The Use of Computer Visualisation in Communicating Constructability Information in UK

Design details are not always simple and easy to understand. Builders may spend considerable time on interpreting difficult or complex details in a drawing; this could result in constructability problems. Advanced computer visualisation tools offer good visualisation capabilities that cannot be achieved using traditional tools, such as 2‐D drawings. They provide considerable potential to improve this process in construction and can effectively be used for communication between design and construction teams that are geographically dispersed. However their use is still at present limited and not fully understood. This paper presents an industry survey on the use of computer visualisation to communicate design information as part of a research study, which aims to demonstrate how computer visualisation can be used in clarifying design details and in dealing with constructability problems. The analysis of the results shows that the most common methods used by designers and site teams for clarifying information on constructability problems were traditional tools and methods, which have serious limitations in supporting virtual construction project teams. It also shows that traditional tools are not adequate to communicate design information related to constructability between designers and builders.