BIM-based decision support system for automated manufacturability check of wood frame assemblies

As offsite construction is increasing in popularity, an increasing number of construction products are fabricated in a controlled factory environment. Due to the complexity of construction products and the rising amount of automation used in the industry, productivity has reached a peak because the process planning of manufacturing activities is still done manually, for example, building information models (BIM) do not provide manufacturing information for construction products. Knowing whether a machine can manufacture a construction product defined by the BIM model is a critical prerequisite for new products. This paper proposes a BIM-based framework for automating the evaluation of machine capabilities for the manufacturing of construction-oriented products. By identifying intersections of the building elements of the product, feasible manufacturing operations are determined, and manufacturing locations are calculated. These locations are then compared to the manufacturing capabilities of the machine. The proposed approach is validated using two wood frame assemblies. The results show that the system accurately determines whether a user-selected machine can manufacture a construction product pre-designed using BIM software.