Dissertation Kwaichunghousing

A Study of Virtual Prototyping in Construction
Industry : A case study of Kwan Chung Public

Housing Estate Project
By
Li Ka Ming
DISSERTATION
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR
THE DEGREE OF BSC (HONS) IN BUILDING SURVEYING
THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
DECLARATION
I declare that this dissertation, entitled A Study of Virtual Prototyping in

Construction Industry : A case study of Kwan Chung Public Housing Estate
Project , represents my own works, except where due acknowledgement is
made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or
report submitted to this University or other institution for a degree, diploma or
other qualification.
__________________________
Li Ka Ming
Table of Contents
Declaration
Table of Contents
ii
List of Tables
vi
List of Figures
vii
Acknowledgements
Abstract
xi
CHAPTER I:
INTRODUCTION
P.1
1.1
Problem Statement
P.2
1.2
Purpose of Research
P.4
1.3
Research Objectives
P.5
1.4
Structure of the Dissertation
P.5
CHAPTER II:
2.1
LITERATIVE REVIEW
P.7
Traditional Techniques for Construction Project Planning
P.8
2.1.1 Drawing Tools :2D CAD
P.8
2.1.1.1
Strengths
P.9
2.1.1.2
Limitations
P.10
2.1.2 Scheduling Tools : Bar (Gantt) Chart
P.11
2.1.3 Scheduling Tools : Critical Path Method (CPM) P.12

2.2
Innovative Technique of Construction Planning

ii
P.13
2.2.1 3D
P.13
2.2.2 4D
P.13
2.2.3 Virtual Prototyping (VP)
P.14
2.2.4 CATIA
P.15
2.2.5 DELMIA
P.16
2.2.6 Advantage of Simulation
P.17
CHAPTER III:
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
P.19
3.1
Literature Search
P.20
3.2
Reasons for using Case Study and Interviews
P.20
3.3
Case Study
P.21
3.4
Interview
P.22
CHAPTER IV:
VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING IN BUILDINGS
P.23
4.1
Design
P.25
4.2
Manufacture and Assembly
P.26
4.3
Sale & Promotion
P.30
4.4
Facilities Management
P.32
4.5
Demolition
P.32
CHAPTER V:
FUNCTIONS OF CATIA V5 AND DELMIA
P.33
5.1
Introduction
P.34
5.2
Document Types
P.36
5.3
CATIA V5 GUI
P.37
5.4
Viewing & Manipulating Object
P.38
5.5
Sketching
P.39
iii
5.6
Part Design and Modeling
P.42
5.7
Assembly Tools
P.44
5.8
Surfacing
P.46
5.9
Knowledge Ware
P.47
5.10
Simulation Process
P.49
CHAPTER VI:
CASE STDUY AND ANALYSIS
P.53
6.1
Background Information
P.53
6.2
Project Features
P.56
6.3
Simulation Process
P.56
6.3.1 3D Model Construction
P.56
6.3.2 Construction Process Simulation
P.61
6.3.3 Day 1
P.64
6.3.4 Day 2
P.67
6.3.5 Day 3
P.70
6.3.6 Day 4
P.73
6.3.7 Day 5
P.75
6.3.8 Day 6
P.77
6.4
Summary of the Project
P.79
6.5
Analysis
P.81
6.5.1 Strength
P.81
6.5.1.1Drawings
P.81
6.5.1.2 Site Space & Facilities Management
P.81
6.5.1.3 Communications
P.82
6.5.1.4 Scheduling
P.82
iv
6.5.1.5 Information Management
P.83
6.5.1.6 Safety
P.83
6.5.2 Limitations
CHAPTER VII:
P.84
6.5.2.1 Design for Manufacture
P.84
6.5.2.2 License Fee
P.84
6.5.2.3 Lacking in Skilful Labour
P.86
6.5.2.4 Hardware Requirement
P.86
6.5.2.5 Human-Initiated Characteristic
P.87
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
P.88
7.1
Conclusions
P.89
7.2
Recommendations
P.90
REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES
P.91
LIST OF APPENDIX
P.98
APPENDIX I:
Sample of Accompanying Letter
P.99
APPENDIX II:
Sample of Questionnaire
P.100
APPENDIX III
Method & Sequence of Construction
P.101
APPENDIX IV
6-day Cycle Programme for Typical Floors
P.102
List of Tables
Table 4.1 Virtual Prototype Concept
P.24
Table 6.1 Project Particulars
P.55
Table 6.2 Cost Comparison of CATIA V5 & DELMIA and AutoCad
P.85
2006
vi
List of Figures
Figure 4.1 Example of lighting analysis
P.26
Figure 4.2 Example of CFD Source
P.26
Figure 4.3 2/F B5 Column of HKCC
P.28
Figure 4.4 Clash of Reinforcement Bar
P.28
Figure 4.5
Five tower cranes operates simultaneously in Venetian P.29

Macau Hotel
Figure 4.6
Construction Method of Westland Road Office Project
P.30
Figure 4.7
Construction Process of Westland Road Office Project
P.31
Figure 5.1
CATIA V5 & DELMIA P2 Platform
P.35
Figure 5.2
Traditional Tool Bars, Keyboard Shortcuts & Drop Down P.36

Menu
Figure 5.3
CATIA V5 and DELMIA document types
P.36
Figure 5.4
CATIA V5 GUI
P.38
Figure 5.5
Rotation
P.39
Figure 5.6
Sketcher environment
P.40
Figure 5.7
Constraint Examples
P.41
Figure 5.8
Constraint Errors
P.41
Figure 5.9
Pad Dialog Box
P.42
Figure 5.10 Design Table and Formula
P.43
Figure 5.11 Compass Tool to move and rotate the element
P.44
Figure 5.12
CATProduct Sample
P.45
Figure 5.13
Sample Creating top surface
P.46
vii
Figure 5.14
A tangent cover
P.46
Figure 5.15
Simulation Process Work Bench
P.50
Figure 5.16
Insert Activity
P.50
Figure 5.17
Grab Activity
P.51
Figure 5.18
PERT Chart
P.51
Figure 5.19
Gantt Chart
P.52
Figure 6.1
Proposed Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate
P.54
Figure 6.2
Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate
P.54
Figure 6.3
Location of the Site
P.55
Figure 6.4
Concrete Slab
P.57
Figure 6.5
Wall Reinforcement
P.58
Figure 6.6
Fascade
P.58
Figure 6.7
Toilet
P.59
Figure 6.8
Temporary Wallform
P.59
Figure 6.9
Working Platform
P.60
Figure 6.10
Strut
P.60
Figure 6.11
Tower Crane
P.61
Figure 6.12
PERT CHART
P.61
Figure 6.13
PERT CHART
P.62
Figure 6.14 Gantt CHART
P.62
Figure 6.15
Day 1 a.m.
P.64
Figure 6.16
Day 1 noon.
P.65
Figure 6.17
Day 1 p.m.
P.65
Figure 6.18
Construction Process
P.66
Figure 6.19
Movement of Wall Form
P.66
viii
Figure 6.20 Movement of Wall Form
P.67
Figure 6.21 Day 2 a.m.
P.68
Figure 6.22 Day 2 noon
P.68
Figure 6.23 Day 2 p.m.
P.69
Figure 6.24 Construction Process
P.69
P.70
P.71
Figure 6.27 Day 3 p.m.
P.71
Figure 6.28 Movement of Concrete Boom
P.72
Figure 6.29 Concreting by Boom
P.72
P.73
Figure 6.31 Day 4 noon.
P.74
Figure 6.32 Day4 p.m.
P.74
P.75
P.76
Figure 6.35 Day 5 p.m
P.76
Figure 6.36 Fix Conduit & Reinforcement
P.77
Figure 6.37 Day 6 a.m
P.78
P.78
Figure 6.39 Day 6 p.m
P.79
ix
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my respect, gratitude and foremost to my supervisor,

Dr. Heng Li, Professor of Department of Building and Real Estate at the Hong
Kong Polytechnic University, for his kindly patience and advice on my
dissertation. He always makes me in critically thinking and lets me recognize
the enjoyment and happiness of undergoing a dissertation.
I would like to express my appreciation to Mr. Stephen C. W. Kong, Mr. Yuk

Huen Chan and Mr. Ting Huang, the Project Associate, the Research
Assistant and Ph. D. Candidate respectively of the Construction Virtual
Prototyping Laboratory, in the Department of Building and Real Estate of the
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, who shared their valuable time to give me
suggestions and provide me with useful data which strengthened the content
of this dissertation.
Besides, i would like to thank Ms. Louie Law for spending her invaluable time
to proof-read my dissertation and giving me useful advice on the use of
English in the content of the dissertation.
Lastly, I should like to express deepest thanks to my family who all gave me
encouragement, patient and care.
Li Ka Ming
Abstract
This research presents an alternative tool, i.e. CATIA and DELMIA, for
construction programme planning apart from traditional tools, e.g. AutoCAD,
MicrosoftProject. Regarding the problems of traditional tools in terms of space
and facilities management, scheduling and communication, the concept of
Virtual Prototyping (VP) and functions of CATIA and DELMIA are introduced.
An analysis concerning strengths and limitations of the new tool accompanied
by an in-depth case study of Kwan Chung Public Housing Estate Project is
administered. After investigation, it is found that CATIA and DELMIA can
improve the planning process; however, they have not been extensively
adopted in construction industry in Hong Kong because of its design purpose,
license fee, requirement on hardware, also a lack of man power who
familiarize with the software and its human-initiated characteristic.
xi
CHAPTER I
Introduction
1.1
Problem Statement
1.2
Purpose of Research
1.3
Research Objective
1.4
Research Structure
A Study of Virtual Prototyping in Construction Industry : A case study of Kwan Chun Public
Housing Project
Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Problem Statement

In construction project management, planning process is critical to the
successful development and execution of a construction project (Waly and
Thabet 2003). However, the planners rely on their experience and intuition,
imagination and judgment to extract data from paper-based design documents
and to decide the appropriate method of construction, its timing and site usage
layout (Zhang, 2004). This drives faults or inefficiency in site space and
facilities
management,
communication
and
information
storage
and
scheduling.
Site space and facilities management

Present planning method has weakness in managing site space and facilities
which is critical in a construction project as a result of the resources-driven
nature of construction management, a construction manager must develop a
plan of action for directing and controlling resources of workers, machines, and
materials in a coordinated and timely fashion in order to deliver a project within
the limited funding and time available (Halpin and Woodhead, 1998).
Therefore, there is a strong need for more effective planning and management
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Chapter 1
Introduction
of site space and facilities (Ma, Shen & Zhang, 2004).
Communication
2D drawings are not able to visualize the end product to the parties involved in
a construction project, e.g. the clients, the contractors, etc. The increasing
complexity of construction projects multiplies difficulties of handling huge
amount of information. Much project information stored on paper as drawings
and written documents is frequently unstructured and thus hinders its usage,
also, it is very easy to lose or damage (Construct IT, 2000). This causes poor
information transfer and communication among parties.
Scheduling
Critical Path Method (CPM) fails to seamlessly synchronize activity planning
and resource planning, the two integral functions in project planning (Waugh
and Froese 1990). Although it is used in time control and scheduling, it is
insufficient to produce detailed site layout planning, use of space and
identification of conflict among various activities because of a lack of spatial
features of actual construction.
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Chapter 1
Introduction
Innovative Technology
As a result, researches start investigating information technology to solve the
above problems of paper-based documents, site space and facilities
management and communication. Virtual Prototyping (VP) is one of the latest
innovative technologies which integrates planning, visualization and simulation
in construction programme, thus improves the efficiency of construction
projects in planning stage.
1.2 Purpose of Research

The purpose of this research is to provide an alternative choice for
construction project planning by studying the concept of VP and the application
of the software of CATIA and DELMIA in construction industry in Hong Kong.
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Chapter 1
Introduction
1.3 Research Objectives

The following objectives are examined in this study:
1.
To outline the general problems arisen from traditional construction project

planning in Hong Kong
2.
To discuss the utilization of VP in construction industry
3.
To introduce the functions of CATIA and DELMIA
4.
To describe the construction simulation process of 6-day Cycle of Kwan

Chung Public Housing Estate Project by CATIA and DELMIA (Case Study)
5.
To analyse the strengths and limitations of CATIA and DELMIA
1.4 Structure of the Dissertation

This dissertation is mainly divided into 7 parts.
Part I
Introduction
This part states clearly problem statements, purposes of research,
research objectives and the structure of the dissertation.
Part II
Literature Review
This part consists of a comprehensive review of literatures of the
traditional techniques for construction project planning and their
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Chapter 1
Introduction
problems, basic principles of VP and introduction to CATIA and

DELMIA.
Part III Research Methodology
The research methods employed in this research are presented in
this part.
Part IV Functions of CATIA and DELMIA
This part presents the main functions of CATIA and DELMIA.
Part V
Virtual Prototyping in Buildings

This part presents the utilization of VP in areas relevant to buildings
Part VI Case Study and Analysis

This part describes the case of Kwan Chung Public Housing Estate
Project and gives analysis from the case and interviews.
Part VII Conclusions and Recommendations
This part summarizes findings in this research, and makes a final
conclusion.
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CHAPTER II
Literature Review
2.1
Traditional Techniques for

Construction Project
Planning
2.2
Latest Techniques for

Construction Project
Planning
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Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Literature Review
LITERATURE REVIEW
Planning is crucially important in construction projects. The planning of

construction operations is a complicated activity involving abstraction of
constriction activities from the drawings, choosing on suitable plans and
falsework, allocation of construction schedule and site space management are
essential to project management, as they directly influence security, machine
running, material deployment, power distribution as well as construction
progress and cost (Ma, Shen and Zhang, 2004), so planners use different tools
to develop the programme. In this chapter, firstly, some drawing and
scheduling tools will be discussed and secondly, VP, CATIA and DELMIA will
be introduced.
2.1
2.1.1
The Traditional Techniques for Construction Project Planning

Drawing Tools: 2D Computer Aid Design (CAD)
Computer Aid Design (CAD) is the most widely used in the construction
industry. It provides users with a platform to build up drawings by operating
lines, texts, circles etc on the screen. The process of revision can be carried
out immediately when an original drawing has been created. AutoCAD is one
Housing Project
Chapter 2
Literature Review
of the most commonly used software and largest share of the CAD market
(Howard 1998).
2.1.1.1
Strengths
1. As Sun & Howard (2004) points out, 2D CAD tools increase productivity,
especially at the information production stage. This benefit is more evident
when design changes. Instead of reproducing all the drawings, CAD allows
designers to make changes to the existing ones.
2.
Sun & Howard (2004) believes that 2D CAD tools help to improve the
quality of design information. Using traditional paper drawings, keeping data

accurate and consistent is a big challenge. In CAD drawings, all
measurements are precise.
3. 2D CAD tools help to increase the speed of information exchange between

project team members. Previously, it would take several days to send drawings
through the post. Now CAD drawing files can be attached to e-mails or sent via
the Internet instantly (Sun & Howard 2004).
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
4. 2D CAD tools allow designers to reuse previous drawings or part of the

drawings (Sun & Howard 2004).
5. 2D CAD tools make the drawing storage and archive task a lot easier. Paper
drawings present storage problems as they deteriorate, are usually very large
and cause documentation problems. A CAD file stored in a structured directory
on a PC prevents these problems from occurring, which will also ease quality
assurance issues (Sun & Howard 2004).
2.1.1.2
Limitations
1. In 2D CAD drawings, a building is represented by points, lines and surfaces,

not by walls, windows and rooms. It cannot visualize the three-dimensional
end product.
2. 2D CAD system cannot present the process of construction, and thus is not
able to identify the clashes of activities.
3. Some of the latest CAD system adopted a model-based approach, however

there is still a lack of integration with other cost and performance analysis
A Study of Virtual Prototyping in Construction Industry : A case study of Kwan Chun Public 10
Housing Project
Chapter 2
Literature Review
software packages (Sun & Howard 2004).
4. Most CAD packages are only suitable for drawing at the information
production stage when all major design decisions have been made, not during
the early design stages (Sun & Howard 2004).
5. The user interface of many CAD programmes is complex. Designers often

find it difficult to operate it effectively. As a result, they can sometimes be
distracted form the design task that they should really be concentrating on.
While not undervaluing the benefits of computer aided drafting systems
especially for information production purposes, their weakness are also
apparent (Sun & Howard 2004).
2.1.2
Scheduling Tools: Bar (Gantt) Chart
A bar chart is a graphic representation of project activities shown in a

time-scaled bar line with no links shown between activities (Popescu and
Charoenngam 1995, 96). It was originally developed by Henry L Gantt in 1917
and also called as Gantt Chart. It involves the duration of activities/tasks, the
position of timescale and identification of work sequence. A bar chart is simply
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
as a calendar which shows the timescale horizontally and flow of activities

vertically. The vertical column also shows the timescale, duration and
sequence of activity. It is commonly used in construction industry due to
simplicity and ease of preparation and understanding. However, it lacks logical
representation (relationships), too simple and insufficient to show the details of
multitude of inter-related activities. It commonly used in small-sized project.
2.1.3
Scheduling Tools: Critical Path Method (CPM)
A critical path method (CPM) is a scheduling technique using networks for

graphic display of the work plan (Mubarak S. A. 2005). The method is used to
determine the length of a project and to identify the activities critical to project
completion. It was developed during the 1950s by DuPont and US Navy. It is
one of the common techniques used in practice for construction planning and
scheduling. Microsoft Project (2003) is one of the common software product
used for project scheduling. The typical CPM is used to provide an overall view
of the project including durations of activity, sequence of activity, and criticality
of activities. It can show the use of resources, the cost of construction activities
and the shortest project duration among all the sequence of activities. However,
it does not describe how a construction work is built.
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Chapter 2
2.2
Literature Review
The Innovative Technique of Construction Planning
The traditional construction planning tools restricted by their limitations are

insufficient to meet with the planners requirements nowadays. The
construction projects are currently becoming more and more complicated and
the traditional tools are insufficient to manage the information in these projects,
so a new planning concept, VP, has came to the industry. The concept of VP
will be introduced gradually.
2.2.1
3D
3D modeling is the basic components for producing virtual environment. The

planners, engineers can view the realistic images of construction projects in a
3D environment. However, 3D models can only provide static images and
cannot display the exact status of a project at a specific moment, which means,
no integration and interaction between models and time presents.
2.2.2
4D
4D is a geometry-based construction process visualization technique (Koo and

Fisher 2000). It can simply describe as 3D plus time. It enables graphic
simulation and visualization of the construction process by visualizing the start
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
and finish of activities in different colour. It provides the project participants with
a better communication in utilizing the space.
2.2.3 Virtual Prototyping (VP)

VP provides a capacity to construct in the computer. It provides a modeling
and simulation environment so powerful that the production, fabrication and
assembly of construction components, including the associated operational
processes, can be simulated in the computer (Karam 2004). VP takes into
account all of variables in the project procurement process from feasibility
analysis to maintenance management (Karam 2004). The primary objective is
to evaluate the feasibility of construction processes with a view to minimize the
time and resource use. VP can be described as simulation of construction
activities in 3D Environment. All the construction activities are represented by
dynamic behaviours of 3D CAD models and are linked by a simulation engine.
The 3D CAD models, resources information and construction schedule are
integrated in the simulation.
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
2.2.4 Computer-aided
Three-dimensional
Interactive
Application
(CATIA)
Computer-aided Three-dimensional Interactive Application (CATIA) was first
developed by Dassault System in the early 1980s for the aerospace industry.
CATIA is one kind of VP software developed by IBM. It integrates a suite of
collaborative product design software applications covering Computer Aided
Design (CAD), Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) and Computer Aided
Manufacturing (CAM).The latest vision is now CATIA V5. It allows users to
design the products by 2D layouts as well as 3D models concurrently. The
software has being applied by many manufacturing industries, e.g. aerospace,
automotive, industrial machinery, electrical, electronics, shipbuilding, plant
design, and consumer goods, including design for such diverse products as
jewelry and clothing. It is now bringing into construction industry.
According to Karam (2004), CATIA is the leading product development solution

for all manufacturing organizations, from OEMs through their supply chains to
small independent producers. The range of its capabilities allows CATIA to be
applied in a wide variety of industries, such as aerospace, automotive,
industrial machinery, electrical, electronics, shipbuilding, plant design, and
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
consumer goods, including design for such diverse products as jewelry and
clothing.
CATIA is the only solution capable of addressing the complete product

development
process,
from
product
concept
specifications
through
product-in-service, in a fully integrated and associative manner (Karam 2004).

It facilitates true collaborative engineering across the multi-disciplinary
extended enterprise, including style and form design, mechanical design and
equipment and systems engineering, managing digital mock-up, machining,
analysis, and simulation (Karam 2004).
By enabling enterprises to reuse product design knowledge and accelerate

development cycles, CATIA helps companies speed their responses to market
needs and helps free users to focus on creativity and innovation (Kleismit
2004).
2.2.5 DELMIA
DELMIA is software mainly used in manufacturing process planning, detailing
and simulation. It is designed for digital development of factory and production
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Chapter 2
Literature Review
processes. There are three main types of function, e.g. Process Detailing &
Validation, Resource Modeling & Simulation and Process Planning. According
to Kleismit (2004), the DELMIA Resource Modeling & Simulation solution suite
provides the tools to develop, create and implement resources, application
routines and mechanical programming that are integral with the Process
Planning and Process Detailing & Validation solutions. The DELMIA Process
Planning solution suite provides a comprehensive process and resource
planning support environment. The resulting process diagrams can provide a
clear overview of the sequences and links between processes and resources
early in product design conception (Karam 2004).
2.2.5 Advantages of Simulation

The benefit of simulation is to provide users with practical feedback when
designing real world situations. This allows the user to determine the
correctness and efficiency of a design before the system is actually
constructed. Consequently, the user may explore the merits of alternative
designs without actually physically building the systems (Craig 1996).
According to Craig (1996), another advantage of simulation is that it can be

Housing Project
Chapter 2
Literature Review
adopted as an effective presentation tools for various types of usage, eg.

teaching. This is particularly true of simulation that make intelligent use of
computer graphics and animation. Such simulators dynamically show the
behaviour and relationship of all the simulated system's components, thereby
providing the user with a meaningful understanding of the system's nature.
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CHAPTER III
Research Methodology
3.1
Literature Search
3.2
Reason for using Case Study

& Interviews
3.3
Case Study
3.4
Interviews
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Chapter 3 Research Methodology
Chapter 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This section describes the methodology used in achieving the research

objectives. The dissertation is based on data collected from three main
sources, namely literature, interview and case study.
3.1 Literature Search

The data collection stage would rely on the reference books, journals, reports
and websites which were mainly collected and obtained from the library and
on-line electronic database systems, such as Sciencedirect and ProQuest.
3.2 Reasons for using Case Study and Interviews

After investigation, there are few projects which have used CATIA & DELMIA
as a planning tool. People who familiarize with the application of CATIA &
DELMIA in construction industry are also limited.
As a result, carrying out interviews with experienced professionals to obtain

more details is more preferable than doing questionnaire to get some general
opinions. Interview accompanied with a case study can help to understand on
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the utilization of CATIA & DELMIA in Hong Kong Construction Industry.
3.3 Case Study

The case of Kwan Chung Public Housing Estate Project (KC Project) was
brought into analysis. In case study, the VP software CATIA and DELMIA was
used to simulate the 6-day construction cycle in New Harmony Block (Option 2)
in Kwan Chung. I have participated in the Project on development of 3D
models and simulation on the Construction Virtual Prototyping Laboratory, the
Department of Building and Real Estate of the Hong Kong Polytechnic
University. The drawings, schedules and other relevant information of the
cases are provided by Yau Lee Construction Co., Limited.
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3.4 Interviews
Interviews with construction professionals were carried out to have a further
understanding on the practice of VP in KC Project.
In this research, three professionals involved in from the project were

interviewed.
They are:
1.
Mr. Richard Lee, a Design Manager of the KC Project from Yau Lee
Construction Co-operation Limited on 25 February 2006.
2.
Mr. Patrick Ho, Site Agent of the KC Project from Yau Lee Construction
Co-opertaion Limited on 4 March 2006.
3.
Mr Zeon Yu, Project Manage of the KC Project from Yau Lee Construction
Co-opertaion Limited on 11 March 2006.
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CHAPTER IV
VIRTUARL
PROTOTYPING IN
BUILDINGS
4.1
Design
4.2
Manufacture & Assembly
4.3
Sale & Promotion
4.4
Facilities Management
4.5
Demolition
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Chapter 4 Virtual Prototyping in Buildings
Chapter 4
VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING IN BUILDINGS
Virtual Prototyping involves in different stages of a building life cycle, including

design, manufacture, assembly, sales/promotion, facility management and
even demolition. Extent utilization of Virtual Prototyping in construction
industry is subject to the practicability of legacy, procurement and training
(Brandon, 2003). The application of VP is discussed in the following sections.
Table 4.1
Virtual Prototype Concept (Brandon P. 2003)
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4.1 Design
In design inception stage, architects/engineers usually make scale models to
illustrate their design concept with clients in order to make discussions and
compromises. While alteration of design often happens, amending scale
models frequently may be a problem. VP provides an easy changing visual
model to designers.
Secondly, a scale model is difficult to involve building services design. Steady

state heat loss and heat gain calculation is utilizated currently, some factors,
e.g. thermal mass, are neglected in building services design. VP allows the
negligence to be involved and visualized, dynamic thermal modeling can be
workable. (Stribling, 2003)
Thirdly, integration of various kinds of design, e.g. building aesthetics, building

services, is feasible through the technology of VP which can include different
functions. (Stribling, 2003)
Finally, VP is applied on building energy simulation including lighting and

daylight analysis (Figure 4.1), dynamic thermal model and Computational Fluid
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Mechanics (CFD) (Figure 4.2). CFD can predict the internal climate which is
widely used on assessment of HVAC system and ventilation strategies. These
technologies can identify energy saving opportunities and thus reduces
expenditure on energy.
Fig 4.1 Example of lighting analysis
Fig. 4.2 Example of CFD
Source:http://homepage.ntlworld.com
Source: http://www.flowanalysis.co.uk/micro1.html
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4.2 Manufacture and Assembly

Manufacture and assembly stages are merged together in construction. The
successful of these stages depend on planning before works. Frequent faulty
of sequences and crash of activities can seriously affect the construction
progress causing uneconomical. VP gives various means to overcome these
problems.
Firstly, try before you use (Li, 2005) is a slogan of promoting the idea of VP in
construction industry. That means project planner can preview the processes
of the project visually in advance and test alternative courses of action. By
preview, identification of idle time and resources, and rapidly experiment new
alternatives to achieve optimization can be achieved. In the case of Ho Tung
Lau Railway Extension Project, three alternative construction methods,
including gantry, mobile crane and rolling trolley were tested.
Secondly, clash of activities and planning errors can be identified by

previewing the processes, so as to improve the fluency and save resources
(Kong, 2006). This function is very useful in building services design because
clashes are commonly occurred when building services systems are integrated
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especially on suspended ceiling and raised floor. The function of identifying

clash can detect whether there is any clashes of building services elements
including air duct, fire sprinkler pipe, pipe, electricity trucking etc. To illustrate,
in the project of Hong Kong Community College, the clashes of reinforcement
bars between the precast elements was sorted out to shorten the construction
period (Fig 4.3&4.4). In the project of Venetian Macau Hotel, VP can eliminate
hurtles of five towel cranes which operate simultaneously (Fig 4.5).
Fig. 4.3
2/F
B5 Column of
HKCC
Fig.4.4 Clash of
Reinforcement Bar
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Fig.4.5
Five tower cranes operates simultaneously in Venetian Macau Hotel
Thirdly, VP acts as a presentation tool to disseminate the complicated

construction processes to project staff from top management to worker level,
so they can understand planning information easily (Kong, 2006). In Westlands
Road Office Building Project, contractors utilized the technology of VP to
introduce the construction method(Figure 4.6) and the construction process to
developers.
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Fig. 4.6 Construction Method of Westland Road Office Project
4.3 Sales/Promotion
In Property Sales, firstly, buyers may expect to preview the product before they
buy. Sellers/developers in Hong Kong usually build show-room to fulfill buyers
expectation. Show-rooms can also be a promotion tool to attract potential
buyers, so developers are willing to invest a relatively large amount of capital
in building short-life-span show-room. It is a waste to have a luxurious and
expensive show-room. VP can replace show-room to visualize the end product
of property to customers. It provides an alternative choice for the developer.
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Fig 4.7 Construction Process of Westland Road Office Project

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4.4 Facility Management

According to Sarshar (2004), people responsible for collecting and archiving
project data may not always understand the specific needs of those who will
utilize it, such as those involved in building maintenance. VP has a function of
storing information. The storage and transfer of construction information
thoroughly by VP can contribute to a better management of facilities in future,
e.g. providing a detail plan of building services to help the facility manager to
sort out the problems.
4.5
Demolition
VP allows demolition professional to identify building technologies, process

and methods, eg. Post-tension members, so the professionals can choose the
most appropriate demolishing method for particular building. Time & Cost of
investigating the buildings may be reduced.
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CHAPTER V
FUNCTONS OF
CATIA V5 AND
DELMIA
5.1
Introduction
5.2
Document Types
5.3
CATIA V5 GUI
5.4
View & Manipulating Object
5.5
Sketching
5.6
5.7
Assembly Tools
5.8
Surfacing
5.9
Knowledge Ware
5.10 Simulation Process
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Functions of CATIA V5 and DELMIA
Chapter 5
FUNCTIONS OF CATIA V5 AND DELMIA
This chapter describes the main functions of CATIA and DELMIA. The
software screen captures are used to illustrate how the functions work.
5.1 Introduction
CATIA is designed for collaborative product development. It is mostly used in
virtual product design. DELMIA is designed for digital development of factory
and production processes. It is mainly used in manufacturing process planning,
detailing and simulation.
CATIA V5 provides various configurations including Platform configuration,

Application portfolios and Workbenches. The P2 Platform (Figure 5.1) is
commonly used and provides the extended design tools and additional
process oriented tools. The process tools are fully interchangeable and
scaleable. The Application portfolios (Figure 5.1) furnish a set of product
applications (workbenches) to fulfill the requirements of users in the
development procedure and production processes. The first menu Start can
change workbench which provides various types of tools, for example, from
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Part Design to Sheet Metal to Surfacing by CATIA, DPM Assembly Process

Simulation by DELMIA.
Workbench
Application portfolios
CATIA V5 Platform P2
Fig.5.1 CATIA V5 & DELMIA P2 Platform
CATIA V5 and DELMIA interface is more like a typical Windows-type

environment. It provides Window-like features (Figure 5.2) including object
linking and embedding (OLE) integration, copy and paste functions, contextual
and drop-down menus, traditional toolbars, drap-and-drop function and
keyboard shortcuts.
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The change of object-orientated tools on the right side relies on which module
is currently adopted. The first icon (Figure 5.2) shows which module (e.g. Part
Design) is used. A set of selection tool is always available on the screen no
matter which module is adopted.
Drop Down Menu

First Icon
Eg. Part Design
Keyboard Shortcuts
Traditional Tool Bars
Fig. 5.2
5.2
Traditional Tool Bars, Keyboard Shortcuts & Drop Down Menu
Document Types
There are three types of document in CATIA V5 including Part, Product and
Process. Process is a document commonly used in DELMIA.
Fig. 5.3 CATIA V5 and DELMIA document types

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5.3
CATIA V5 GUI
Generally, CATIA V5 and DELMIA share the same GUI. This helps users to
famaliarise with the operation of both of them.
5.3.1 Configuration Tree

Configuration tree (Figure 5.4) is fundamental tool for manipulating, controlling,
and organizing model elements and features. The branches along the tree
comprise the history and processes used to create parts. For example, in
Figure 5.4, when the Chamber icon is currently selected, the corresponding
identification in the tree turns orange.
5.3.2 Compass Tool

Compass tool (Figure 5.4) is used to modify the location or orientation of part
correspondent to the X-Y-Z co-ordinate system.
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Compass Tool
Configuration Tree
Chamber Element
Fig. 5.4
5.4
CATIA V5 GUI
Viewing and Manipulating Objects
CATIA allow objects viewed and manipulated easily. There are various
functions including pan, rotation and zoom for object viewing and manipulating.
How to operate the functions?

Pan: To hold down the roll of mouse and move a mouse simultaneously
Zoom: To hold down the roll of mouse and click either button of mouse and
then move the mouse up or down simultaneously to zoom in or out.
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Rotation: To hold down the roll of mouse and either button of mouse and then
move the mouse simultaneously to rotate (Fig. 5.5).
Fig. 5.5 Rotation
5.5
Sketching
The sketch environment (Figure 5.6) provides the functions of making and
editing 2D elements used in forming 3D objects by the means of 2D tools, e.g.
rectangles, circles, splines, polylines, arcs etc.
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Position Display
X-Y Plane
Operation Toolbar
Figure 3.5 Rotation
Sketcher Geometry
Sketcher Grid
Fig.5.6 Sketcher environment
The function of Constraints is commonly used in Sketcher Workbenches.

Supplementary geometrical or dimensional constraints are added when
creating or adjusting 2D elements. For example, the dimension of rectangle is
easily edited by dimensional constraint and properties of line are edited by
geometrical constraints. Various simple symbols and colours (Figure 5.7)
represent different constraints. The Configuration Tree and Dialog Box show
the error (Figure 5.8) when over-constraints occur.
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Constraint Toolbar
Element Colour
Description
Under Constrained
White
Over Constrained
Violet
Inconsistent
Red
Selected
Orange
Constraint Defined
in Dialog Box
Fig. 5.7 Constraint Examples
Constraint Error
Fig. 5.8 Constraint Errors

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5.6
A set of modeling tools (Figure 5.9) can be used after a 2D sketch is finished.
The sketch-based toolbar (Figure 5.9) helps users to handle the functions of
filleting, chamfering, shelling, hole creation etc. e.g. as shown in Figure 5.9, a
2D element is constructed to 3D object by Pad and the dimensions of 3D
object can be adjusted by dimensional constraint.
Sketch-Based Toolbar
2D Sketch
Dimension Constraint
Fig. 5.9 Pad Dialog Box
CATIA V5 provides functions of developing the complex elements or objects. A

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number of formulas (Figure 5.10) can be established to modify the elements or

objects from the original part file to a newly formed part file, so elements or
objects in the original part files can be used in other projects in the future.
In addition, as shown in Figure 5.10, there are different types of parameter in

the design table. Options in the design table are entered, CATIA V5 can then
automatically select the most appropriate option to be used in the elements or
objects. If there is a change in parameters, it will also have an effect on
construction cost and schedule generated by CATIA V5 and DELMIA.
Formula
Design Table
Fig. 5.10 Design Table and Formula

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The Compass tool located in the upper right corner makes the movement and
rotation of 3D objects easier. The Compass tool can also be attached to an
object for the purpose of moving and rotating it (Figure 3.10).
Compass Tool
Fig. 5.11 Compass Tool to move and rotate the element
5.7
Assembly Tools
Assembly tools in product file can help to create a product by getting objects in
part files into a product file. Objects are multiple-used in product files. However,
if there is a change of parameters of objects, the original part file and the
corresponding objects in product file will change. As a result, a new part file
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should be created before any changes of an object.
CATParts
Constraints
Application
Product Structure
Toolbar
Fig 5.12 CATProduct Sample
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5.8 Surfacing
CATIA V5 provides basic surfacing tools including extrude, sweep, revolve and
loft 2D profiles. The tools can also help to join, extend, split and trim surfaces
and extract surfaces from a solid. There is also a healing tool and a Fill
command which can be used to create a tangent cover for the shape shown in
Figures 5.13 and 5.14. It solves most CAD programs problems.
Fig. 5.13 Sample Creating top surface
Fig. 5.14 A tangent cover
(Source: http://www.3ds.com/products-solutions/plm-solutions/image-gallery/?no_cache=1)
CATIA Generative Shape Design (GSD), a basic tool for constructing surfaces,
allows users design more advanced mechanical shapes of a hybrid nature. It
also houses knowledge-based engineering tools and laws functions (Beckert
2000).
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5.9 Knowledge Ware

According to Beckert (2000), Dassault offers three KnowledgeWare products
on CATIA V5 targeted at users performing advanced design and engineering.
CATIA Knowledge Expert helps designers establish rule bases that capture
and automate knowledge process such as best practices, profession
processes, or design validation and corrections. CATIA Knowledge Advisor
ensures design compliance with corporate standards early in the design
cycle. CATIA Generative Knowledge, based on a scripting language, lets
users declare and reuse specification in a script format to automatically
generate intelligent designs. Those designs have to respect the softwares
programmed constraints. For example, titanium cladding torques at this
thickness but not at that or glass windows reflecting light at that angle will
create heat traps. Therefore, the software allows for considerable freedom of
design choices yet ensures that design decisions conform to corporate rules
during the design process (Schrage 2000).
WISE consortium conducted a research on managing engineering knowledge.

In WISE research (2002), it stated that CATIA supports the development of
rule-based applications through its integrated knowledge based engineering
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capabilities. A company using the system adds its know-how by defining rules
in the knowledge base. These rules are then invoked by various means when
the system is being used to support a specific process or scenario. For
example, a company may determine that the treatment or material for screws,
which are the basic connections between the framing members of building
facades, will have a particular specification for a corrosive commodity. On
placing the screws, the system can check the suitability against the rules and
automatically assign the appropriate attribute.

When the workbench changes to Assembly Simulation Process (Figure 5.15),
it provides different sets of icon to carry out a simulation process by DELMIA. A
clear overview of the sequences and links among processes, timing, cost, and
resources shows in this workbench. All the components involved in the
simulation process can be inserted in the lists which include Process, Product
and Resource (P.P.R.) list in the Configuration Tree.
As shown in Figure 5.15 and 5.16, the movement and duration data of each
activity, e.g. the rate of concreting, the movement of tower crane, are required
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to operate a simulation process by means of simulation creation tool and the

data can be adjusted if required. These data can be adjusted through Microsoft
Excel.
The sequence of activities can be adjusted by PERT Chart (Figure 5.18). Each
activities and links are represented by pictures and symbols which are easily
understood and modified if necessary. The function of Gantt Chart (Figure 5.19)
is similar to Microsoft Project which shows the duration, start and end time of
an activity and resource used in each activity (Figure 5.19). The changes in
Gantt Chart or PERT Chart can directly reflect in the simulation process.
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Simulation Tools
P.P.R List
Simulation Creation Tools
PERT Chart /Gantt Chart
Fig. 5.15 Simulation Process Work Bench
Movement Set up
Motion Set up
Fig. 5.16 Insert Activity

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Motion Set up
Fig. 5.17 Grab Activity
Set Activities Icon
Sequence of Activities
Fig. 5.18 PERT Chart
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Duration of Activities
Fig. 5.19 Gantt Chart
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CHAPTER VI
CASE STUDY and

Analysis
6.1
Background Information
6.2
Project Features
6.3
Simulation Process
6.4
6.5
Analysis
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Chapter 6 Case Study and Analysis
Chapter 6
CASE STUDY AND ANALYSIS
6.1 Background Information
Fig. 6.1 Proposed Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate
04/03/2006
Fig. 6.2 Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate

Housing Project
Project Name
Redevelopment of Kwai Chung

Flatted Factory, (Contract No.
20040031),
Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate
Domestic
1983 Rental Flats
Location
Wo Tong Tsui Street, Kwan Chung,

Hong Kong
Architect, Engineer and Quality

Surveyor
Housing Department Development

and construction division, The Hong
Kong Housing Authority
Main Contractor
Yau Lee Constriction Co-operation

Limited
Cooking Bench, Sink Unit and Panel

Wall
Yau Lee Wah Concrete Precast

Product Co., Limited
Project Duration
18 Jan 2005 17Aug 2007
Construction Time
31 Months
Contract Sum
HK$366M
Project Situation
Under Construction
Table 6.1 Project Particulars
Proposed Kwan Chung

Public Housing Estate
Fig. 6.3 Location of the Site
Source : www.centamap.com
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6.2
Project Features
The works comprise the construction of two nos. 41 storey modified New
Harmony 1 (Option 2) Blocks (Blocks 1 and 2), each block approximately 51.4
x 46.4m overall on plan and approximately 127m high from ground floor to
main roof level.
The external fascade, walls (structural and non-structural), bathrooms,

stair-core, lift shafts and bathroom-cum-kitchens of the domestic units to Block
1 and 2 are proposed to construct in precast concrete panels/components. In
this project, over 70% of the concrete elements are constructed by precast
concrete.

The construction process simulation of 6 Day Cycle of Harmony One was
constructed by CATIA V5 and DELMIA for the purpose of developing a detailed
and improved construction programme with minimum time and resources use.
6.3.1 3D Model Construction

3D models of concrete and reinforcement elements of public housing estate,
large panel wall forms, slab and beam forms, working platforms, and tower
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cranes are draw. The concrete structure is divided into slab, beam and wall
elements, as shown in the following figures. The division is made according to
the sequence of concrete pouring and the layout of 6-day construction cycle.
These elements can be easily regrouped when there is a change in
construction sequence or redesign in layout of construction bays
Parametric models are built for generating reinforcement elements. By

adjusting parameters like dimensions of concrete elements, concrete cover,
steel bar diameter, steel bar spacing, length of steel bar projection from
concrete element, etc, the 3D slab, beam and wall reinforcement elements are
generated automatically.
Fig
6.4 Concrete Slab
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Fig. 6.5 Wall Reinforcement
After creating the basic elements, they can be grouped into external walls,
internal wall panels, etc.
Fig. 6.6 Fascade
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Fig. 6.7 Toilet

Temporary works elements including wall form, slab form, beam form and
working platform are also generated from parametric models. Parameters in
these models are defined according to their specific design criteria. All of the
parametric models are stored in library and can be reused easily in the future
projects
Fig. 6.8 Temporary Wallform

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Fig. 6.9 Working Platform
Fig. 6.10 Strut
3D model of tower crane with 40m jib length is built for this project. Parameters
like speed and angle of movement are defined in the models to control their
movement during simulation.
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Fig. 6.11 Tower Crane

6.3.2 Construction Process Simulation
The 6-day cycle for construction of typical floor in Kwan Chung Public Housing
Estate is inputted through Gantt chart and PERT chart interface. Activity start
time, duration and precedent activity are handled in Gantt chart interface, while
logical sequence of activities is handled in PERT chart interface
Fig. 6.12 PERT CHART

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Figure 6.13 PERT CHART
Fig. 6.14Gantt CHART
Parameters like rate of concreting by placing boom, rate of lifting external

formwork by tower crane, rate of lifting rebar by tower crane, etc, are defined in
the construction process. These parameters can be retrieved through
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Microsoft EXCEL for update and modification. The duration of activities is

linked to these parameters and are updated automatically when there is
change in these parameters
The duration of concreting is linked to concreting rate parameter and the

measurement value of volume of concrete elements. The measurement value
is taken directly from 3D models and is updated dynamically.
The construction process simulation can run in real time or in accelerated and
decelerated speed. In reality every construction material or temporary support
is moved from one place to another by human or plant. In this Kwan Chung
Public Housing Estate 6-day cycle simulation, only those movements involving
use of tower crane are simulated, as other movements are considered not
necessary for supporting the 6-day cycle planning. Construction activities
without movement simulation are simulated by change in color. Please refer to
the Appendix III & IV for the 6-Day Cycle Programme and method & sequence
of construction. The 6 day cycle construction process simulation is showed in
the following photos.
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6.3.3
Day 1
Wing B Install Precast component (Figure 6.15)

Wind D Fix Reinforcement and Conduit (Blue while in progress) (Figure 6.15)
Wing D Fix Precast Component Reinforcement & Conduit (Figure 6.16)
Wing B Weld Type A Precast Wall (Figure 6.16)
Wing B Install Wall From for Fascade and Type C Wall (Figure 6.17)
Wing B Concrete to Wall (Red while in Progress) (Figure 6.17)
Wing A
Wing B
Wing C
Wing D
Fig. 6.15 Day 1 a.m.
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Fig. 6.16 Day 1 noon.
Fig. 6.17 Day 1 p.m.
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Fig. 6.18 Construction Process.
Fig. 6.19 Movement of Wall Form

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Fig 6.20 Movement of Wall Form

6.3.4
Day 2
Wing A Fix Slab Reinforcement & Conduit (Blue while in Progress)(Fig. 6.21)
Wing B Strike Wall Form (Green While in Progress) (Fig. 6.21)
Wing C Install Precast Components (Blue while in Progress)(Fig. 6.22)
Wing C Fix Precast Component Reinforcement & Conduit (Figure 6.22)
Wing C Weld Type A Precast Wall (Figure 6.22)
Wing C Erect Scaffolding for Semi-precast slabs (Figure 6.23)
Wing C Install wall Form for Fascade and Type C Wall (Figure 6.23)
Wing C Concreting to Wall (Red while in progress) (Figure 6.23)
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Wing A
Wing B
Wing C
Wing D
Fig. 6.22
Day 2 noon
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Fig. 6.24 Construction Proces.
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6.3.5
DAY 3
Wing C Strike Wall Form (Figure 6.25)

Wing C Erect Scaffolding for Semi-precast Slab(Red while in progress)
(Figure 6.25)
Wing B Install Semi-Precast Slab (Red while in progress) (Figure 6.26)
Wing B Grouting to Type A Precast Wall (Figure 6.26)
Wing C Install Semi-precast Slab (Figure 6.26)
Wing D Concrete to Floor Slab & Half Central Core (Figure 6.27)
Wing A Concrete to Floor Slab (Figure 6.27)
Wing A
Wing B
Wing C
Wing D
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Fig. 6.26 Day 3 noon
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Fig. 6.28 Movement of Concrete Boom
Fig. 6.29 Concerting by Boom

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6.3.6
DAY 4
Wing D Install Precast Components (Figure 6.30)

Wing B Fix Slab Reinforcement & Conduits (Figure 6.30)
Wing C Grout Fascade Joint (Blue while in progress) (Figure 6.30)
Wing D Fix Precast Component Reinforcement & Conduit (Blue while in
progress) (Figure 6.31)
Wing D Weld Type A Precast Wall (Figure 6.31)
Wing D Install Wall Form for Fascade and Type C Wall (Figure 6.32)
Wing D Concrete to Wall (Red while in progress) (Figure 6.32)
Wing A
Wing B
Wing D
Wing C
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Fig. 6.31 Day 4 noon.
Fig. 6.32 Day4 p.m.
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6.3.7
DAY 5
Wing D Strike Wall Form (Green while in progress) (Figure 6.33)

Wing C Fix Slab Reinforcement & Conduits (Blue while in progress) (Figure
6.33)
Wing A Install Precast Components (Figure 6.34)
Wing A Fix Precast Component Reinforcement & Conduit (Figure 6.34)
Wing D Erect Scaffolding for Semi-precast Slab (Figure 6.35)
Wing A Grout Fascade Joint (Purple while in progress) (Figure 6.35)
Wing A Concrete to Wall (Red while in progress) (Figure 6.35)
Wing A
Wing B
Wing C
Wing D
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Fig. 6.35 Day 5 p.m

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Fig. 6.36 Fix Conduit and Reinforcement

6.3.8
DAY 6
Wing A Strike Wall Form (Green while in progress) (Figure 6.37)

Wing A Erect Scaffolding for Semi-precast Slab (Figure 6.37)
Wing D Install Semi-precase Slab (Figure 6.38)
Wing D Grout Fascade Joint (Purple while in progress) (Figure 6.38)
Wing A Install Semi-precast Slab (Red while in progress) (Figure 6.38)
Wing B Concrete to Floor Slab & Half of Central Core (Figure 6.39)
Wing C Concrete to Floor Slab (Red while in progress) (Figure 6.39)
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Wing A
Wing B
Wing C
Wing D
Fig. 6.37 Day 6 a.m

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Fig. 6.39 Day 6 p.m

6.4
This project study the feasibility of a 6-days floor cycle in the construction of
two 40th stories residential buildings. This pioneering project is the first to
adopt the new precast public housing design from the Hong Kong Government.
More than 70% of the building structure is made of pre-cast elements,
including precast wall, precast faade, preacast staircase, precast bathroom
and kitchen, and semi-precast slab. The emphasis of this digital construction
project is to study the utilization of the tower crane, the sequence of lifting
precast elements, and the locations for storing precast elements, with an aim
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to fully utilize the tower crane and shorten the construction cycle. This project
successfully shortens the 6 full days works to 5 days. The simulation also
helps the contractor to produce an improved sequence of installing precast
elements.
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6.5 Analysis
Integrating the findings from the case and the interviews, an analysis
concerning the strengths and limitations of utilizing CATIA and DELMIA is
conducted.
6.5.1
Strengths
CATIA and DELMIA has the strengths of the present 2D CAD technology as
mentioned in Chapter 2.1.1 2D Computer Aid Design and overcome some of
its limitations which are discussed in the following sections.
6.5.1.1 Drawings
Referring Yip (2005), by using CATIA, it can offer the building industry a
breakthrough 3D digital environment enabling the shift away from 2D drawing,
layering-oriented systems originally used to produce paper documents. The
object-orientated tools allow users to create model three dimensionally, but not
in two dimensions only.
6.5.1.2
Site space and facilities management
As mentioned, more than 70% of the building structure is made of pre-cast

elements, the locations for storing precast elements is one of the emphases of
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utilizing CATIA and DELMIA which allows managing the site space visually.
The simulation environment provides an intuitive way to plan storage (Kong,
2006).
6.5.1.3
Communication
CATIA and DELMIA stimulates communication in various aspects. Holtzman

(2002) explained that using CATIA can decrease the amount of discrepancy
between different contractors work as everyone is directly referencing a single,
complete, 3D model. The 3D model and the simulation process which provide
an easy understanding platform allow planners to communicate within their
team, with their clients and the contractors, e.g. the function of process
simulation in DEMIA allows users to view various stages of a cycle, so the
dynamic and interrelationship between activities can be understood by
different parties (Kong, 2006). Subsequently, communication became more
efficient and effective according to Lee (2006).
6.5.1.4
Scheduling
Planners can analysis and summarize the utilization of resources subject to

particular activity and time through Provision of Resources Usage Report: Two
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types of resources usage report can be generated automatically from the

simulation. The first type is report showing usage of a particular resource for
which activities and at which time. The second type is report showing what
resources are used for a particular activity and at what time. These reports can
be in bar chart or table format to improve the flow and optimize the use of
resources (Kong, 2006).
6.5.1.5
Information Management
One of the functions of CATIA is parameter editing. The case of 6-day cycle
simulation is based on productivity rate parameters which can be checked
against the real productivity rates measured during construction, and then, be
adjusted to refine the simulation. The adjusted productivity rate can be used as
a benchmark for projects in the future, so information management for future
use is improved.
6.5.1.6 Safety
CATIA and DELMIA can identify clashes of movable plants, e.g. tower crane
and improve the utilization of the plants, so rate of accident may be reduced
and this improves safety in construction.
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6.5.2 Limitations
Although CATIA and DELMIA has plenty of advantages, planners do not adopt
the technology in a large extent because there are still many limitations to be
overcame.
6.5.2.1
Design for Manufacture
Martyn Day (2003) stated that although Dassault System (CATIA V5 and
DELMIA) has perfectly viable systems for structural and mechanical, CATIA
does not have any as it is not tailored to the building industry which involves
huge amount of complex information. Buildings may contain 10 to 50,000
structural plates and I-beams with corresponding numbers on the curtain
wall and ductwork, so CATIA and DELMIA may not have the capability to
integrate all that information so it still has modeling limitation.
6.5.2.2
License Fee
According to Dassault Systems, CATIA products can be ordered in three

ways:
As an integral part of a standard configuration
As an add-on to a configuration
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As a license that can be shared by moving between configurations
A set of products bundled together to solve a particular design or engineering

problem is called a configuration. Most of these configurations include four to
twelve products and their price is quite high. After the first configuration is
purchased, it is possible to expand the toolset by purchasing a single product.
Moreover, the company has to pay for the license subscription fee annually.
The license fee of CATIA and DELMIA is comparatively superior to the

traditional CAD software, e.g. AutoCAD 2006, Microsoft Project 2003, etc, as
shown in the following table.
Software
License Fee
AutoCAD
Microsoft
2006
Project 2003
HK$32,999a
HK$6,999a
CATIA V5 & DELMIA
>HK$1,000,000
Remarks : a(Asscess though www.hkishop.com on 20 February 2006)

Table 6.2 Cost Comparison of CATIA V5 & DELMIA and AutoCad 2006
Although the price of CATIA software program has been reduced recently,
obviously, companies with small investment cannot spend such a large amount
of money in software (Ho, 2006).
Housing Project
6.5.2.3
Lacking in skillful labour
CATIA and DELMIA is fresh to construction industry. According to Ho (2006),

there is a lack of skillful labour who familiarize with the operation of CATIA and
DELMIA in construction field (Lee, 2006). Although there are publications
teaching CATIA and DELMIA, training programme is far lacking comparing with
AutoCAD, Micro Station and Microsoft Project, etc.
6.5.2.4
Hardware Requirement
Apart from license fee and labour problem, CATIA and DELMIA requires high
quality computer hardware to support processing of massive amount of data,
e.g. according to website of IBM, an internal or external disk drive (minimum
recommended size is 4 GB) is required to store program executables
(installation of all CATIA Version 5 Products requires 2.0 GB on Windows, 2.4
GB on AIX, 2.7 GB on HP-UX, 2.5 GB on IRIX, and 2.3 GB on Solaris),
program data, usage environment and paging space. These are also a
significant cost to implement CATIA and DELMIA.
Housing Project
6.5.2.5 Human-Initiated Characteristic

CATIA and DELMIA are obviously very powerful software to help planner
design the construction programme, however, they cannot generate the best
programme to achieve optimization by itself. Software cannot create the best
programme without planner who design, prepare and input the basic data, and
then, the software help to generate and simulate the possible programme in
order to identify any possible planning errors. CATIA and DELMIA can improve
the programme designed by planners, but not create a new one. They must be
initiated by professionals.
Housing Project
CHAPTER VII
Conclusions and
Recommendations
7.1
Conclusions
7.2
Recommendations
Housing Project
Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Conclusions & Recommendations
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
7.1 Conclusions
Inefficient site space and facilities management, crashes of activities and poor
communication are common problems in construction projects. These
problems often lead to inefficient utilization of cost and time. A comprehensive
planning is the solution to solve the problems. CATIA and DELMIA provides a
platform to create a comprehensive planning.
Derived from the functions of CATIA V5 and DELMIA and interviews with
professionals, advantages in terms of drawings, site space and facilities
management, communication, scheduling and information management are
found. However, there are some limitations to restrict the popularity of CATIA
and DELMIA in construction industry in Hong Kong because, firstly, it was
designed for manufacture, but not tailor made for construction, secondly, its
license fee is significantly high, thirdly, there is a lack of trained labour, fourthly,
its hardware requirement is higher than other planning software, and finally, it
has to be initiated by professionals but not generate a programme
automatically.
In conclusions, it is undeniable that CATIA and DELMIA can help planners to
Housing Project
Chapter 7
Conclusions & Recommendations
design construction programme, however, they have not widely used in

construction industry subject to the limitations mentioned in previous
paragraph.
7.2 Recommendations
This research investigates the utilization of CATIA and DELMIA by qualitative
method because of the limitation in collecting data from companies. However,
it is worth to have further study on the issue by using quantitative method, e.g.
comparing the cost and time invested in a project with and without using CATIA
and DELMIA. It can provide investors with more convincing reasons to adopt
this new tool in their developments.
Housing Project
Reference and Bibliographies
References and Bibliographies

1.
Antill, J.W., and R.W. Woodhead. (1990).Critical path methods in

construction practice. 4th ed. New York: Wiley,
2.
Brandon, P. S., (1999) Product Process Development in 2000 Beyond,

Berkeley-Stanford CE&M Workshop, Standford 1999.
3.
Beckert, Beverly A. (2000) CAD software gets "smarter", Computer Aided Engineering Vol 19, Iss 1, Jan 2000
4.
Bocking C E, Rennie A E W and Jacobson D M (2003).Rapid and Virtual

Prototyping and Applications, Professional Engineering Publishing
Limited.
5.
Callaham,
M.T.,
D.G.
Quackenbush,
and
J.E.
Rowings.
1992.
Construction project scheduling. New York: McGraw Hill.
6.
Cellier, Franois E., Continuous System Modeling, Springer-Verlag, New
Housing Project
York, New York, 1991.
7.
Chau K, W,,Anson M, Zhang J.P. (2005). 4D dynamic construction

management and visualization software : 1.Development. Automation in
Construction 14(2005) 512-524.
8.
Chau C. K., S.H. and R.K. L. Gay (1999). Rapid Prototyping Verus Virtual
Prototyping in Product Design and Manufacturing. Int J Adv Manuf
Technol (1999) 15:597-603. Springer-Verlag London Limited.
9.
Chau K. W., M. Anson, J.P. Zhang (2004) 4D dynamic construction

management and visualization software : 1. Development. Automation in
Construction 14 (2005) 512-524.
10. Construct IT (2000), Construction Modelling Methodologies for Intelligent

Information Integration (COMMIT), Construct IT Centre of Excellence, UK,
ISBN 1-900491-76-1
11. Craig Donald C.(1996), Extensible Hierarchical Object-Oriented Logic

Housing Project
Simulation with an Adaptable Graphical User Interface. St. John's

Newfoundland
12. Halpin, D., and Woodhead, T. (1998). Construction management, 2nd Ed.,
Wiley, New York
13. Howard R., 1998, Computing in construction pioneers and the future.
Butterworth Heinemann.
14. Issa, R.,(1999) Virtual Reality: A solution to Seamless Technology

Integration in the AEC Industry, Berkeley-Stanford CE&M Workshop,
Stanford 1999.
15. Karam Fred and Kleismit (2004), Using CATIA V5, Thomson Learning.
16. Li Heng, Ma Zhiliang, Shen Qiping and Kong Stephen (2003), Virtual
experiment of innovative construction operations, Automation in
Construction 12 (2003) 561-575.
Housing Project
17. Ma Z., Shen Q. & Zhang J. (2004) Application of 4D for dynamic site
layout and management of construction projects. Automation in
Construction 14 (2005) 369-381
18. Malkawi Ali M. and Godfried Augenbroe (2003). Advanced Building

Simulation, Spon Press .
19. Mubarak, Saleh A. 2005. Construction project scheduling and control.

Pearson Education limited.
20. Popescu, C.M., and C. Charoenngam. 1995. Project Planning, scheduling

and control in construction : An encyclopedia of terms and application.
New York: Wiley.
21. Pratt M. J.(1994), Virtual prototypes and product models in mechanical
engineering, Proceedings, IFIP WE 5.10 on Virtual Environment and their
Applications and Virtual Prototyping, pp 113-128,1994.
22. Project Management Institute. 2000. A guide to the project management

body of knowledge : PMBOK guide. Newtown Square, PA : Project
Housing Project
Management Institute.
23. Ripley, Brian D., Stochastic Simulation, John Wiley & Sons, New York,
New York, 1987
24. Sarshar,M., Betts, M., Abbott, C., Aouad, G., (2000) A Vison for
Construction IT 2005-2010, RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)
Research Series, Dec 2000.
25. Sarshar,M., Tanyer, A., Underwood, J.,(2002) A Vision for Construction IT

2005-2010, RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) Research
Series, Dec 2000.
26. Sawhney, A., (1999) Research and Development Plan for the AEC
Industry, Berkeley-Stanford CE&M Workshop, Stanford 1999.
27. Schrage, Michael (2000). Nice building, but the real innovation is in
the process, Fortune Vol 142, Iss 2, Jul 10, 2000
Housing Project
28. Shi, J. J. (1999) Computer Simulation in AEC and its Future

Development, Berkeley-Stanford CE&M Workshop, Stanford 1999.
29. Stribling, David (2003), Building Simulation Virtual prototyping for

construction projects, Ingenia Issue 17 October/November (2003) 32-35.
30. Sun Ming and Rob Howard (2004), Understanding I.T. in Construction.
Spon Press
31. Tang S.L., S.W. Poon, Syed M. Ahmed and Francis K.W. Wong. 2003.
Modern Construction Project Management, second edition, 227- 230.
Hong Kong University Press.
32. Thabet, W., (1999). Design-Construction Integration Through Virtual

Construction for Improved Constructability, Berkeley-Stanford CE&M
Workshop, Stanford 1999.
33. Waly A. F. and Thabet W. Y. (2003), A Virtual Construction Environment

for preconstruction planning. Automation in Construction 12(2002)
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139-154.
34. Waugh, L. M., and Froese, T. M. (1990). Constraint knowledge for

construction scheduling. IEE Conf. Publ., Institute of Electrical Engineers,
London, 114-118.
35. WISE consortium (2002) State of the Art Survey: Managing Engineer
knowledge. The WISE consortium.
36. Zeigler, Bernard P., Multifacetted Modelling and Discrete Event Simulation
London, Academic Press, 1984.
Housing Project
Appendix
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix I
Sample of Accompanying Letter
Appendix II -
Sample of Interview Question
Appendix III -
Method and Sequence of Construction at Typical Floor
Appendix IV -
6-day Cycle Programme for Typical Floors
A Study of Virtual Prototyping in Construction Industry : A case study of Kwan Chun

Public Housing Project
98
Appendix
Appendix I: Sample of Accompanying Letter

February 2006
Dear Sir,
Invitation of Participating in a Research Interview
I am hereby writing to invite you being the interviewee of a research. I am Li Ka
Ming, a student of BSc (Hons) of the Building Surveying of the Department of
Building and Real Estate in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. I am currently
carrying out a research project on The application of Virtual Prototyping in the
Construction Industry : a case study of Kwan Chung Redevelopment Project.
The main objectives of this project are to evaluate the effectiveness of construction
simulation process, improve the traditional construction planning and make
recommendations on the further development of virtual prototyping.
I strongly believe that your experience and opinion is highly valuable to the
academics and practitioners. The information you provide will be kept in strict
confidentiality and used for academic purposes. Only generalized summaries and
conclusion will be presented even in research reports.
Time and place of interview can be arranged at your convenience. If you have further
enquires, please contact me via mobile (no. 98511622) at your convenience. I am
looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for your assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Li Ka Ming
For Correspondence
Li Ka Ming
Year 3 of Building Surveying
Department of Building Real Estate
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Tel : 98511622
E-mail : [email protected]
Endorsed by :
Dr. Heng Li
Professor
Department of Building and Real Estate
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Tel : 27665879
Encl: Interview Question

99
Appendix
Appendix II: Sample of Interview Questions

Interview Questions
Aims
1.
What are your expectations on the

technology of virtual prototyping in
projects? Were the results complied
with your expectations?
To collect the practitioners view on the

expectations of virtual prototyping
2.
Why do you/your company invest

in the technology of virtual
prototyping?

investment of innovation technology
3.
Do you think that virtual

prototyping is effective in
improving the planning and
construction of a project in term of
time, cost and quality ?
To evaluate the effectiveness of virtual

prototyping to improve the planning and
construction of a project
4.
What are the considerations/criteria

of using virtual prototyping?
To identify the relative importance of

various factors using virtual prototyping.
5.
What do you think about the ease of To evaluate the attractiveness of using
use, practicability and cost of using virtual prototyping in project planning
virtual prototyping in construction
industry ?
6.
Do you think virtual prototyping

acts as a Design tool successfully ?
To evaluate whether virtual prototyping

helps designers to choose the best
alternative designs
7.
What do you think about using

virtual prototyping in project
planning ?
To collect the practitioners view on

using virtual prototyping in the
construction industry.
8.
What do you think the future of

virtual prototyping in CRE field?

development of virtual prototyping in
the construction industry.
9.
Are there any improvements on the

tool of virtual prototyping (CATIA
V5 & DELMIA) ?
To collect professionals suggestion to

the improvement of virtual prototyping
~~ Thank you ~~

100
Appendix
Appendix III: Method and Sequence of Construction at Typical Floor

101
Appendix
Appendix IV: 6-day Cycle Programme for Typical Floors

102
Project: Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate Project

6-day Cycle Programme for Typical Floors of Blocks 1&2 (version 3)
Day
Wing
Timing for Construction
(Timing for Inspection)
0700 ~ 1500
0800 ~ 1600
0930 ~ 1730
0930 ~ 1300
0900 ~ 1730
0700 ~ 1300
0930 ~ 1530
1230 ~ 1730, 0700 ~ 1200
1530 ~ 1600
1300 ~ 1630
0830 ~ 1030
0700 ~ 1600
1630 ~ 1730
1230 ~ 1430
1500 ~ 1600
0700 ~ 0800
(0900 ~ 0930, 1600 ~ 1700)

-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Description
Install Precast Components (B1-B43)
Fix Precast Component Reinforcement & Conduit
Weld Type A Precast Wall
Test Type A Wall Welding
Stitching Up Works For Horizontal Joints Of Liftcore
Grouting to Precast Elements Toe
Grout Faade Joint
Micro Concrete to Precast Wall
Raise External Walkway
Erect Scaffolding for Semi-precast Slab
Install Semi-precast Slab (Flat & Corridor)
Fix Slab Reinforcement & Conduits
Concrete to Wall
Concrete Floor Slab & Half of Central Core
Install Wall Form for Precast Wall
Strike Wall Form
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Install Precast Components (C1-C27)

Grout Faade Joint
Concrete to Wall
Strike Wall Form
0800 ~ 1430
0800 ~ 1600
0930 ~ 1730
0930 ~ 1300
0700 ~ 1300
0700 ~ 1300
1230 ~ 1730, 1330 ~ 1600
1600 ~ 1630
0700 ~ 0900
1030 ~ 1230
0700 ~ 1600
1630 ~ 1730
1430 ~ 1630
1430 ~ 1530
0700 ~ 0830
(0900 ~ 0930, 1600 ~ 1700)

-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Install Precast Components (D1-D47)

Stitching Up Works For Horizontal Joints Of Liftcore
Grout Faade Joint
Concrete to Wall
Strike Wall Form
0700 ~ 1500
0800 ~ 1600
0930 ~ 1730
0930 ~ 1300
0900 ~ 1730
0700 ~ 1300
0930 ~ 1530
1230 ~ 1730, 0700 ~ 1200
1530 ~ 1600
1300 ~ 1630
0830 ~ 1030
0700 ~ 1600
1630 ~ 1730
1230 ~ 1430
1500 ~ 1600
0700 ~ 0800
(0900 ~ 0930, 1600 ~ 1700)

-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Install Precast Components (A1-A27)

Grout Faade Joint
Concrete to Wall
Strike Wall Form
0800 ~ 1430
0800 ~ 1600
0930 ~ 1730
0930 ~ 1300
0700 ~ 1300
0700 ~ 1300
1230 ~ 1730, 1330 ~ 1600
1600 ~ 1630
0700 ~ 0900
1030 ~ 1230
0700 ~ 1600
1630 ~ 1730
1430 ~ 1630
1430 ~ 1530
0700 ~ 0830
(0900 ~ 0930, 1600 ~ 1700)

-
Remarks:
Inclement weather and site holidays are not included
Highlighted item stands for activity that requires crane for mobilization
(1600 ~ 1700)
(1600 ~ 1630)
-
(1600 ~ 1700)
(1600 ~ 1700)
-
(1600 ~ 1700)
(1600 ~ 1630)
-
(1600 ~ 1700)
(1600 ~ 1700)
-

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A Study of Virtual Prototyping in Construction

Industry : A case study of Kwan Chung Public

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

I declare that this dissertation, entitled A Study of Virtual Prototyping in

Structure of the Dissertation

Traditional Techniques for Construction Project Planning

2.1.1 Drawing Tools :2D CAD

2.1.2 Scheduling Tools : Bar (Gantt) Chart

2.1.3 Scheduling Tools : Critical Path Method (CPM) P.12

Innovative Technique of Construction Planning

2.2.3 Virtual Prototyping (VP)

2.2.6 Advantage of Simulation

Reasons for using Case Study and Interviews

VIRTUAL PROTOTYPING IN BUILDINGS

Manufacture and Assembly

Sale & Promotion

FUNCTIONS OF CATIA V5 AND DELMIA

Viewing & Manipulating Object

Part Design and Modeling

CASE STDUY AND ANALYSIS

6.3.1 3D Model Construction

6.3.2 Construction Process Simulation

Summary of the Project

6.5.1.2 Site Space & Facilities Management

6.5.1.5 Information Management

6.5.2.1 Design for Manufacture

6.5.2.2 License Fee

6.5.2.3 Lacking in Skilful Labour

6.5.2.4 Hardware Requirement

6.5.2.5 Human-Initiated Characteristic

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Sample of Accompanying Letter

Method & Sequence of Construction

6-day Cycle Programme for Typical Floors

Table 4.1 Virtual Prototype Concept

Table 6.1 Project Particulars

Table 6.2 Cost Comparison of CATIA V5 & DELMIA and AutoCad

Figure 4.1 Example of lighting analysis

Figure 4.2 Example of CFD Source

Figure 4.3 2/F B5 Column of HKCC

Figure 4.4 Clash of Reinforcement Bar

Five tower cranes operates simultaneously in Venetian P.29

Construction Method of Westland Road Office Project

Construction Process of Westland Road Office Project

CATIA V5 & DELMIA P2 Platform

Traditional Tool Bars, Keyboard Shortcuts & Drop Down P.36

CATIA V5 and DELMIA document types

Pad Dialog Box

Figure 5.10 Design Table and Formula

Figure 5.11 Compass Tool to move and rotate the element

Sample Creating top surface

Simulation Process Work Bench

Proposed Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate

Kwai Chung Public Housing Estate

Location of the Site

Figure 6.14 Gantt CHART