Chapter Fast and Secure BIM Design Using Blockchain: An Example of Makeshift Hospital Project for COVID-19 Treatment in Hong Kong

Abstract

A crucial action of COVID-19 combat is the quick design and building of makeshift hospitals (MHs). Although adopting building information modeling (BIM) promotes the digitalization and communication of design collaboration, data security vulnerabilities (e.g., lacking traceability and transparency) are detected and have inevitably impeded the efficiency and productivity of the MH project. Such problems often lead to rework and unnecessary disputes, wasting valuable time on projects requiring ultra-fast construction speed. The emerging blockchain technology offers an immutable and traceable collaboration environment. However, limited studies have integrated blockchain in the BIM design process, especially design in emergency projects like MH. Therefore, this paper proposes a blockchain-enabled collaboration (BEC) framework for fast and secure BIM design. The framework is illustrated in an actual MH project in Hong Kong, and results show that: (1) it supports secure and automated BIM data exchange and (2) it saves 23 % of the time in a design coordination case