health and safety.

BIM can form a part of a digital ecosystem

Using BIM in conjunction with a robotic total station delivered health and safety benefits by improving accuracy and reducing rework. Contractors should explore the potential of using BIM alongside other technologies for improving safety, for example GPS, drones or augmented reality.