A Framework of Selecting Building Flooring Finishing Materials by Using Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Building materials selection is a critical process affected by many complicated factors. Due to the specific function of elements, alternatives to materials must be appropriately chosen as they differ in quality, performance, and cost. Implementing a Value Engineering (VE) process is challenging as it requires effort and several workshops. Thus, this study proposes a framework to automate the VE process of selecting building flooring material. The framework identified selected agreed criteria of flooring finishing materials measured based on agreed standard tests. The developed framework is distinguished from other current research using a combination of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Pairwise, and Function Analysis System Technique (FAST) methods to define the criteria ranking weight and include the building function. Furthermore, the framework is integrated with Building Information Modeling (BIM) that has been widely used in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction industry (AEC). Finally, a case study of a residential house in Saudi Arabia was used to demonstrate the framework. The proposed framework was verified by using two questioners and expert consultations.