Product and process integration for 4D visualisation at construction site level: A Uniclass-driven approach

Recent research projects to integrate product and process model have resulted in an emergence of 4D visualisation as an innovative technique to construction planning and scheduling. It has been proven that project participants can better visualise and analyse problems regarding sequential, spatial, and temporal aspects of construction schedules in the 4D environment. However, generation of meaningful 4D - requires systematic classification of 3D CAD components (Product Breakdown Structure) and construction activities (Work Breakdown Structure). These systematic and conforming structures are crucial for productprocess linking mechanism and flexibility to simulate the - in selected zones and selected levels of detail. This paper elaborates on a development methodology of a 4D visualisation tool called ‘ProVis’ (one of the main tools developed within the VIRCON project) using two real life case studies. The unified classification for the construction industry (Uniclass) has been realised and employed as an essential standard to classify and integrate product and process data for the visualisation development in complementary with the IFC.