THE GOLDEN THREAD OF INFORMATION AND FIRE SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION: Making our buildings safer through the development of a Robust Design Specification Strategy and BIM Framework Integration.

In this research, the development of a novel expert knowledge based system for fire safety building design specification and compliance is discussed. Its purpose is to create a beneficial design aid that is integrated with building information modelling (BIM), for helping to design and maintain safer buildings, to ease the navigation through a complex regulatory compliance regime and to mitigate risk of various potential contributors. The research reflects on the current status of the UK fire safety regulatory system in the construction industry, key professional competencies and the areas in which risk could be mitigated through the implementation of this technology. Whilst the system developed in this research is based upon the UK regulatory framework and guidance, it is adaptable to any international country building regulations and standards.

The high-level system framework has been developed, connecting the expert knowledge based system to the proprietary building information modelling (BIM) software and to both a descriptive and performance based specification system. The additional purpose of BIM integration is to create an auditable fire safety design trail of a digital record for the building throughout its lifecycle, from initial design through to construction and subsequent occupancy.

The feasibility of implementing an expert knowledge base system to aid both design, specification, and compliance checking was tested through the development of a system prototype. Connectivity to the building model and specification are critical in ensuring all outputs are both aligned and robust. Data is proposed to be captured within a common data environment (CDE), aligned to the UK BIM framework, thus capturing a ‘golden thread of information’.
The outcome from testing of the proposed expert knowledge base system demonstrates strong potential for an effective technological aid to mitigate risk of failure or non-compliance of designed and built assets in respect to fire safety.