Decision-making BIM platform for chemical building products

This paper presents the innovative solution based on BIM technology proposed to BASF Construction Chemicals Italia for the digitization of chemical products for buildings. It deals with the implementation of a system able to support stakeholders during the selection phase and with the digitization of product information without geometrical features such as concrete admixtures or repair products. The most significant problems linked to the construction sector are deep fragmentation and the characterizing inefficiency of the building process; these phenomena are often due to uniqueness, unevenness, and inconsistency and they result in quality decay, lengthening of working time and claims. The construction sector needs properties like dynamicity and a structured and easily consultable database in order to reorganize information. BIM could represent the solution to these requirements since it is able to manage knowledge and information among the involved stakeholders and manufacturers during the building process and the useful life of a building itself. Thanks to the digitization of information made possible by the BIM process, it is possible to define the products’ attributes that are key to informing the relevant stakeholders and to import them into a digital model in order to reduce inaccuracies during the constructive phases and to draw a guideline for a potential restoration.