Background (Problem definition)

The problem definition of this research will be explained in the following four sections:

Building Information Model (BIM) (Chapter 1.1.1.), Augmented Reality (AR) (Chapter 1.1.2.), WKB (Chapter 1.1.3.), and Link of BIM, AR, and WKB (Chapter 1.1.4.). The reason for this division is to make a clearer separation between the different topics that will be discussed in this study.

1.1.1. Building Information Model (BIM)

Escamilla (2016) stated that during the 20th century and the 21st century, the world has seen enormous changes in the construction sector. These enormous changes have caused the construction industry to revolutionise its approaches, methods, techniques and strategies. In addition to these changes, the construction sector has been greatly changed by the problems that have arisen, such as the shortage of suitable workers, the long duration and the inadequacy of the work. New technologies have made it possible to better recruit and retain new workers and methods in the construction industry.

One of these new technologies is Building Information Modelling (BIM). According to Penttilä (2006), BIM is a set of interacting policies, processes and technologies that "generate a methodology for managing the essential design and project data in digital format throughout the building lifecycle". Currently, more and more design and construction professionals in the field of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) are using Building Information Modelling (BIM) (Wang & Love, 2012).

According to Wang (2014), 2D drawings are often generated based on these 3D object models, whereby this is seen as a challenge with a negative influence on the time schedules and the required resources. This is because the generation of these 2D drawings is time-consuming and is seen as one of the biggest challenges in a project. Also, McGraw-Hill (2008) stated that BIM models are nowadays primarily used as a representation and simulation tool. Whereas all this information present in BIM models should be used to ensure that activities and tasks are carried out and planned on time. In this way, the desired quality and safety standards can be met. Hou (2011) stated that there are difficulties in dealing with large amounts of data and having contextual awareness of its accessibility, thus hindering the use of BIM on the construction site.

Page 18 of 282 1.1.2. Augmented Reality (AR)

Apart from the increasing use of BIM today by design and construction professionals in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction, there are very few academically efforts to explore the real-time communication and integration of BIM to the site and task conditions, which means there is a lack of research in this topic (Wang & Love, 2012). Additionally, this applies to the interaction of BIM with the construction site. Augmented Reality (AR) can effectively fulfil this vision by visualising BIM in the physical context of any construction activity or task (Wang & Love, 2012).

The research in Augmented Reality (AR) combines the real world and computer-generated data. AR is an environment where data generated by a computer is inserted into the user's image of the real world. A user of AR can work in a real-world environment while receiving additional computer-generated information in the real world image (P. Milgram, et al., 1994) (P. Milgram, et al., 1999).

Hou (2011) suggests that to address the problem of not clear data accessibility, AR can be integrated with BIM to ensure that the physical context of construction activities and tasks can be visualised, thus making data more accessible. Furthermore, AR implementation can be used for real-time visualisation and monitoring of activities and tasks. By using AR in combination with BIM, this application can ensure effective communication between construction management and subcontractors about the data contained in the BIM model.

According to Eastman (2017), there is an emergence of Building Information Modelling (BIM).

With this emergence of BIM, Ling (2017) stated that the rise in the use of BIM can be seen in the design, construction, and operation phases of a construction project. This gives the opportunity of using the geometric information of the BIM model in an AR environment. Partly due to the rapid development of new hardware and enabling algorithms such as tracking, Visual SLAM and computer vision enhancement, these developments have provided the opportunity to exploit AR on a larger scale. Research by Meža (2015) has already shown that using AR as an application on a construction project improves the understanding of a project for architects and engineers by a metric of 20% compared to using a 3D virtual model alone.

According to Ahmed (2019), AR is used in various phases and departments of a construction project. Quality management and defect management are one of these phases during a construction project and are important components of construction management (S. Ahmed, 2019). Because many completed projects are accepted by the client and then fail to meet the desired quality and after a dispute. To bring automation into the quality and defect management system, augmented reality plays an important role in construction. Thus, several studies show the usefulness of AR in quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC).

Page 19 of 282 1.1.3. WKB Act

Currently, a new challenge is emerging for construction companies. Namely, the Quality Assurance for Building Act (WKB), which is expected to enter into force in stages from 1 January 2022 according to Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties (2020). In Dutch, it is called ‘wet Kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen (WKB). The changes in the Wkb law are expected to apply only to simple buildings, such as single-family dwellings and smaller commercial premises, until 2024 inclusive. Other buildings will follow as of 2025. The aim is to improve the construction quality of buildings by reducing construction errors and defects. This reduces the costs that construction companies have to incur to repair construction faults.

Furthermore, the work of independent quality controllers will be easier and faster, because the builders themselves have already done a lot of checking.

This new law ensures that, upon delivery of the building, the contractor must demonstrate compliance with the regulations. If upon delivery, it appears that a building has not been built following the regulations and agreements made, clients will have better opportunities to urge the contractor to carry out repairs. The contractor must also inform the client about how risks against damage due to non-compliance with the obligations and defects are covered after delivery.

This new law contains the following five main changes (Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties, 2020):

1. Independent quality controllers who check whether the legal technical requirements of a building are met during design and implementation.

2. The contractor is responsible for the consequences of all construction defects he has caused himself.

3. The contractor is obliged to let the client know if and how he has insured himself against bankruptcy and risks of damage and defects.

4. Clients can, as in the current situation, park 5% of the construction amount (contract price) at the notary's office. Currently, this amount automatically goes to the contractor when the building is completed. From 1 January 2021, the notary will pay the money to the contractor if the customer indicates that all defects have been rectified.

5. When the quality assurance officer or the municipality sees a problem, the municipality can stop the construction.

Page 20 of 282 1.1.4. Link BIM, AR, and WKB

Studies show that AR technologies facilitate construction management to address defects that are likely to go unnoticed in the inspection process and save time to do so. The study by Park (2013) found that AR technologies enhance the current manual-based defect management to reduce site managers’ workloads and prevent construction work defects proactively by utilizing BIM and AR technologies.

Additionally, according to Kim (2013), AR is also mentioned as a fruitful quality and defect management technology for on-site construction projects. Based on the study of Wang (2014), it is also possible to trace and analyse the work by comparing the planned and built data on- site, where AR can make this possible. The planned data, also called as-planned BIM data, is the data defined in BIM. By working out the building in BIM, the building is already made digital in advance. By building digitally in advance, it is possible during the construction process to check how it has been digitally planned, or in other words to look at the as-planned data.

According to Wang (2014), a status can be assigned to each building component through AR, namely: identified, ordered, delivered, checked, installed, fixed, snagged, protected, and complete. This allows the progress of the project to be displayed graphically, leading to a complete overview.

Because the new law (Wkb) is expected to be introduced in 2025, it means that contractors will have to tighten up the current quality assurance system. Since the contractor must be able to demonstrate that all aspects of the building comply with regulations, everything must be properly recorded during the building process. For this reason, there is currently more demand for contractors to improve current quality assurance. And with the results of various studies that have been conducted, it can be concluded that AR is a potential technology with which quality assurance can be carried out.

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