Hospitals are complex buildings and their functionality is essential for patient healthcare. Definition, verification and implementation of accurate configuration information during construction projects are therefore essential. The purpose of this study was to develop a decision support systemby establishing a value chain of configuration information with an end-to-end perspective. The approach of this study was explorative, investigating how building data can support construction projects in making hospital configuration decisions. A literature review provided a knowledge base about the configuration decision process flow, which determined the prerequisites for the proposed data and model management. Exchange and relationships of required building data were ensured by using Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and a database model, respectively. The results show that using building model data for configuration decision support is feasible. A case study compared data exchanged in three construction projects of Magnetic Resonance Imaging rooms to those identified in the decision support system. Operational gaps regarding data exchange in the studied cases indicate what changes are required in current data collection and management. The contribution of this study is filling a research gap regarding end-to-end information management to support hospitalconfiguration decisions in construction projects.

Hospitals are complex buildings and design solutions should fulfil functionalities to enable accurate diagnosis, treatment, and care. However, scientific results are seldom the basis for the design solution choices. Magnetic resonance imaging facilities require concrete structures fulfilling high requirements on vibration isolation to ensure diagnostic accuracy. The aim of the studies was to compare evidence from the literature to the chosen solutions in eight newly designed magnetic resonance imaging facilities. The conclusions are that there is insufficient scientific evidence for which structural configurations fulfil vibration requirements of MRI facilities, while those found were only partially implemented in recent designs.

Traditionally, the evaluation of changes in construction projects focuses on implications for cost and time. Analysis of impact on the configuration and subsequent end-user functionality is less analysed. Healthcare constructions have complex configurations and the functionality is imperative for patient care. There are problems with the deliveries in healthcare construction projects not fulfilling end-user functionality. Control of configuration changes reduces the risk for deviations from intended functionality. This study establishes the information required to obtain control and the availability in healthcare construction projects. A framework based on a literature review describes the information that is required to control configuration changes. In a case study of thirteen healthcare reconstruction projects, the available informationabout changes was compared with the framework. Management of changes was deficient in all the cases. In the investigated project logs, the implications of the configuration changes were significantly underestimated. Object models data provided detailed information about the impact of changes on the configuration, but this possibility was not used. There was no available information about requests to change the configuration, consequence analyses or implementation decisions. This study fills a research gap by adding the configuration perspective to change management in construction projects.

The configuration of healthcare buildings is complex, especially emergency hospitals that require many functions. In this study, the aim was to explore if automated configuration control can reduce occurrences of hospital deficiencies in construction projects. A bow-tie risk analysis identified the causes and consequences of configuration deficiencies. Measures to prevent and recover from deficiencies were established from configuration management research. Three newly built emergency hospitals were studied to investigate to what extent causes, consequences, preventive and recovery measures were present. The most common causes of deficiencies were deviations from intended configurations, in the literature and the cases. The consequences were cost increase, time delays, insufficient deliveries and corrective rework. None of the examined cases had implemented preventive or recovery measures associated with configuration control. Altogether, these results indicate that automation of configuration control may effectively reduce hospital building deficiencies and subsequent effects.

The development towards a fourth industrial revolution requires a transformation of industries and integration of technologies. Industry 4.0 was developed to investigate the implications of new technologies in manufacture and production corporations. Construction 4.0 is the corresponding initiative for the architecture, engineering, construction and operation industry. The purpose of this study was to compare papers that address the two concepts to find possible areas of research collaborations and opportunities for knowledge transfer. A literature review was performed of journal papers from 2020 to investigate the current application of Industry and Construction 4.0 in research. The results show several similarities between Industry and Construction 4.0 regarding data and information handling and the need to transform industries. Industry 4.0 had a focus on management and integration of technologies that can create value through entire processes. Construction 4.0 was oriented towards discovering solutions to bridge between different actors participating in a sequential process. The results identify possibilities for interdisciplinary collaborations, knowledge exchange and areas for joint explorations between the two research disciplines.

The architecture, engineering and construction industry focus on the project rather than on the product management. However, the development of digital and automated techniques requires more product based processes. Configuration information is an essential part of product management to ensure high performance. This study aims to explore if systematic configuration information, used in product development, can be applied in construction projects. An international guideline and an extensive literature study identified five key areas of configuration information applicable to construction projects. This knowledge was synthesised into a conceptual model for managing configuration information. A survey investigated the application of configuration information in construction projects. In comparison with the model, the results from the literature review and the survey show that configuration information was insufficient and not managed systematically. However, the findings also indicate that systematic configuration information can be used to improve control over the product and solve several problems encountered by construction projects. This study fills a knowledge gap regarding the management of configuration information in the context of construction projects. The ongoing development of new technologies in the architecture, engineering and construction industry will make the subject of configuration information increasingly important.

The development of technologies associated with the fourth industrial revolution is rapid. Construction 4.0 represents the architecture, engineering, construction and operations industries exploration of new technologies, equivalent to Industry 4.0 for the manufacturing industry. These concepts address multiple perspectives besides the technological, such as management and processes. The purpose of this study was to investigate to what extent research regarding construction projects addresses information and communication, automatisation or industrialisation technologies. A scoping review was the method used to perform a quantitative analysis of over two thousand journal papers published from 2015 onwards. The results show that new technologies are addressed separately, while synergy studies are uncommon. Longitudinal analyses show that there was no significant increase in journal papers concerning new technologies from 2015 to 2019. Information and communication was the search criterion with the least number of papers found. The environmental perspective of new technologies was present but the least common from 2019 to 2020. Hence, this review shows that there is an extensive research gap regarding Construction 4.0 technologies in the context of construction projects. Studies regarding synergy and environmental effects of new technologies should increase to start the progress towards a successful entry into the fourth industrial revolution.

Public and private clients are beginning to set complex optimization requirements, taking into consideration environmental and cost-efficiency parameters over the built construction’s lifetime. The early design process is currently irreversible, and this makes it difficult to change a concrete structure in the later detailed design stage, when more accurate information is available regarding environmental impact and life-cycle costs. There is a dilemma in complying with existing standards to achieve technical requirements while optimizing a concrete structure in order to reduce the climate impact. The long-term goal of the project is to develop a new theoretical concept for dynamic optimization strategies which can be applicable to the early design, the client-requirement preparation, the detailed design, the production and the follow-up stages. This paper presents the results of the up-start phase of the project. The work has focused on the identification of current practice regarding clients’ requirements for technical, environmental and cost-efficiency parameters. An analysis of these requirements with sprayed concrete (shotcrete) in a number of ongoing projects has led to the identification of optimization parameter sets. The project has also shown how the physical values of those parameters can be collected from existing statistics, experience recovery databases and previous project requirements, or calculated according to standardized methods and tools. The concept developed will be used in a demonstrative modeling in the next project step.

Requirements management in construction projects have a tendency towards production-driven processes and definition of technical solutions. The stakeholders are involved by being asked to comment on defined products which can have consequences on the performance of the end-product. This comparison describes three projects within the Stockholm County where the scope to build new medical imaging facilities with the same requirements on the concrete floor structure. The result shows that the same requirements have resulted in different solutions which could have an impact on the performance of the buildings. Further research regarding tools for systematic requirements management is needed to ensure performance and sustainability of new buildings.

Hospitals are complex buildings and their functionality is essential for patient healthcare. Definition, verification and implementation of accurate configuration information during construction projects are therefore essential. The purpose of this study was to develop a decision support model by establishing a value chain of configuration information with an end-to-end perspective. The approach of this study was explorative, investigating how building data can support construction projects in making hospital configuration decisions. A literature review provided a knowledge base about the configuration decision process, which determined the entities and composite attributes for the proposed database model. The possibility to extract data from building models to a database was studied by establishing relevant exchange schemas. A case study compared the IFC schemas from three construction projects of Magnetic Resonance Imaging rooms to the database model. The results show that using building model data for decision support is feasible. In the cases studied, there were operational gaps compared to the model regarding data availability about object relationships, processes and resources. This shows a need for change in current data collection and management. The contribution of this study is filling a research gap regarding end-to-end information management to support hospital configuration decisions in construction projects.