Abstract:
This article describes the application of BIM and blockchain technology in the construction process settlement of the construction industry. Through the division of construction tasks based on BIM and blockchain smart contracts and its engineering settlement mechanism, it discusses how to use BIM and blockchain technology to improve the engineering process The efficiency of settlement, optimize the settlement process of the engineering process.
On July 24, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued a project cost reform work plan, which clearly required strict management of construction contract performance, strengthened supervision of construction contract performance and payment payment, and fully implemented construction process price settlement and payment, including Henan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Sichuan, Guangdong, Beijing, Chongqing and other provinces and cities have also introduced relevant policies to promote settlement in the construction process, especially for the settlement cycle of labor costs. As we all know, migrant workers are the main force in the construction team of construction projects. Promoting settlement and payment during the construction process will help reduce the operating pressure of the construction unit and reduce the occurrence of wage arrears for migrant workers. China's migrant workers are too miserable. A large number of rural laborers have left their hometowns and invested in China's vigorous urban construction, but they still can't get rid of the "farmer" hat. They sweat and work hard on thousands of construction sites, and silently bear the burden of life. In order to send back some living expenses to the "left-behind children" and "white-haired old women" stranded in their hometowns every month, they are willing to abandon their wives and children and risk the severe cold. , Hard work that can withstand the heat, if you can't get a meager salary on time, it's really the most embarrassing thing in the world. The guidance policies of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the housing construction departments of various provinces and cities to promote settlement and payment in the construction process are very important, and they are indeed important measures related to social stability and economic development. However, even the best policies must be implemented and implemented. From a technical perspective, this article discusses the application of BIM + blockchain technology in the construction industry to implement the settlement and payment of construction projects.
Please forget Bitcoin when reading this article, we are going to talk about blockchain. It is a distributed accounting system used to record transactions and is making rapid progress and applications in the construction industry.
"Distributed ledger technology can help simplify and optimize the project development process and the workflow of related systems. Moreover, distributed ledger technology can eliminate dependence on intermediaries or third parties, thereby reducing expenses and improving related Business level."
Analogous to the centralized accounting system of a bank, the bank centrally manages the account book, which records every bank transfer made by people. The ledger tells us who has invested, withdrawn, paid, received, etc. The account book is centrally controlled by the bank, so its security and credibility completely depend on the credit of the account book management institution-the bank itself. Of course, the banking system generally has a more complete data security mechanism and management system, and we can generally believe that the bank has good credit. But if hackers or criminals illegally access and modify accounting information, in theory, these accounting information can be tampered with.
Blockchain is similar to the bank's ledger system, but it is decentralized, which means that the ledger will not be stored in a centralized center, nor is it owned and controlled by an entity. Instead, multiple parties involved in the transaction (whether financial transactions or data exchanges) are jointly managed under a consensus mechanism, thereby theoretically avoiding the problem of completely relying on the manager's own credit in the centralized management model. The smart contract in the blockchain technology, that is, the program code that can be automatically run under the consensus of all parties, can be automatically triggered and executed under specific conditions, and no party can tamper with or interfere with its execution privately, thereby ensuring its fairness Sex.
So, what is the relationship between blockchain and the construction industry? What does it have to do with BIM? I think that BIM + blockchain technology can contribute to the construction industry in the following two aspects:
- By eliminating most of the intermediate links related to contract processing, accounting payments, etc., costs can be saved, and process settlement and payment efficiency can be accelerated. (Because there is no intermediate link, which saves time and money, related administrative, contract, and process processing costs will be reduced).
- It will simplify the process of project delivery and payment and improve the efficiency of project delivery and payment.
Construction process settlement based on BIM+blockchain
In the following description, I will combine the BIM process to explain. Although it can be easily implemented without BIM, the combination of BIM will make the whole process more intuitive and efficient. In the process of project construction, the BIM model can be regarded as a contract element between the project party, the construction party and the subcontractor, that is, the physical construction of the actual building needs to match its BIM design model. If it deviates from the BIM model during the construction process, Party A can request the construction party to stop the construction and make corrections and repairs in accordance with the original design of the BIM model. If conflicts or errors are found in the model during the construction process, the construction party can propose a change order and confirm it by improving and BIM model.
Generally speaking, after a construction task is confirmed to be completed, the construction party will get the corresponding remuneration and settle the payment. This can usually be verified by the owner's representative, the construction party's representative, the supervisor's representative, and the BIM consultant to verify whether the task has been completed. It can be verified manually by confirming the success of the construction or using tools such as a 3D laser scanner to compare with the BIM model.
When planning and implementing this plan, all parties to the project shall unify the division, feature description, measurement rules and calculation caliber of the project in accordance with the agreed engineering quantity calculation specifications, and determine the key milestones of the project. The owner shall check whether the key milestone has been achieved according to the status of the key milestone verified by multiple parties, and the financial payment process can be automatically triggered when the key milestone is achieved. Similarly, the task breakdown of the general contractor and its subcontractors also adopts more detailed milestone definitions. A similar process occurs when the subcontractor completes the tasks specified by the milestone.
In fact, it may be the same now, but because this process is designed for multiple departments, each department has to deal with related contracts, visas and other contract paperwork and financial procedures, which is time-consuming and laborious. How to simplify the above process? The answer is blockchain smart contracts.
Imagine a scenario where the owner has a budget for the entire project and saves it in a specific wallet (this wallet is their bank account, but it is treated as a dedicated project fund account). The project package also has a wallet, and all subcontractors have similar wallets. Part of the owner’s funds is used to pay the architects and engineers to create a three-dimensional BIM model, and then handed over to the general construction contractor, which will determine the key milestones in the project and the corresponding part of the funds to be released. The construction general contract and the association of these milestones with the various areas of the BIM model form a series of "smart contracts".
"Smart contracts are to ensure the security of recorded agreements between people and organizations. The execution and execution of smart contracts (English: Smart contract) is a computer agreement designed to spread, verify, or execute contracts in an information-based way . Smart contracts allow Trusted transactions are conducted without a third party. These transactions are traceable and irreversible. The purpose of smart contracts is to provide a more secure method than traditional contracts and reduce other transaction costs associated with contracts."
Subcontractors also do the same thing to form a series of task lists with different granularity and payment-related. Each task item has verifiable milestones. Each item of these verifiable elements is reflected in the BIM model, for example: the construction of a first floor is completed, the installation of electrical equipment is completed, and the task status will be recorded and stored in the information block of the blockchain. Each company participating in the project can submit its completed work, and after verification, add its task completion status to the blockchain and update the status of the BIM model at the same time to ensure that everyone is viewing the latest model.
According to this model, every time a milestone is completed, a smart contract will be automatically performed. I completed the installation of an electrical equipment, the general contract, supervision and acceptance were passed, the contract was completed, and the funds were automatically transferred from the general contract’s wallet account to my own wallet. There is no complicated paperwork, and the amount paid is divided into small payments as the work progresses. All parties involved do not have to worry about cash flow issues. More importantly, because the task division is based on a unified BIM model, there will be no duplication of work tasks and rework during the construction process. The payment amount can also be linked to the schedule to encourage all parties to complete the work in a timely manner.
So imagine that since the entire process is based on timestamps and recorded on the blockchain, the construction process has been driving the growth of the entire chain. The execution of each smart contract is displayed as the progress on the model, and it also reflects the construction process of the physical building. Owners can see their BIM model gradually transition from virtual to reality, and see the corresponding expenditures related to the progress. Because the funds are released (through smart contracts) only when the agreed task is completed. Owners will also see a gradual decrease in cash in their accounts, gradually turning into physical buildings through general contracting and subcontracting at all levels.
Short summary...
- The project schedule forms hundreds of smart contracts in a BIM-based common data environment, which everyone can see.
- Each smart contract has its additional task value.
- The completion and verification of the smart contract will trigger an automatic payment from one wallet to another.
- The project uses the completed work and projects in the information block to update the BIM model when the block chain is produced.