U&C New paradigm for infrastructure development

vol. 6
"Confidence in the Progression of CIM　:　Advantages to Attract Attention and Challenges to Clear"

Professor Nobuyoshi Yabuki, Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University

Introduction

"I have been using three-dimensional (3D) CAD in the field of civil engineering for more than 30 years. In this sense, I am very much impressed that we have reached this far finally.

Professor Nobuyoshi Yabuki, Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, was formerly working for a private company, J-POWER, which introduced a cutting edge CAD system in the civil engineering division at that time in 1980's. Starting from his involvement with applying it to the business process and also developing it on his own, he took a step into the academic world later as well as launched studies that would lead to the present CIM (Construction Information Modeling (/ Management)).

CIM aims at applying the approach of BIM (Building Information Modeling), which is becoming widespread in the architectural field the world over, to the process of developing social infrastructure. At the seminar of JACIC (Japan Construction Information Center Foundation) held in 2012, Mr. Naoyoshi Sato, former Vice-Minister (then-Chief Engineer) of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), gave a lecture entitled "Encouragement of CIM". Its concept attracted great attention.

Regarding this, Prof. Yabuki mentions the importance in that a person influential in operation of public projects like him showed the policy of utilizing 3D data in civil engineering, which had long been a pending issue, and that he has been taking the initiative in making it in concrete. He adds that CIM is still under development and thinks that a variety of concerned people can draw images of different possibilities.

This series reports key persons in different fields who tackle with utilization of CIM or development and research of relative technologies in advanced ways. We introduce possibilities of CIM and its problems, as well as directions to develop. For the Part 6 of the series, we interviewed Professor Yabuki, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. He has been focusing on studies about using 3D CAD and product models in the civil engineering field from early on as well as taking a leading role in activities of industry, government and academia to examine technologies and institutions related to CIM.

Studied Diverse ICT Applications Going to CIM: Also Led Joint Activities Among Industry, Government, and Academia

Prof. Yabuki, who places wide-ranging application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the fields of civil engineering and architecture as his own basic approach of research, broadly divides ICT into 5 solutions (technologies expected to have possibilities). From the viewpoint of applying them to existing technologies, he particularly focuses on the following studies, says he. 1) How to apply virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to the field of civil engineering or environment. 2) How to obtain a large scale of point cloud data, and for what to utilize them. 3) How to construct product models that cover extensive information and utilize them within the whole lifecycle of a project. 4) How to draw discovery of new knowledge regarding work sites such as improvement in execution of works or ensuring safety by installing a large number of electronic devices such as sensing and monitoring devices. 5) How to improve execution by combining information-oriented execution with advanced ICT.

On the other hand, Prof. Yabuki served as the chairman of "Civil Engineering Informatics Committee" of JSCE (Japan Society of Civil Engineers) from the 2012 fiscal year to the 2014 fiscal year. In 2011, he took a post of the chairman of its former committee, "Committee of Information Use Technology". At that time, since the word sounds as if it is specialized in the use of information, a new concept of "Civil engineering informatics", which explores theories and technologies to deal with different kinds of information efficiently and effectively in civil engineering, was devised and the committee was renamed with it. Since then, the Committee has been making efforts in systemizing it as an academic field and sophisticating collected papers, holding international conferences regularly, preparing educational curriculums, and writing textbooks.

Professor Nobuyoshi Yabuki,
Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering,
Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University

As part of this, the Committee started International Conference on Civil and Building Engineering Informatics (ICCBEI) in 2013 under the auspices of JACIC and Asian Group of Civil Engineering Informatics (AGCEI, with Prof. Yabuki as Chairman). ICCBEI took over Asia Construction IT Round Table Meeting to pave the way forward. This is positioned as a version of Asian region of the International Society for Computing in Civil and Building Engineering (ICCCBE), which has been held in even-numbered years. It is designed for holding them alternately. For the next time, ICCCBE2016 will be held from 6th to 8th of July, 2016, chaired by Prof. Yabuki.

In addition, Prof. Yabuki has been taking a leading role in the Working Group on Civil Engineering in the Japan Branch of IAI (IAI Japan) since the working group was established in 2004 in IAI, which aims at standardization towards sharing data and interoperation in the building industry, renamed as "buildingSMART" in 2005.

Since starting activities in 1994, IAI has been working on creating IFC (specifications of a method for systematic representation of objects that compose a building). In 2013, IFC4 was registered as an international standard (ISO 16739). Following this, Infrastructure Room was established in buildingSMART International to promote construction of product models in the civil engineering field and its international standardization. Prof. Yabuki is leading its operation.

He also takes part in a variety of joint activities among industry, government, and academia. Regarding CIM, he plays an important role in directing CIM in the future. His commitment includes a committee member of the "CIM System Investigative Commission" established by MLIT to promote introduction of CIM and to arrange and examine related issues such as systems and standards, and a committee member to examine construction of CIM in collaboration among industry, government, and academia in the fiscal years of 2014-2015.

Expecting Solutions of FORUM8 That Support BIM/CIM Including VR

In 2002, Prof. Yabuki, who was then Associate Professor at Muroran Institute of Technology, presented a paper on product models of the PC hollow floor slab bridge developed jointly with Japan Prestressed Concrete Contractors Association in JSCE.

This aimed at constructing product models for civil engineering structures based on IFC for building architecture. First, a 3D (three-dimensional) product model is constructed by extending classes necessary for applying to PC bridges. Based on this, they verified its effectiveness by exchanging data actually among three applications of a commercialized 3D CAD, "UC-1 PC superstructure design calculation system" (FORUM8), and a structure details inspection system that he and others had developed, with a converter also developed on their own.



Development of the product models of a shield tunnel, a cut tunnel, and a mountain tunnel		Product models of concrete deformation (crack, wear, etc.).

After that, while its result attracted attentions from overseas, it was found that "IFC-BRIDGE", which IAI French-speaking Region Branch worked on, was similar to it in the development concept and approach. The Branch called out to other branches including Japan for joint development of IFC-BRIDGE. The above-mentioned Working Group on Civil Engineering was established as the contact office for this project in IAI Japan.

Prof. Yabuki, who had been paying attention to application of VR to the fields of civil engineering and architecture, introduced "UC-win/Road", a 3D real-time VR product of FORUM8 early on.

He says that he highly evaluates the software. He even visited its developer when he went to New Zealand on business.

The Laboratory of Prof. Yabuki utilizes building energy simulation "DesignBuilder". With these experiences, he also mentions potential of the solutions that support BIM/CIM made by FORUM8, by which different software programs e.g. on design and analysis are linked together with UC-win/Road as a platform.



System for allowing the avatar to experience the result of thermal environment simulation as VR	Representation of the result of thermal environment simulation (streamline of wind and temperature) using AR	Changing point cloud data obtained by MMS or the fixed-type laser scanner into polygons


Inspection results of a bridge classified by color and displayed on a 3D model		VR of an urban space created using UC-win/Road

Advantages Brought About by CIM and the Difference from CALS/EC

"Currently for many people, CIM means creating 3D models such as bridges and roads using 3D CAD. This makes visualization, interference check, and quantity calculation easy. I think this is what people have in mind as its image.”

However, this is only about the very early stage of CIM, and should not be the purpose. In other words, as CIM becomes more widespread, it will be more important for a wide range of concerned parties to share the models beyond the phases of plan, design, execution, and maintenance, rather than merely creating 3D models, explained Prof. Yabuki.

In projects of social infrastructure, software programs used by different players range widely from CAD to design, calculation, analysis, integration, and simulation. Furthermore, concerned parties are not necessarily using the same software. In such cases, formerly different software programs had no compatibility among others and thus the data were not accumulated as reusable data, causing a problem of "Islands of automation". In contrast, methods of BIM or CIM that uses standardized data models like above-mentioned IFC, for example, are expected to become solutions for this problem.

VR of an urban space created using UC-win/Road

For BIM or CIM, many different players work on design, execution, maintenance etc. at the same time. For instance, contractors and maintenance service providers can see the models from the initial stage of design and examine what may happen in the later processes in advance, leading to quality improvement and shortened construction period (front loading).

In the future, the concerned parties of the project including the client and those working on design, execution, maintenance etc. will share 3D models. All participants will not only play each one's roles but also commit themselves to the whole project from its initial stage and collaborate to the whole optimization, aiming at IPD (Integrated Project Delivery). This is what Prof. Yabuki describes about advantages that CIM will bring about.

He then pointed out that electronic delivery in CALS/EC (Public Works Support Integrated Information System) remains as a means of transmitting information between human and human. This is because CALS/EC is basically digitization of existing business approaches, exchanging data of 2D drawings using the CAD data exchange standard (SXF). On the contrary, when using 3D product models, not only 3D CAD data but also information on the properties and behaviors etc. of objects are shared among different computers. He says that this may lead to improvement in efficiency, which is the difference between the two.

Innovation with CIM and Expectation

"CIM will not produce great results without changing conventional ways."
This means the systems related to public projects should change, and it is assumed that this change may cause some confusion. However, the direction is correct in terms of the momentum of advanced countries and histories, and it is sure to expand in the future, as Prof. Yabuki shows his viewpoint. He says that the problems here are development of product models and their standardization, as well as reform of the system and reaction of each concerned parties that reflect it.

Under such recognition, he is playing an active part in supporting preparation of introducing CIM for infrastructure-related companies such as expressways and railroads other than MLIT. Along with this, he is developing product models through buildingSMART International. He also focuses on education for using software on 3D CAD, VR, AR, point cloud data etc. while understanding the operation principle; education that truly realize the idea of civil engineering informatics.

"I guess the ICT use situation in the construction field will change substantially in the coming several years".
Therefore, it is indispensable to secure advanced work environment as well as to have approaches to sharing standardized data of product models with multipurpose software programs and use them freely. Beyond this, Prof. Yabuki shows expectation to improvement in the engineers' motivation in consideration of progress towards IPD.

"It is of course important to improve efficiency, realize cost reduction, and ensure safety using CIM. However, CIM is not only limited to these but also sure to bring about feeling of happiness as being engineers".

(Written by Takashi Ikeno)


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