Implementation of a BIM Workflow for Building Permit Coordination in Urban Metro Projects

Urban metro projects require managing vast amounts of information within highly dynamic environments. Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows are increasingly integrated into traditional engineering tasks. This paper presents the implementation of a BIM workflow for a large underground metro project located in a densely populated area. The case study focuses on managing applications for new buildings that required assessing the potential interaction with the metro project plans. This case study required transitioning from a non-BIM environment and involved manually extracting data from numerous PDF documents, capturing key information such as parcellation ID, permitted building depth, ground level, building type, and statutory status. This data was used to create BIM objects for each lot, with extruded representations reflecting the permitted excavation depth. The BIM model proved to be beneficial for a number of key reasons. First, it facilitated better communication among stakeholders by visualizing permit impacts on the metro tunnels, crucial during the design stage. Second, once set up, the BIM model reduced drafting resources considerably. Third, it serves as an efficient tool for on-site supervision over conflicting building operations during the design phase, allowing for quick comparison between actual and permitted depths. Ultimately, the digitized model efficiently stores and manages data throughout the project life cycle, demonstrating the significant advantages of integrating BIM in large-scale infrastructure projects.