Using BIM in the safety risk management of modular construction

Governments internationally encourage and support the development of modular buildings as they can improve efficiency in the construction industry. Meanwhile, judging from the numerous reports published by public agencies responsible for the regulation and enforcement of workplace safety (e.g., HSE UK), occupational health and safety is an important aspect that the construction industry has been concerned with as there is still much room for improvement. Therefore, practitioners and scholars have begun to study the safety risks of modular construction. In a similar manner, this paper summarises the existing literature on the application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology in the safety management of the construction industry in general and the main safety hazards of modular construction. The authors then analyse the application of BIM technology in the safety risk management of modular construction as a joint topic. This is the main contribution of this paper as there is very little research being done that links all three subjects together. The findings show that BIM technology has a great application potential in modular construction, and specifically in the training of staff, safety inspection, and crane management. By adopting BIM-based solutions it is likely to improve worker safety awareness, detect hazardous factors and scenarios and optimise site layout.