16. Information Management for Sustainable Building Projects

This chapter explains why information management for sustainable building projects is essential. It reviews the concepts of modeling information flows and the use of building information modeling (BIM), describing these techniques and how these aspects of information management can help drive sustainability. An explanation is offered concerning why information management is the key to ‘lifecycle’ thinking in sustainable building and construction. The chapter also demonstrates how modeling information flow can benefit designers, highlighting the advantages it brings. It is argued that adoption of BIM considerably aids the staged processes, which are relied upon, to continually improve the delivery of sustainable buildings. It is only with this approach that all aspects of a building’s construction and performance can be evaluated. Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this chapter, readers will be able to: (1) appreciate information flows in the construction management process, (2) have a basic knowledge of BIM, (3) understand the role of technology in information transfer, (4) comprehend how integrated thinking impacts on the construction process, (5) discuss the benefits that BIM delivers in the context of sustainable built environments, (6) have knowledge of information flows in a building’s life cycle and the comparative nature of BIM and traditional management models, and (7) gain insight into construction management science, and information and modeling technology.