Application of 4D BIM Simulations for Safety and Schedule Integration of a Reconstruction Project for Oxygen Plant in Steel Works in Korea

Since the duration of the reconstruction project of an oxygen plant to replace the about 40-year aging oxygen plant for the "P" company's steel works in Korea needs substantial schedule acceleration to improve the steel plant's overall production efficiency, the plant owner decided to integrate construction schedule and cost for minimum trial and error by adopting pre-simulations with 4D BIM (building information modeling). This case study presents a model for checking the process plan by providing information on construction duration reality-check compared to the construction schedules of previous similar projects in "P" company history before beginning reconstruction of the oxygen plant. It also helps make decisions by simulating the planned schedule to predict potential construction delays and providing prioritized ranks of activities that need to be shortened to reduce duration economically. The 4D BIM-based simulations with Dassault's Delmia, which combines the 3D modeled with Catia and CPM (Critical Path Method) with Enovia, further reflects the safety factors for the construction workers based on the lessons-learned database from the previous similar projects, enable the visualization and management of hazard elements to the schedule planner and safety manages. The system developed through research will be implemented as a full-scale during the reconstruction of the oxygen plant after a pilot test project reported in this paper. When utilizing the result of this study, it is expected that existing plans can be checked through the 4D BIM simulations in advance through PC and mobiles (tablets and smartphones) to reduce risks such as construction delays and safety hazards.