BIM and IPD as vehicle in the teaching and learning process of Project delivery in civil engineeringengineering

Abstract

The spreading of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) has involved new concepts in the management of construction projects generating a new demand for trained professionals with deep understanding of their principles and collaborative skills. In this order of ideas, a query arises as a non-negligible concern about how to teach and prepare students for this challenge. This paper presents a teaching and learning proposal for project development in the subject of final design project (8th-semester civil engineering-Universidad de los Andes), through the adoption of integrated project delivery (IPD) principles for their professional development through the project-based learning (PBL) methodology in accordance with the needs of the industry. The main objective of the course is to promote the professional and personal skills needed to thoroughly develop a design project, in order to solve a tangible social need identified in the municipalities and communities across the country and aligned with their development plans. It is a requirement that the students explicitly and holistically frame their project under the three dimensions of sustainability: social, economic and environmental, and the project has to be ambitious enough so that it can involve all areas of the Civil Engineering program. The students develop and deliver the project in the real phases of the design lifecycle of an integrated civil project during the course: conceptual project, basic project, project draft, design project and the final deliverable which includes a complete and detailed descriptive-constructive memory, a complete design memory of all systems, the financial viability and construction schedule established to a high level of precision and a 3D BIM model with complete details. Students often take a step further and perform 4D and 5D simulations, as well as virtual reality applications. As a result, the students recognize the value of this methodology that allows a full rapprochement to a real world situation with innovative solutions and multidisciplinary teams.