The Building Information Model (BIM) is gaining wide popularity in the construction industry. This attempt is, however, limited to a predefined operation of structural facilities. The application of BIM can be extended to include undefined operations in earthwork construction. The objective of this paper is to introduce the concept of an earthwork BIM environment that is currently under development in the Construction System Laboratory at Pusan National University. First, this paper defines the concept of earthwork BIM. Second, it discusses the key aspects of earthwork BIM, including 1) geographical information, 2) equipment configuration, and 3) equipment position. In the future, the 3D BIM environment will be tested at an actual construction site to determine its applicability, and it will be extended to include construction equipment such as bull dozers and pay loaders.
This research was supported by a grant (14SCIP-B079344-01) from Smart Civil Infrastructure Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) of Korea government and Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA).