CAD MODELING IN CONSTRUCTION

PLANNING

March 3, 2019
CAD MODELING IN CONSTRUCTION PLANNING
Abstract- Planning is the most critical part of the entire project. Traditional planning methods
were entirely manual and have great margin of error. These methods improved with the
involvement of technology but still have great potential for improvement. The goal of this paper
is to explore traditional and modern approaches to the constructions planning and execution
process and how CAD modeling in various phases have improved it. The paper follows a typical
process flow with details including the past, present and future techniques to each process.

Index Terms- CAD modeling in construction planning, modern techniques to construction

planning, site visualization

Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................3
Process Flow ..................................................................................................................................................................3
Site Visualization ...........................................................................................................................................................4
Recognizing objects of site ............................................................................................................................................6
Designing and Modeling New Objects ..........................................................................................................................6
Testing and Feasibility...................................................................................................................................................7
Project Execution ...........................................................................................................................................................9
Problems in incorporating CAD modeling in construction planning ...........................................................................10
High Cost of 3D Processing Hardware Requirement ..................................................................................................10
High Cost of 3D Scanners ...........................................................................................................................................10
Future prospects...........................................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................................11
References ...................................................................................................................................................................12

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 2

Introduction
Construction projects are mostly large scale projects involving huge money from investors or
government. The planning of these projects is therefore of very high significance. Any error or
miscalculation can lead to loss of time, resources and money. This margin of error has been
greatly reduced by incorporating newer technologies especially the use of CAD modeling in
overall planning phase. Numerous techniques have been proposed to improve the planning
phase such as location based planning [10], CAD based layout planning [11], Simulation based
planning [12] and weekly work plan scheduling [15].

Process Flow
For any construction project a higher level process is:

1. Site Visualization
2. Recognizing objects of site
3. Designing and modeling new objects
4. Testing and feasibility check
5. Project Execution

We will now explore each process in details, highlighting the traditional approaches, modern
approaches and related issues.

Site Visualization

Recognizing Objects of Site

Designing and Modeling new Objects

Testing and Feasibility Check

Project Execution

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 3

Site Visualization
Numerous approaches have been used in past to visualization of construction site. First ever
approach includes a 2D drawing commonly known as draft which is prepared by draftsman
manually on a large piece of paper. This drawing shows a scaled view of the entire construction
site typically a top view of the site [9]. As it is prepared manually it is basically a line drawing of
the site with only basic information of dimensions and codes. Advanced visual features like
shading or color coding is not included [4].

Fig. 1 – Example Construction Draft | Source: ayoqq.org

This approach then evolved to incorporate softwares like AutoCAD to simplify the 2D drawing
procedure and large scale printers to speed up the printing process of large scale drawings. Years
later with the introduction and advancement of 3D softwares like SolidWorks and CATIA the

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 4

visualization of construction site became easier and more realistic. The initial site model could be
drawn using these softwares eliminating the need to travel to site repeatedly in planning phase.

1. Main issues in these methods include:

2. Lack of real site preview
3. Manual input/adjustment increasing risk of error
4. Time wastage building empty site model first

With the improvement in 3D CAD modeling the individual structures can be drawn and combined
in a one big assembly. This final model consists of site model as base and then the addition of
individual structures on top of it. Main issue in this approach is that the initial site model is
prepared by taking multiple measurements physically on site and then translating it into the CAD
software. This human involvement results in high probability of error or incomplete information
resulting in unexpected delays during execution phase [1].

With the latest technology this error has been rectified by using special 3D scanners mounted on
a vehicle or placed on a tripod stand on site. These scanner use rotating laser beams on two axis
to precisely measure the distance of each object on site. Advanced feedback system can also
record the color of the objects on site. This model can be directly imported into a CAD software
like SolidWorks eliminating the need to prebuild anything. Additionally with the colors feedback
one can get more realistic 3D image of the site rectifying the all main issues in the traditional
models.

Fig. 2 – Faro F70, a professional 3D scanner for site visualization | Source: faro.com

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 5

Recognizing objects of site
In past whenever a drawing is made in 2D or an object/assembly is made is made in 3D its parts
are categorically named in a standard way for easy classification. This enables everyone to
comprehend and understand the drawing with least effort. As for the object in the photo or 3D
scanned image of site the objects are identified and labelled manually. This can be zero minute
job if the site is empty or it can take a couple of days just to identify the components, parts or
structural units and label them properly for future reference. Thanks to the improvement in
feature detection and object identification algorithms in machine vision this task can be reduced
to minutes. These algorithms can detect objects in an image with great precision with least time.
An expert can then verify the result of algorithm in the end reducing the time of overall process
[2].

This techniques is useful for simple or common objects but can fail if the objects or features
required are custom made or not entirely visible. Therefore this step always require human
intervention for completion and accuracy.

Designing and Modeling New Objects

Traditionally new objects are drawn on a piece of paper with suitable scale. Later the paper
changed to transparent paper. Different objects were drawn on different transparent paper
keeping the scale and relative position of all objects same. These papers when placed on top of
each other given the plan of generic plan of whole project. If any modification is required or the
impact of only one object is needed to be studied then only the paper having that object’s
drawing is removed. Others remain intact [4].

Fig. 3 – Sample drawing on tracing paper | Source: lifeofanarchitect.com

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 6

With the introduction of CAD modeling softwares this was moved to software side instead of
doing manually saving time and money. Nowadays almost complete designing process is
managed by CAD softwares like AutoCAD, SolidWorks and CATIA.

Fig. 4 – Sample AutoCAD Drawing | Source: caddmicrosystems.com

Testing and Feasibility

In past the testing involved complex mathematical formulas to calculate the values like force,
torque, tension, vibration, fatigue etc. By looking at the values the feasibility was decided
manually. Nowadays all of these formulas are predefined within the source code of Major CAD
modeling softwares. User just needs to input basic parameters and rest can be calculated
automatically. This feature sometimes is also equipped with animation to show results similar to
a real scenario [13].

Moving forward with the planning features also integrated within the same software
inconsistencies in timeline, possible workplace contradiction, resource planning and critical
processes identification can also be calculated to ease the whole planning process [1] [3]. This
increases the overall productivity of the project by decreasing unexpected delays which human
mind might have skipped [7] [14].

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 7

 Fig. 5 – Example Stress Displacement Analysis | Source: cadsetterout.com

Fig. 6 – Example possible conflict in a CAD system [1] | Source: ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8019847

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 8

Project Execution
In project execution the main benefit of 3D modeling is when actual progress is compared with
the plan. Previously this comparison is done in words or graphs like Gantt charts and progress.
The progress is measure by checking what percentage of activities are completed according to
Gantt chart. Nowadays this procedure can be further improved by the incorporating animations
to get a real time view of structures being built up with respect to time. This gives the planners
better feedback of current progress and what to expect in near future [5] [6].

In addition to real time progress overview special algorithms have been built to enable users in
identifying potential unsafe work condition and prevent possible accident. A typical example of
such algorithm is shown in the Fig.7 which graphically demonstrates the fall detection and
prevention system on a CAD model [8].

Fig. 7 – Comparison of two models; one with fall detection and prevention system & one without any
protective system [8]

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 9

Problems in incorporating CAD modeling in
construction planning
High Cost of 3D Processing Hardware Requirement
The main issue in incorporating the CAD modeling in construction planning the high cost of initial
hardware. All the CAD softwares require heavy processor and memory to render the object. This
becomes more demanding when the number of objects in a site increases to a few hundred or
more. When the testing of objects like stress analysis, vibration analysis is also included in
planning phase the hardware requirement further increases making it a considerable cost in
overall project.

High Cost of 3D Scanners

Normally for a new project on an empty site there is no need for a predefined model of the site.
But if the site has some partially constructed items let say structural beams, tanks, pipes etc. then
it becomes necessary to know the precise position and measurements of these components. 3D
scanner plays an important role here to measure the position and dimensions of these objects
and save then in a CAD model. Future object can be built on top of this model reducing the error
of miscalculation and conflicts.

Future prospects
With the advancement of new technologies there is no limit to how much we can improve by
incorporating them. Augmented reality is relatively new and currently being used in small scale
but it has great potential in construction planning. After all the CAD modeling and planning phase,
augmented reality can be used to see how the construction process will proceed and what can
be the expected outcome. Similarly it can be used during the project to match the current
progress with the expected progress from the planning and locate irregularities and error
graphically [19] [20].

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 10

 Fig. 8 – A picture of site before construction and possible final layout using augmented reality | Source:
https://uploadvr.com/vr-and-ar-in-construction/

Fig. 9- A possible outcome of using machine vision to check real time progress | Source:
https://uploadvr.com/vr-and-ar-in-construction/

Conclusion
Construction planning is a crucial process of the overall project and therefore cannot afford any
error or inconsistencies. Incorporating newer site planning models [16] [17], better space time
visualization [1] [18] and latest technology like 3D scanner for site visualization, object/feature
recognition, designing CAD models and analysis of force, vibration and fatigue before the start of
project has greatly reduce the chances of error and improved the overall resource productivity.

CAD Modeling in Construction Planning 11

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