A BIM-integrated graph database for the construction execution phase

The execution of construction has to deal with a huge amount of operational data. By now, construction companies, as well as the other stakeholders, have no digital solution available, to deal with this data. The paper will demonstrate a building information Model (BIM)-based data model for the execution phase of construction projects. This data model is implemented into a graph database, which stores the process data and links it to the BIM. The graph database makes it possible to visualize relations between the process data and the BIM. Instead of spreadsheets an easier visual navigation and flexible customization can be reached.

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the feasibility of the developed graph database to describe the interdependencies between processes and information management. For the evaluation, an infrastructure project as case study is chosen. This kind of project covers a huge scope of different building construction technics, which makes it suitable for evaluation. Furthermore, the design, cost estimation and scheduling of the project are done by BIM-based software. This provides a digital data basis, which will be visualized in a graph and used to add process data. The exploration focussed on user-friendliness by visualization, querying and the possibility of flexible data organisation.